amber

[blood_and_thunder]

 ... I was wondering... This might be a silly question, but as some of us are still learning how to adapt to this size...

... Do you think it's possible to bake things here? Like desserts? Back home, it was one of the few things I was good at, and... I enjoyed it.

But, well, it'd be a little more difficult here. After all, we can't simply go out and buy flour, and eggs are almost as big as we are. So I guess what I'm asking for is for suggestions... or if I should give this idea up.

Comments

amber;

[hakanai]

[Yoshitsugu sounds rather tired and perhaps a little distant when he replies, and for good reason. Adventuring takes it out of you!]

The sensible choice would be to give it up, but that's not what you want to do, is it?

[Though it can't be seen, he yawns just loudly enough to be heard.]

I suspect hearing the word 'dessert' will rouse countless souls into coming to your assistance anyway.

amber;

[blood_and_thunder]

I figured I might as well give it a try. It couldn't hurt.

... Are you all right?

amber;

[hakanai]

Merely tired.

[By the time this quest is done he's going to be deeply exhausted, honestly.]

My body does not have the stamina for long days, but this journey has required it. I wouldn't be concerned.

amber;

[blood_and_thunder]

Well, I am. You should be resting, maybe catching up on some sleep.

amber;

[hakanai]

I will be doing plenty of that when I return.

[He's been getting all the sleep he can on their travels for sure, but having a purpose has felt good even for someone as relaxed as Yoshitsugu is.]

As it happens, I fully intend to sleep a full day when we return to the tree.

amber;

[blood_and_thunder]

That's good... the last thing we need is you getting ill.

... If someone like you can get ill.

[What is a ghost's medical history...???]

[circleprodigy]

[Ah, desserts. Her expression is slightly wistful, though she doesn't dare raise hope too much.]

I wish I could say regarding baking, though I wouldn't underestimate the ingenuity of other tree-dwellers. If there's a way, they will find it.

As for ingredients, I can promise nothing...but should I and the other travelers have an opportunity to return with any from beyond, you will hear of it.

[blood_and_thunder]

... Thank you. If I'm ever able to make something, I'll let you have the first bite.

[A rare smile!]

[circleprodigy]

[Aw, so sweet. Ivaera smiles back, one of her rare unguarded smiles.]

I won't say no to that. Thank you--

[And there's sudden barking near her, thanks to Garahel just out of view.]

Oh, no. You get enough treats, as it is. No begging for you until others have their fair share.

[blood_and_thunder]

[She's a bit startled-]

O-Oh, well... I've never made one for dogs before, but... maybe I could give that a try?

[circleprodigy]

[Sighing, she reaches down to pet and calm her mabari companion.]

There is a recipe I've been using for him, consisting of baked elfroot and deep mushrooms. It might need a little altering here, but it's not difficult to manage. I can show you at some point, though truly, you don't need to make it a priority.

[evantuality]

I think the physics of baking would be fairly different at this size. On the one hand we can probably grind flour quite a bit finer than we'd be able to at our natural sizes -- I mean, assuming you and I probably scale up to the same size. And assuming you want to put in the work to grind flour. Do we even have grain here to grind?

[The young man who's appeared on the amber slice sounds quite pleased to be posed the question. Aware that he's getting off-topic, Evan shakes his head and goes on.]

On the other hand, anything leavened relies on chemistry and chemistry doesn't really scale the same way. I would suspect that anything you'd use baking soda or yeast in wouldn't scale very well. The air bubbles would get too big, the consistency would probably be all wrong.

You might get away with custards, or -- I don't know, some sort of crumble?

In any case if you end up giving it a try, let me know. I would love to observe. The chemistry is probably fascinating, and I'm very curious to see how things like baking pan out at this size.

[He seems unaware of the pun he's just made.]

[blood_and_thunder]

... Heh heh.

[That's the most the accidental pun gets out of her.]

Custards and crumbles would still be something, at least. I don't mind extra effort, or extra hard work... I like making things with my hands. It gives me a real sense of accomplishment.

[evantuality]

Not to mention you get to eat the spoils of all your efforts, right? [He's gone from analytical to humorous, because of course too much dessert is every cook's dream, right?] Although I imagine the amount of custard you'd have to commit to in order to use up an entire egg would be prodigious.

[blood_and_thunder]

I'd be more than happy to share with everyone. There's a big sense of satisfaction when you see other people enjoying something you spent time and effort on.

[evantuality]

I'd think there'd be something satisfying about eating it, too.

[There's humor in his voice, albeit ill-timed.]

Well, let me know if you ever decide to give it a try.

[hairsay]

[The awkwardly intense dark-haired human is on the slice again, but this time at least her face is mostly clean. She seems almost startled by the appearance of Noire in her slice, but she rallies admirably. Wrenching a single crimson globule from what must be a cluster of them, she tosses it up and down in the slice's field of view.]

No need for desserts when you got shit like this. You seen this patch of massive raspberries?

[blood_and_thunder]

I'm not saying the stuff we have isn't delicious, but... I like making desserts. I like making things with my own two hands. It makes me feel good about myself.

[hairsay]

I like digging scrap out of a junk yard and making it into shit that actually works again, but you don't hear me shitting the bed.

[To be fair, she has not been hear more than a few days, and to be even more fair, there would very likely have been a time that she broke down and asked others if it was possible to sate her first and closest hobby, too... but Jolene's feeling bitter about having just been yanked unceremoniously from her life, and she's exceedingly grouchy over her recently acquired injuries.

It's an unfortunate combination.]

If you haven't figured out how to do it yet, why don't you take some steps and get your hands dirty? I hear birds up there. Go kick them off their nests and see if there's any eggs. You probably only need about a single grain of barley, go dig around for some. I don't know what the hell you'd use for butter but I'm pretty sure I saw mammals around here.

Ugh... rat milk.

[Rambling or not, she feels her point still stands.]

[blood_and_thunder]

[She bites her lip. Don't let the 'bad Noire' come out, don't do it, don't do it...]

I suppose I will have to use unconventional methods in order to get things done. But as for the birds... I'd like to find a way to use unfertilized eggs, if those are even around here. There's no need to kill an innocent life to just to make some sweets.

[hairsay]

[Jolene stares at the screen for a few moments, then narrows her eyes.]

Lady, we're a little under ten centimeters tall. Unless you find a humming bird, you're probably gonna be using that egg for a lot more than sweets. That sounds like a group project to me. Fry some, boil some, that sort of shit.

[Honestly, the idea of wasting an egg in sugary flour sounds criminal to her, when it could just as easily be used as a nice side to bacon or sausages...

But if baked goods are a stretch, Jo imagines that either of the latter are going to be monumental. Rat bacon sounds even worse than rat milk, judging by the face she's pulling.]

amber

[monster_san]

[Baking! Noire is quite different than the other baker Fuu knows, but it's definitely something worth encouraging.]

You know, if we could find some tinfoil and a piece of glass, or other transparent material, we might be able to construct a solar oven. I'm sure having cakes and tarts would keep everybody's spirits up.

amber

[blood_and_thunder]

[Who would'a thought, right?]

Oh... those are really good ideas! Your mind really is something else.

amber

[monster_san]

I suspect my time is also something else. [Solar ovens are either a throwback or futuristic, depending on one's point of view...] We also have the mortar and pestles for Orcelito-san's paper. If we can find some plant to substitute for wheat, maybe we can make our own flour.

amber

[blood_and_thunder]

I'm sure we can find something. I find it hard to believe we've already explored every single place here.