Chapter 232: Cooking with Everyone
There were various differences in opinions, but we are able to continue with the cooking without delay.
「Eleonora, cut the carrots a bit more so they have the same size」
Elna-kaasan advise Eleonora-neesan as she forced her to participate in cooking.
When I look in their direction, I saw Eleonora-neesan over there, cutting the carrots in an awkward manner.
「It’s Pot-au-feu, isn’t it? So, it’s fine if the sizes are slightly different. Rather, it will make the taste better」
「But that does not mean you can do that, and it will make a big difference in size if you can not cut it in the same size you know? Here, try cutting them in the same size」
「All right, all right」
Eleonora-neesan said - with a slightly unhappy expression on her face - when Elna-kaasan told her that.
Then she quietly cut the carrots.
Chop…chop……an irregular noise I’m clearly not familiar with.
When I look at the carrots on top of the cutting board, there are - by any standard - irregularly-shaped things laying around over there.
「……this, did you cut them with the intention to make them uniform?」
「Of course!」
Looking at Eleonora-neesan - who is replying so confidently-, Elna-kaasan looked terribly worried as she says,
「Eleonora, are your eyes all right? Did you hit your head when we were practicing before?」
「There’s nothing wrong with me!」
Perhaps she is embarrassed due to losing so pathetically that she gnashed her teeth as she answer Elna-kaasan.
It’s fun seeing Eleonora-neesan being played around like this. This is a kind of a fresh experience since I was often the one in that situation usually.
「……what?」
She probably noticed me staring at her absent-mindedly. She glared at me looking slightly irritable.
「……nothing」
Sparks might fly at me if I were to say anything here, so I answer like that and turn my eyes to the front.
After that, I purposely slice the onion rhythmically. Of course, they are properly cut in the same sizes, unlike my unskilled sister.
「……look, Al can cut them neatly, see?」
「Al is like, a half-cook after all, so he doesn’t count」
What do you mean ‘half-cook’? I only do what I like to do, alright? I’m not someone like Bartolo, who loves cooking you know.
Just as I was thinking about that tsukkomi in my mind, I saw Sylvio-niisan, Nord-tousan, and Mina - the three of them -, sitting on a chair peeling potatoes peacefully.
And they peel it like peeling apples using a kitchen knife. There is no handy tool like a peeler in this world, but it will be dangerous for them, not to mention that it would take a lot of time.
There’s an easier way to peel the skin without doing that, should I teach it to them, then?
「Al, what’s wrong?」
As I stare at them with a complicated expression on my face, Nord-tousan asks me, seems like he noticed me staring at them.
「I know an easier method to peel the skin……」
「There is such a method?」
「That method, how do you do it?」
Nord-tousan and Mina only experience the troublesome peeling work, but it looks like they jump at the method as they looked interested. While Sylvio-niisan is silent as he looks to be concentrating on the potatoes in front of him.
They don’t look to be particularly angry about it, so I bring the cutting board and a knife to the table.
After that, I take one potato and put it on the cutting board.
「You make a shallow, round cut with a knife like this」
As I make a shallow, round cut on the potato, - Nord-tousan and Mina - who is watching me - nod *funfun*.
I followed the process in a flowing-like manner while watching the two of them.
After making the cut, I put it into the hot water inside the pot I had prepared earlier.
It will take around ten minutes. I continue to boil the potato while turning them over midway.
If it were a skilled cook, then some of the skin is just going to peel by itself during the boiling time, but we’re all just an amateur after all. It will be enough to peel and boil the potatoes as much as it fits inside the pot for fifteen minutes.
Boil them until the stick can soft go through the skin, then take them out from the pot.
「All that’s left is to cool it down in a bowl of ice water」
「An advanced magic technique casually came out at the end……」
「To begin with we can not use Ice magic, and it’s going to be difficult to have ice without Ice magic tool」
Looking at my action, Nord-tousan and Mina have glum expressions on their faces.
「I, is that so? So people can’t normally get Ice, huh………」
It should be a simple peeling technique that everyone could do, but now it became something that can only be used by some people and those with money can do. It made me realize once more about the high-level civilization of my previous life.
「You can also say that, but I think that few among the general public will consider using Ice magic in cooking」
「I’ve been thinking for a while now, but the manner in which Alfried-sama uses magic is a bit different from others, doesn't it?」
Now I’m being treated like an abnormal person for some reason. Strange.
Even though magic exists in this world to enrich our lives, there’s no reason not to make effective use of it, right? I think this is the most obvious thing to do.
Hmm, I can’t help but explained it to them like that, so I’ll just let it flow.
「Oh well, I think you can even use cold water to some extent. So in short, you only have to cool down the hot potato」
「Then what are we going to do with that cooled potato?」
「You only have to peel the skin with your fingers after that」
I take one potato and answer.
Then I pull the skin in an easy-to-understand manner for the confused duo.
Immediately after, they peeled off easily.
Just like that, the skin is peeled and one clean potato is completed.
「Eehhh!? The potato skin was peeled this easily!?」
「It doesn’t have any skin left」
The two of them are surprised by the peeled potato.
Mina’s reaction is particularly big, so even I - who is demonstrating this - feel a little happy about it.
Feeling a bit happy, I peel off another potato in front of them.
「Hereー, this one also peeled easily with my hands」
「That looks a little fun! Please let me do it too!」
Mina looks to be itching to do it when I show them the cleanly peeled potatoes, so I let her do it as she likes. And perhaps Nord-tousan was also curious about the peeling that he started to quietly peel a potato under the cover of Mina’s excitement.
「Waa! Amazing! The skin of the potatoes really come off easily!」
「This is really easy. To think that there is this kind of method……」
Mina cries out, impressed with the result while Nord-tousan is astonished by it.
Uh-huh, the feeling of wanting to make everything easier is important.
’Can this be made simple, can this become even more efficient’, it was all ideas to make things easier. People can make progress with that as a driving force.
It might be a little tiring until it becomes easier, but as long as you get there it will become easier later down the road.
As I was thinking about such things, Elna-kaasan and Eleonora-neesan’s voices can be heard coming from behind me.
「……just as you said, he really is like a half-cook. It was unsuitable to use him to compare against」
「Right?」
Err, but I’m not a cook, all right?
◆
In spite of the demonstration of the small trick in peeling the potatoes, our cooking went smoothly and advances as it was about to complete.
The pot-au-feu that was flavored with a lot of vegetables, potatoes, bacon, and spices is now letting out a fragrant smell as it makes boiling sounds *gutsugutsu*
Mina and I - who are adjusting the fire - receive the direct aroma from the pot-au-feu, and our stomachs rumble as if in response to that. I’m so hungry already.
While everyone who has nothing to do now is already waiting in their seat and staring fixedly at us.
They’re waiting for the pot-au-feu.
「「…………」」
The pressuring gazes from Eleonora-neesan and Elna-kaasan are piercing us.
I also want to quickly eat them so I’d like you guys to not put pressure on me.
「Alfried-sama, this should be enough right? The pot-au-feu is done now, right!?」
「We still have the pasta left」
Admonishing Mina as she tries to press me for an answer, I take out the pasta from the container.
Pot-au-feu can be eaten together with something else like bread, but that won’t be enjoyable.
In addition, the biggest reason I put the pasta inside the pot-au-feu is that I personally like it.
Though, as expected there is no convenient stuff like dried pasta here, so it will just be boiled in advance. I actually want to mix some olive oil, and sauce, and froze them with Ice magic. I wanted to eat them whenever I like if I just heat them, but the other members of the family’s responses - as they are not used to frozen food - are subtle, so it’s not added.
Well, from the perspective of people who are not used to them, they will just think of frozen pasta as some suspicious food.
But when it has become like this, even though the pasta has been boiled this morning, it has been a few hours since then so the noodles will be soggy and the texture will be ruined.
In the first place, that kind of pasta will be thrown into the mix, but I’m using the pasta from my subspace of the Space magic, so it’s clear.
I secretly snuck the pasta out from my Space magic into the carriage. There is no concept of time in Space magic. That’s why the pasta I took out from the container is still steaming and fresh.
I put the usual pasta into the pot-au-feu inside the pot. Since it has somewhat been boiled in advance, we don’t have to cook them for long.
「Okay, now it’s done」
「It is completed!」
Hearing Mina’s cheerful voice, Eleonora-neesan - who was starving - immediately sat up straight. I feel like Elna-kaasan is also adjusting her posture somewhat.
「I will set the table with Mina」
「Okay. I will leave it to you」
All right, Row-san offered to change our roles to set the table from hereon.
Although I can cook, I think he felt sorry to even make me - as the master - set the table for him. Guessing his intention, I obediently let him take the role and take a seat.
The order of the seats is the same as usual. To the left of me is Sylvio-niisan, while Eleonora-neesan is sitting in front of me.
But Mina and Row-san are here today, so there is another seat to my right side.
At first, the two of them refused to sit to have lunch together with us, but then Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan said to them 「Don’t mind it, just eat」, and so they are now eating together with us.
We’re now away from home, we’re not too picky about rules and etiquette.
As I sit while thinking about that kind of thing, the pot-au-feu is distributed to us in succession.
Nord-tousan got served first, followed by Elna-kaasan after him.
And after Eleonora-neesan received her portion, Row-san and Mina return to the kitchen to get more plates.
「Here, Al」
I guess she thought that Sylvio-niisan and I haven’t got our portion yet since Eleonora-neesan - who is looking forward to the meal - handed her plate to me.
Was Eleonora-neesan worried about me? Is such a thing be possible? No, even back in the mansion, she almost never care about me when I was in the back and continue to pass the food around, y’know?
Nonetheless, it will also be inexcusable to keep her waiting with the plate like that and turn down her kindness.
「……uh? Th, thank you」
I received the plate of pot-au-feu while wondering about the reason.
The pot-au-feu I received is full of ingredients and looks so delici――
「――hey, the ingredients of my pot-au-feu, they all have irregular shapes…」
「Ahh! Mina, that one goes here!」
Even when I fixedly stare at her, Eleonora-neesan indirectly turns her eyes away.
After that, she stopped Mina who came to set the table at the perfect time, and took a plate of pot-au-feu with regular-sized ingredients.
I’m a bit dissatisfied with this but it’s kinda annoying to have a fight over food before eating. I’d rather eat sooner than do that.
Just as I was waiting and thinking to myself ‘Still not yet’?, Mina and Row-san finally sit down.
「Now then, let’s eat」
With Nord-tousan’s words, everyone grip our knife and fork and started eating.
I, too, also start eating the pot-au-feu.
I guess I’ll have a thick slice of bacon first.
I pour plenty of soup on top of the served bacon. It’s very thick and has a somewhat different smell and presence from the other ingredients
It was seasoned by Bartolo, and this is added to the mix in exchange for the Vienna sausage.
First, I cut up the bacon as though it was the usual meat, then I bring it to my mouth.
At first, I can feel an overwhelming chewy texture and the rich original taste of meat from the bacon and spices used. Each time I sunk my teeth into the bacon, those rich flavors spread inside my mouth.
After enjoying the taste of the bacon, I take the onion next.
The onions are stewed until they are mushy, I stab them with my fork and eat them.
While it was soft, there is also the crispy texture of the onion. Then the onion that was soaked in soup releases its sweetness.
Hmmー, the bacon that was strongly seasoned does a good job in mixing with the other ingredients.
Thanks to this bacon, there is no problem even if there are no such things as consomme to go with the meal since soup turns out to be richly flavored. As long as we have this, we don’t need to add too many spices. It also has the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
「This is deliciousー. Especially this large bacon is overwhelmingー」
「You’re right. That Bartolo, he does a good job」
「Yeah, and thanks to the bacon, the taste becomes thicker overall」
「The vegetables are really delicious」
Everyone gave high praises to the bacon, guess they also noticed the bacon’s greatness.
That Bartolo, he can still play an active role even though he’s not here with us, amazing.
「Next is pasta! But, they have been boiled before, so will they become soggier than the usual pasta?」
「The soggy noodles will taste a little less appetizing than usual but we’re on a trip right now so there is nothing we can do about that」
It’s fine. They are specially stored using Space magic this time, so they are still fresh and hot.
But, I’m the only one who knows about it.
If they still say something like 「As expected, the taste is worse than usual」, then I can only laugh if they gave it such reactions.
It feels like I’m trying to find out others' preferences right now.
I watch over Eleonora-neesan and Elna-kaasan as they carried the pasta into their mouth while feeling excited inside.
「They only become slightly soggy, aren’t they」
「……I wonder? It does not seem that different from what I always ate, though?」
Elna-kaasan gave her keen impression about it, but it was completely denied by Eleonora-neesan.
It will just make me smile when you said such a mistaken line with a mysterious expression on your face. If I tell them something like 'This is high-class food', then it’s going to be easier to make them happy later.
「Hey Al. Why are you smiling?」
「……it’s nothing」
Oops, it looks like my smile escaped me.
Since she glared at me, I changes my expression into a neutral one to deceive her.
I coil around the pasta into my fork and put it into my mouth while Eleonora-neesan is looking at me with eyes full of suspicion.
Un, the soup soaked in the pasta it’s tasty. I think it’s thanks to the Space magic that the pasta hardly becomes soggy.
I continue moving my fork while feeling satisfied with the pasta’s texture and taste.
And then, I feel a tough texture in my mouth.
Unintentionally looking at the tip of my fork, I saw an irregularly shaped carrot being that was only stabbed shallowly there.
「……the carrot is hard」
When I muttered like that, the gaze that feels like they are piercing me vanished.
here
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