@
Eialyne Would love to be added to the pinglist for this! Here's hoping my clan has better luck than last year xD
Badalle and Cordelia both stared quizzically down at the ingredients within their basket, one sibling's crest visibly wilting while the other's perked in curiosity. They'd been drawn to the tent by the delicious smells wafting from within, but neither of them had expected to be roped into an impromptu cooking contest when they had been trying to enjoy the Jamboree. They'd heard rumors about it from some of their clan members before this- how much of a disaster the first days of the cooking competition had been, but how they'd managed to come through in the final days- and had been curious about it, yes, but actually finding themselves a part of it was a bit bewildering. And the ingredients were even more so.
"How are we supposed to make a good dish out of
flowers?" Badalle moaned, her crest visibly wilting. "Why couldn't we have gotten
actual food? You know, something that vaguely resembles a dish! Maybe even a recipe of some kind! I didn't expect to be flying blind throughout this entire thing!"
"Oh, hush. We can probably still salvage this," Cordelia said, pulling out a reference book that she had brought and flipping through it in an attempt to find relevant information on the ingredients. "There were even stranger ingredients last year, and other dragons managed to do just fine with them. We just have to find the relevant information on the ingredients and prepare them accordingly." Ignoring the rather bewildered glances that her sister was sending her, Cordelia flipped through the book until she found the plant section, quickly skimming through the pages related to the flowers placed before them. "Right. Greenpod Blooms, good when slow-cooked over a fire. Maybe some kind of grilled dish. Frosted Violets, served best when chilled. Fragrant Orchid....smells like rotting meat. Anything we do with those will need to disguise the odor somehow." A thoughtful expression crossed the more colorful sibling's face as she pondered over the information she was presented with, but after a few more minutes she noticeably brightened, her crests flaring in excitement. "I got it! We're going to make
two dishes."
"What? We don't even have the materials needed to-" Badalle began, but a shushing wing placed over her mouth quickly silenced her.
"We're allowed to use other ingredients, and I have a good idea for all of them. We're going to make a salad out of the orchids and the greenpods, and an ice cream out of the violets. We'll add some berries to the salad for flavor...or I will, at least. You can be in charge of the ice cream. That should be simple enough for you."
Ignoring the irritated flick of a tail that she got to the side of her face for that remark, Cordelia quickly set to work on the salad portion of the dish. Taking as generous of a pawful as she could of the
Greenpod Blooms, the small Fae set to work roasting them evenly in a small pan upon the stove, humming to herself as she was careful to regulate the fire charms placed underneath it so that none of the flowers would be burnt or have their flavor sacrificed in order to complete the dish. After checking to ensure that the blooms were evenly roasted, she set to work dicing them up into smaller pieces, adding them to a larger mixing bowl before turning to other ingredients that she could blend together into a salad. Gathering some
nuts,
mushrooms,
dried berries,
cucumbers, and
onions, Cordelia set them upon her small work table, beaming down at the vibrant mix before setting to work. The cucumber was sliced into thin portions, while the onion was deftly peeled and cut into slices- finally, something her small hands were actually
useful at!
The mushrooms were deftly sliced in half, and then all of the ingredients were tossed together into the bowl that she had procured, using a large fork that she had found to toss the ingredients together until they resembled a salad of sorts. The Fae female quickly plated a small portion of the salad for the judges to taste before turning back to her work station. Now for the dressing- but she'd need to hide the disgusting stench of those orchids! Cordelia felt confident that she could safely make a dressing out of them- with some modifications, of course. Grabbing the
Fragrant Orchids, some
olive oil,
lemon juice,
sea salt,
black pepper and
minced garlic, Cordelia carefully blended the ingredients together using a small device from Lightning territory that had been provided- honestly, the ingenuity of the dragons that hailed from the Shifting Expanse would never cease to amaze her- before carefully tipping the device over to drizzle the mixture evenly onto the salad, chirping happily at the appetizing sight before zooming over to check on her sister.
Meanwhile, Badalle had grabbed the
Frosted Violets, in addition to
milk,
sugar,
eggs,
double cream,
icing sugar, and some
assorted nuts to make the ice cream necessary. She didn't place the violets in the mixture, but set some aside for what she had in mind for later, setting to work on the ice cream first. Pouring milk and a small amount of the sugar into a sauce pan, she heated it gently, watching with a careful eye to make sure that the mixture wasn't brought to the boiling point before removing it from the stovetop to cool. Pulling out a large bowl full of ice in preparation for the following steps, Badalle cracked the eggs open and deposited the yolks into a small bowl, whisking them and the rest of the sugar together while pouring the hot milk mixture onto them at regular intervals. She didn't want the eggs to completely come apart because of the heat, after all, or it would ruin the entire integrity of the dish that she had in mind.
The mixture was poured back into the pan and heated again, the Fae making sure to stir it so that it wouldn't curdle before taking it off the stove after a few more minutes. Adding a bit of
rose water to the mixture- turns out her slight love of the blue roses that grew around their clan's home had come in handy, for she'd been able to convince Hineani to allow her to strain some water from the delicate blooms- she whisked gently until there were no lumps within the mix and it took on the hue of the blossoms that she loved so much, which was then dumped into a sieve to remove any remaining lumps and into the bowl of ice which had been kept cool by one of the Ice charms carried with her. The double cream was mixed with the icing sugar then, before being placed into a tray to freeze- and luckily, with the help of the charms that had so graciously been provided, the process only took a few minutes compared to the hours that normally would have been dedicated to it. Pouring the creamy mixture into one of the devices that had been set up as a makeshift ice cream maker, Badalle broke the frozen cream into small chunks, watching to ensure that the custard was freezing before removing it from the machine as soon as she deemed it satisfactory.
Folding in the chunks and the nuts, the mixture was quickly frozen again before being plated into several small bowls, while Badalle then turned her attention to the orchid blooms she'd placed aside. Several of the contestants had included the orchids in the dish itself, but she wanted to try a different approach- one that would surely gain the appreciation of the judges for its creativity, if nothing else. Grabbing the blooms, along with
meringue powder and
sugar, the Fae female set to work. Taking a small cup and filling it with fresh water, Badalle dropped the powder in to dissolve, gathering cups of sugar carefully before taking the orchids and gently placing them upon a small cooking sheet in order to catch any of the excess water. Grabbing a small brush that was placed within the utensil rack closest to her, Badalle carefully dunked it into the mixture of water and meringue, taking care to brush the mixture carefully over the surface of the orchids. The sugar was then carefully sprinkled over the flowers as well, the excess carefully shaken off before a carefully crafted fire charm was added to the blooms in order to dry them and make the mixture set. Gathering them in her claws, Badalle carefully placed three of the flowers each around the different bowls of ice cream, giving the dish a garnish that was just as edible as the rest of it.
"Wow, that looks great, Badalle!" Cordelia exclaimed as she zoomed over, her eyes brightening. "Although...a lot of people had the same idea as us, it seems. Do you think it'll win over the judges?"
"Anything is possible," Badalle said mildly, absent-mindedly shaking the excess sugar off of her claws. "I didn't use the orchids as part of the dish itself, for example, so I'll probably get points for creativity if nothing else. And if it
doesn't work out, it's their own fault for giving us such ridiculous ingredients!"
"Don't be such a downer, Bada," Cordelia groaned, rolling her eyes. "Come on, let's get these plated and to the judges."
The Fae siblings were quick to gather their respective dishes and zoom forward to the judging table, presenting them with a flourish.
"Greenpod Bloom Salad with Fragrant Orchid dressing," said Cordelia, beaming brightly.
"Blue Rose ice cream with Candied Frosted Violets," said Badalle, tossing her head somewhat vainly. "I can assure you that it will surpass your expectations."
(Recipes are based off of ones that I managed to snag online, just modified slightly for Flight Rising purposes! I'm gonna love if Badalle gets put in her place, lmao)
