OOM: Christmas dinner with Pyrrha and Egil

[ostro_goth]

[[Ctd. from here.]]

Teja opens the door, laden as he is.

His usually comfortable, creatively untidy room is still that -- there is even Ferdinand the cat, sprawling all over Teja's bed, fast asleep. There are simply two new doors, one of them leading to a kitchen that provides all the modern comforts and appliances as well as a space to comfortably sit and eat, the other leading to Egil's room in Loki's apartment on the 12th floor.

One better should not think about how that works.

Comments

[ostro_goth]

"I can," Teja says.

The cheese is grated, in any case, and shall remain grated.

[scarred_grin]

"Leave 'em in until they're about as done as these are," she says, gesturing to the ones on the plate. "You can snack on some if you want to. I always end up with extras."

And so, on to seasoning and preparing the meat.

"Do you like cooking?"

[ostro_goth]

"I cannot cook, except what is needed on the road, or on campaign," Teja says. "Fry fish over the fire, dress venison, make stick-bread and the like."

For that, he is handling the plantains quite well.

[scarred_grin]

"I can teach you some stuff, if you want," she says. "Nothing complicated, just... you know, if we're off in Italy and you need to cook dinner for yourself and Egil or something. Say I've been called away to some top-secret international spy conference or something, and I took your bike so you can't drive into town and go to a restaurant."

[ostro_goth]

Teja nods. "I could live on bread and cured meat," he says, "but Egil must have food proper for him that he would eat, so he must not get hungry. I wonder if he would eat moretum?"

[scarred_grin]

"We can try," she says. "They say it's good to give kids new foods--not too many at once, give them time to get used to things. But if kids grow up with all kinds of foods, they won't be picky later. He eats a lot of fruits and vegetables, and some meats and grains and things. It has to be things he doesn't really need to chew much, or things you cut up really small for him."

[ostro_goth]

"Moretum is creamed cheese, with herbs in," Teja says. "He can eat that, maybe dipped in tiny bits of soft bread."

[scarred_grin]

"Oh, yeah," she says. "Or if you can kinda spread it on little bits of bread--I make him French toast sometimes, sliced thin, cooked soft, cut up really small and spread with jam or fruit syrup or something. I mean, it's messy, he gets pretty sticky, but he likes it."

[ostro_goth]

"He might like it that way, indeed," Teja says, feeling oddly glad he might have something to contribute to feeding Egil.

[scarred_grin]

"I guess we know what he's doing tomorrow for lunch," she says with a grin. "He likes being able to feed himself, but he's not really good with spoons yet, so I like to give him things he can pick up. And things he can eat with spoons that aren't going to be really messy if he misses. He's got a real independent streak--he wants to be the one in charge when he's eating. He doesn't want to sit there while we stick spoons in his face."

[ostro_goth]

"As a fox, he can eat what he wishes, also," Teja says. "He learns independence much earlier, in his other shape."

He is frying plantains, quite correctly.

[scarred_grin]

"He likes to do things for himself, but he likes to have people there just in case," she says. "If you want to give him a treat, though..."

She lowers her voice to a whisper.

"We have ice cream, and then bathtime. He gets to practice using spoons, and he gets cleaned up again right afterward."

[ostro_goth]

"That shall make him happy," Teja agrees, remembering the last bathtime with Egil.

[scarred_grin]

"It's his favorite dessert," she says. "Anything cold, really, but especially that one. We do sorbets sometimes too. He doesn't know that word yet. Oh, and pudding. He doesn't get desserts every day, though--usually just fruit. He likes berries."

In fox shape, too.

[ostro_goth]

"There is an art and science to feeding a child so he will grow well and like different things, which in turn allows him to live here and there at will," Teja nods.

[scarred_grin]

"When I was a kid, we didn't have a choice," she says. "We ate what we were given, or we were punished. You're getting oatmeal again and you don't look excited about it? You get punished. I'm not gonna be like that--I mean, everybody has foods they don't like. But you don't know you won't like it until you try it."

Egil seems to have liked everything he's been given so far, but given his parents... that's not surprising.

[ostro_goth]

"Try everything once," Teja nods.

[scarred_grin]

"He makes a weird face if you eat pickles around him--it's kind of a strong scent, I guess--but I've never tried to feed him any, and he's never reached for them. Pickles aren't really a baby food anyway."

It's probably the vinegar.

[ostro_goth]

"Indeed," Teja says, "they are sour, and surely not pleasing to those not used to the taste. Are the plantains right this way?"

[scarred_grin]

"I like pickles--I never order any, but if I get a pickle slice with a sandwich, I always eat 'em," she says.

"Those look good. You just take 'em out, put 'em on the plate there, and put another batch in."

The stove area's a bit crowded now, as she transfers the meat to a pan and starts cooking it.

[ostro_goth]

He does as told, and finds himself pleased at being useful.

Ferdinand is still happy being petting and ruffled by little Egil.

[scarred_grin]

"This is one of Andi's recipes," she says as she stirs the meat. "It's like lasagna--you've had that, right? Living in Italy and all--but with the plantains instead of the noodles. We cook these, we layer them, and then we bake 'em for a bit to set everything."

So it's not all mysterious how things are going to go.

[ostro_goth]

"We did not have noodles in my time," Teja says, "but I have had lasagna, in Vinci, when I ate at an inn."

[scarred_grin]

"Good," she says. "'Cause if you hadn't had any, I'd have to make some for you tomorrow, and that might be a bit repetitive after having this today."

Even if they're fairly different dishes.

"I hope you like this. I know the... the flavor profile's probably different from what you're used to."

[ostro_goth]

"The things I am used to are simple, and surely have no flavour profiles at all," Teja says. "So I shall gladly try whichever ones you choose to make."