A Labour of Love II [Solo]
Posted: Thu May 09, 2024 10:25 pm
16 Searing, Year 123
[Closed - Solo]
[Part I]
By the time all of that was finished, the dough was where she needed it to be, and she paused to add three large spoons of dried milk powder and some yeast, beginning to stir and mix it all together. Once the dried ingredients were in, she added three large spoons of the simple syrup that she had prepared the previous day, thickened and cool, and began to add some of the milk, bit by bit. Too much, and the dough would be running. One had to go by texture and touch, and Hilana chose to use her fingers rather than a wooden spoon. The bowl rotated with her free hand as she worked it with the other, adding more milk as necessary until the dough came together in a soft, rounded ball, and she covered it up with a cloth to let it rest before cleaning the dough off of her hands and getting back to the filling.
The dates went onto the larger cutting board, all of them, and she picked up the round-edged knife that had a wooden handle on each end, and began to rock it back and forth over the large cutting board. There was a rhythm to this knife work, especially with something like dates, and while some might have just sat there with a large chef's knife and worked it over and over and over to achieve the texture she needed from the dates, but this way... She could have also have used Elementalism and channelled the wind within the bowl to blend and mix the dried fruit, and she would in time, but for the moment, she would save her aether and give herself a workout. She stopped now and then to use the blade to bring the dates back into the middle of the board, and continued to cut them down until they were nearly a paste, and then they had to be scraped off of the board and back into the mixing bowl. The jar of cinnamon was opened, and she scooped out three larger spoons of cinnamon, sprinkling them over the dates, and used a metal spoon to take three large spoons of clarified butter from the jar, which went into the mixing bowl as well. The toasted sesame seeds, the oils woken up and fragrant, were shaken in, and she added a splash of orange blossom water on a whim. The water would help keep the filling pliable, while adding another strong flavour to the mix. But orange and cinnamon was a lovely flavour combination, and one Hilana had yet to find go wrong on her. She set the oven's temperature with the runeforged control, and let it start heating up.
When she tested the dough with her fingers, it had the pillowy texture she wanted, and she turned it out on the counter to start turning it into smaller balls - six dozen of them - rolling each one out and setting it aside. The filling was also divided the same way, 72 even smaller balls, and she picked up the metal maa'moul mold that would help give the cookies their shape. One end allowed for and quick and easy dent to be made in the dough ball, and the filling was tucked in. The dough was closed around it, and Hilana pressed the ball into the metal mold, stamping the geometric pattern before laying it on the flat baking sheet. There was a peaceful repetition to this process, as she did a total of 18 to one of the large sheets before sliding it into the middle of the now-hot oven.
That way, she could return to filling the next tray. After ten minutes, she moved the tray of cookies from the middle of the oven to the top shelf before returning to the dough balls and making the maa'moul. With another eighteen finished, she was just in time for the first tray to come out and the second tray to go in. The aroma of cookies began to spread out from the Citadel's kitchen, and Hilana returned to forming the maa'moul and laying them on the trays. Once the forming was done, she would prepare the sugar to go on top.
When the golden-brown cookies had cooled down a bit, she used a flat, wide metal spatula to lift the still-hot treats onto a wire rack to let them cool further, and worked on repeating the whole process for a total of four trays of cookies. With them formed and on the trays, Hilana added a scoop of sugar into the heavy stone mortar. Taking up the pestle, she got to work on grinding the crystals down into a fine powder, keeping the motion in her wrist and not just her shoulders. When it felt smooth, she set the pestle aside, using a spoon to sift through and make sure that there were no longer any chunks. She couldn't add the sugar just yet; the cookies were still too hot, even the first tray out of the oven. Dusting them before they were completely cool would lead to the sugar melting, and they'd just become a sticky mess. And that would not do.
She was beginning to clean up her mess from this whole process when the shadows whispered to her that she had company coming. Lia made her way into the kitchen, drawn to the smell of the maa'moul. "Good morning," she greeted Hilana, who beamed at her. "You've been a busy girl. They take the servii days to make in Tertium..."
"They take me days to make, too," her sister admitted, putting the kettle on for tea now that she had company down here. "I've been at them for a few hours now this morning, and I started the dough yesterday. But it's a labour of love. I don't have time to make them very often, and I wanted to make sure Lykos got to try them. He's got a sweet tooth, and these are different."
"Did you even sleep?" Athalia stared at her, sitting down and taking up one of the dates that remained in the jars that Hilana had brought with her, taking a small bite out of it. "You went to bed after we did because you were making notes and reading, and now you've been up for hours. You need to rest too, soror, Wildness or not. You already keep yourself so busy, and you will burn yourself out."
"I slept for a few hours," she assured her. "But then I was up and ready to work on these. It's an easy day at work today, it will be fine. I'm not at all tired." She wasn't, either, Lia could see that Hilana was as she normally was - full of energy and ready to go. Even as she finished her tidying up, stacking the dishes and bowls near the sink for the servii to take care of. She poured tea for her sister, bringing her the cup before she poured her own, and finally sat down. "You want one?" she asked slyly, indicating the golden-brown, patterned cookies.
"Eat dessert first, as you sometimes say," Lia admitted, reaching for one.
"Ahh," Hilana waved her hands off, already back on her feet and grabbing a small plate, adding four cookies to it before putting some of the powdered sugar in a fine wire mesh sieve. She tapped the side of it with her fingers, letting it shower over the confections, and set the sieve aside. "There. Now they're ready." The plate was presented to Athalia, who turned it just a bit to admire the cookies before picking one once Hilana sat back down. When she bit into it, she made an approving sound.
"I know Father would die if you decided to be a baker, but you're really quite good at it," she told her. "I'm sure he would back you in a bakery if you asked him to. If you ever marry, your husband will be a lucky man." There was some admissions there that Lia was coming to terms with, and that was in Hilana's determination to have some say in who she was married to... if not choose for herself. That was unheard of in their family, but if someone would, it was going to be her stubborn little sister.
"Too many strings, taking his money," Hilana shook her head, selecting her own cookie and having a bite. She could taste the dough, taste the date, cinnamon, and the orange. Nothing was unbalanced; the orange blossom water gave it a little bit of oomph that helped the cinnamon cut through the richness of the cookie. "But that's a lot of competition, and I'd rather it remain a hobby that I can share with my friends rather than trying to monetize it. Between the jobs that I have, and alchemy... Sure, the money is nice and always welcome, but we'll make it work when the time comes. I don't like asking him for things, Lia. It's complicated. You know how he is, and how he uses money as a means of control. I'm not giving him that so easily, not after everything."
"You're right," Lia admitted. "But we'll make it work, as you said. I can do a few things, you can do what you do, Lykos has his frostrylyths..."
"I need to see what I can do about finding his home, too. He's always welcome here... but I want to see if we can't find his pack. Arvaelyn Princeps said his accent was Kalzasern, so that means going north. Very far north. But Finn has promised to take me before, so I'm sure I can bribe him somehow." Hilana had another bite of the maa'moul. "We'll figure it out. Somehow."
[Permission for the second thread obtained here.]
[Closed - Solo]
[Part I]
By the time all of that was finished, the dough was where she needed it to be, and she paused to add three large spoons of dried milk powder and some yeast, beginning to stir and mix it all together. Once the dried ingredients were in, she added three large spoons of the simple syrup that she had prepared the previous day, thickened and cool, and began to add some of the milk, bit by bit. Too much, and the dough would be running. One had to go by texture and touch, and Hilana chose to use her fingers rather than a wooden spoon. The bowl rotated with her free hand as she worked it with the other, adding more milk as necessary until the dough came together in a soft, rounded ball, and she covered it up with a cloth to let it rest before cleaning the dough off of her hands and getting back to the filling.
The dates went onto the larger cutting board, all of them, and she picked up the round-edged knife that had a wooden handle on each end, and began to rock it back and forth over the large cutting board. There was a rhythm to this knife work, especially with something like dates, and while some might have just sat there with a large chef's knife and worked it over and over and over to achieve the texture she needed from the dates, but this way... She could have also have used Elementalism and channelled the wind within the bowl to blend and mix the dried fruit, and she would in time, but for the moment, she would save her aether and give herself a workout. She stopped now and then to use the blade to bring the dates back into the middle of the board, and continued to cut them down until they were nearly a paste, and then they had to be scraped off of the board and back into the mixing bowl. The jar of cinnamon was opened, and she scooped out three larger spoons of cinnamon, sprinkling them over the dates, and used a metal spoon to take three large spoons of clarified butter from the jar, which went into the mixing bowl as well. The toasted sesame seeds, the oils woken up and fragrant, were shaken in, and she added a splash of orange blossom water on a whim. The water would help keep the filling pliable, while adding another strong flavour to the mix. But orange and cinnamon was a lovely flavour combination, and one Hilana had yet to find go wrong on her. She set the oven's temperature with the runeforged control, and let it start heating up.
When she tested the dough with her fingers, it had the pillowy texture she wanted, and she turned it out on the counter to start turning it into smaller balls - six dozen of them - rolling each one out and setting it aside. The filling was also divided the same way, 72 even smaller balls, and she picked up the metal maa'moul mold that would help give the cookies their shape. One end allowed for and quick and easy dent to be made in the dough ball, and the filling was tucked in. The dough was closed around it, and Hilana pressed the ball into the metal mold, stamping the geometric pattern before laying it on the flat baking sheet. There was a peaceful repetition to this process, as she did a total of 18 to one of the large sheets before sliding it into the middle of the now-hot oven.
That way, she could return to filling the next tray. After ten minutes, she moved the tray of cookies from the middle of the oven to the top shelf before returning to the dough balls and making the maa'moul. With another eighteen finished, she was just in time for the first tray to come out and the second tray to go in. The aroma of cookies began to spread out from the Citadel's kitchen, and Hilana returned to forming the maa'moul and laying them on the trays. Once the forming was done, she would prepare the sugar to go on top.
When the golden-brown cookies had cooled down a bit, she used a flat, wide metal spatula to lift the still-hot treats onto a wire rack to let them cool further, and worked on repeating the whole process for a total of four trays of cookies. With them formed and on the trays, Hilana added a scoop of sugar into the heavy stone mortar. Taking up the pestle, she got to work on grinding the crystals down into a fine powder, keeping the motion in her wrist and not just her shoulders. When it felt smooth, she set the pestle aside, using a spoon to sift through and make sure that there were no longer any chunks. She couldn't add the sugar just yet; the cookies were still too hot, even the first tray out of the oven. Dusting them before they were completely cool would lead to the sugar melting, and they'd just become a sticky mess. And that would not do.
She was beginning to clean up her mess from this whole process when the shadows whispered to her that she had company coming. Lia made her way into the kitchen, drawn to the smell of the maa'moul. "Good morning," she greeted Hilana, who beamed at her. "You've been a busy girl. They take the servii days to make in Tertium..."
"They take me days to make, too," her sister admitted, putting the kettle on for tea now that she had company down here. "I've been at them for a few hours now this morning, and I started the dough yesterday. But it's a labour of love. I don't have time to make them very often, and I wanted to make sure Lykos got to try them. He's got a sweet tooth, and these are different."
"Did you even sleep?" Athalia stared at her, sitting down and taking up one of the dates that remained in the jars that Hilana had brought with her, taking a small bite out of it. "You went to bed after we did because you were making notes and reading, and now you've been up for hours. You need to rest too, soror, Wildness or not. You already keep yourself so busy, and you will burn yourself out."
"I slept for a few hours," she assured her. "But then I was up and ready to work on these. It's an easy day at work today, it will be fine. I'm not at all tired." She wasn't, either, Lia could see that Hilana was as she normally was - full of energy and ready to go. Even as she finished her tidying up, stacking the dishes and bowls near the sink for the servii to take care of. She poured tea for her sister, bringing her the cup before she poured her own, and finally sat down. "You want one?" she asked slyly, indicating the golden-brown, patterned cookies.
"Eat dessert first, as you sometimes say," Lia admitted, reaching for one.
"Ahh," Hilana waved her hands off, already back on her feet and grabbing a small plate, adding four cookies to it before putting some of the powdered sugar in a fine wire mesh sieve. She tapped the side of it with her fingers, letting it shower over the confections, and set the sieve aside. "There. Now they're ready." The plate was presented to Athalia, who turned it just a bit to admire the cookies before picking one once Hilana sat back down. When she bit into it, she made an approving sound.
"I know Father would die if you decided to be a baker, but you're really quite good at it," she told her. "I'm sure he would back you in a bakery if you asked him to. If you ever marry, your husband will be a lucky man." There was some admissions there that Lia was coming to terms with, and that was in Hilana's determination to have some say in who she was married to... if not choose for herself. That was unheard of in their family, but if someone would, it was going to be her stubborn little sister.
"Too many strings, taking his money," Hilana shook her head, selecting her own cookie and having a bite. She could taste the dough, taste the date, cinnamon, and the orange. Nothing was unbalanced; the orange blossom water gave it a little bit of oomph that helped the cinnamon cut through the richness of the cookie. "But that's a lot of competition, and I'd rather it remain a hobby that I can share with my friends rather than trying to monetize it. Between the jobs that I have, and alchemy... Sure, the money is nice and always welcome, but we'll make it work when the time comes. I don't like asking him for things, Lia. It's complicated. You know how he is, and how he uses money as a means of control. I'm not giving him that so easily, not after everything."
"You're right," Lia admitted. "But we'll make it work, as you said. I can do a few things, you can do what you do, Lykos has his frostrylyths..."
"I need to see what I can do about finding his home, too. He's always welcome here... but I want to see if we can't find his pack. Arvaelyn Princeps said his accent was Kalzasern, so that means going north. Very far north. But Finn has promised to take me before, so I'm sure I can bribe him somehow." Hilana had another bite of the maa'moul. "We'll figure it out. Somehow."
[Permission for the second thread obtained here.]
