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 Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 8:49 pm
It took her forever to figure out that Sizzling Paradise was a cooking store and not um... like... some weird boutique version of V.I.P or something. Didn't make her feel any less juvenal that she was trying to smother snickers as she walked into the store, really half expecting to find questionable marketing displays around the store. Really they could have played with the name of the store for marketing purposes a lot.... she was almost sad to see that to not be the case.
Sizzling Paradise was definitely a more upscale store, even with its homely displays and collections placed around on rustic looking tables and shelves. After a bit of perusing the shelves though, she was fascinated to find the prices weren't that bad. Which wasn't all that great since it just left Cassie looking between numerous shiny appliances that were decently priced, a few cookbooks talking about rustic meals--that were supposedly easy to make--and a growing collection of spice mixes that probably had no place in a beginner cook's shopping basket.
Like. Actual basket. They really went all out for this homely look.
Purse bouncing lightly against her hip as she shifted her weight foot to foot, her lips were pressed thin as she looked through the pages of yet another cookbook. This one championing some fancy chopping system that they just happened to have right on display next to the book. She turned her amber gaze up to the fancy spinners and shiny surfaces and gulped. "Yeah but what's a newbie to do with that..? Oh--" Her question was answered--sort of?--when she looked and found a Ninja for Beginners section of the book, complete with what looked to be easy recipes. "...ok that's good, but what about for a newbie on a budget..?"
No answer magically appeared to her on that one, and she sighed, eyeing the system again with a calculating gaze, debating how much damage it would do to her wallet...
Kyuseisha no Hikari Plz save her from appliance insanity.
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:09 pm
Evan had his usual stores to shop in, and Sizzling Paradise was not one he was proud of. It wasn't a bad store, but he had gone to sex shops with less lewd names. Not that he was going to admit to that. Ever.
But he wasn't here for anything fancy—unless you counted a very specific spatula that you could only find here.
He had it in his hand and was holding the handle in one hand, smacking the back of it into the open palm of his other hand. He hadn't intended to stop by the cookbook section; he knew how to cook, so he didn't need recipes telling him things he already knew.
…But, for as arrogant as he was about his cooking, everyone had to start somewhere—and you never knew where inspiration was going to hit. So, he'd meandered over to see who was coming out with what.
Ordinarily, he would keep to himself, but hen again—ordinarily, people didn't talk to themselves in public.
For a bit, he was quiet, glancing occasionally from cookbooks he hadn't seen before, to the book in her hand, to the machine.
And then he just fidgeted and cleared his throat. He was soft-spoken and somewhat awkward and shifted on his feet but managed to say, not looking at her, "They've got a cheaper model that does the same thing. It's half a quart smaller but it barely makes a difference in the recipes. I mean. Probably." He shrugged and looked away, seeming to shrink a bit more—which hardly made a difference given that he barely stood over five feet tall anyway. "…Hearsay is that the larger model has a problem with the blades coming loose. It's why the warranty for this one is for ninety days and the smaller one's got two years." He chewed on the inside of his cheek and pursed his lips before he just crossed his arms over his chest and glued his eyes to the wall of cookbooks again.
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 5:10 pm
Oops. Didn't mean to say all that that loud. Color stained her cheeks as she peeked above the cookbook at the young man. Still, she listened intently, slowly lowering the book as her head tilted a little. Now and then she looked at the model on display, trying to better visualize what he was saying. Something smaller would likely work a lot better for her... plus if it's cheaper she wouldn't feel so bad getting it... Plus she might have blanched a bit hearing what he said about the blades.
"Jeeze I didn't know any of that," she murmured before flicking a smile on and facing him more directly. "Thanks for that! I've been eyeing one of these for a while, but that smaller model sounds way better... and probably less of a health hazard." Never mind the longer warranty was a much better deal...
Feeling a bit brazen, she tipped her head to try and catch the guy's eye, smile gentle. She didn't want to be rude if he wanted space, but she couldn't help but try and keep the conversation going. "Have you ever used one of them before? Got any tips for a beginner in the kitchen?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2015 11:56 pm
Evan was used to being told to keep quiet, or getting some sarcastic retort. A genuinely interested conversation partner was not his usual conversation partner. He looked up, trying to gauge if she was teasing, and then apparently convinced that she might actually just be talking to him, he seemed to relax a bit.
"I had one. Have, technically, but it's…at my old place. But, uhm. Just…how beginner are we talking? Because…I mean. If we're talking beginner beginner…then the best tip I have is go watch someone cook. Hands on experience is way better than any cookbook will ever teach you. And you can watch videos on YouTube or whatever, but the best place to learn to cook is the kitchen. I mean—if you have no one, the cookbooks or online is a good starting place, but…"
He shrugged. "When you get in the kitchen, it'll be a whole different experience anyway. So the best thing to do is throw yourself into it. Cookbooks are…like downloadable content for a game. But they aren't really helpful if you don't know how to play anyway. Uhm. If that makes sense."
He seemed to be doubting his ability to properly socialize, but glanced at her with a hopeful look.
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Posted: Sun Dec 20, 2015 11:25 am
Old place? She'd been about to inquire when he continued, focusing on her question of where to start. Though she flushed a little, she closed the cookbook and held it against her chest as she listened. Most of what she'd learned about how to cook came from looking up recipes online and watching FoodNetwork, so it wasn't like she could argue with the logic.
"I mean I'm not burning water," she laughed, not sure how to explain her... expertise level. "I'm mostly living off like... pastas, home breaded chicken, insane amount of spices on stuff... But I'm trying to branch out, you know? Or well... as much as someone can on a college budget." She bit her lip a little as she looked down at the cookbook in her arms, setting it back with a small wince. "Definitely not at that point then. Still have to get through the main story first before I can think about downloadable content."
Looking back to the young man, she smiled a bit sheepishly. "I guess I can look into classes or something. I don't really want to go back to my parents' house all the time to get help from them in the kitchen, but I do like the idea of watching people cook to learn."
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 12:04 am
Evan hesitated when she put the book down; his goal wasn't to disappoint her, so he tried to correct the situation quickly. "If you like that one, you should get it. There's no rule on buying cookbooks. And there might be things in there you find that you want to try. And if you have someone you can cook with, maybe they can go over it with you. If you need to, I mean. There's this place—on Acker and Stine? It's got a cooking class, and your first three classes are free. There are a lot of old ladies there who go there just to get out and do something and I swear—they will all try to take you home with them. Not for anything weird, but like."
He shifted on his feet to get more comfortable, and seemed a bit more animated when on the subject. "There's this one lady, Mrs. Kinkaid? Her husband died last year and he kids all moved to other parts of the country. Her sister lives like an hour and a half away but neither of them want to sit in a car for that long. She's like, desperate to bestow her grandmotherly love on you. And she's got this big white up-do and she always wears a little yellow handkerchief, so you can't miss her. If you want someone to give you cooking lessons privately, just stand by her. She makes the best Italian meatballs, so if you like spices and budget, she'd probably love you to come over and cook with her."
He was quiet, assessed what he said, and then looked awkward. "…Sorry if that's too much information. Just. I mean, if you want to cook, you should do whatever works for you. Maybe some people learn better from a cookbook, so…if you want it, you should get it."
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 10:24 am
His swap to try and encourage her to buy the book--or do whatever worked best for her--made her grin, feeling bad that she seemed to be not quite fixing the situation. Before she could really try to reassure him though, he began to talk about a place where she could take lessons. Cassie went silent, listening intently before pulling out her phone and trying to look the place up on Google. The more he talked about it, the more she grinned, finding herself getting excited about the prospects. And first three classes free?
Perfect! And if it worked out... she could ask her parents to help her pay for continued classes...
When he began to apologize, Cassie started to shake her head, hands lifting to wave in the air. "Oh my god no, don't apologize!" Laughing, trying to relieve whatever tension was there, she continued, "I mean, to be fair for the cookbook? I could just look stuff up online too, y'know? To help me get started and maybe they'd have videos too I could follow along with!" Licking her lips, trying to organize her thoughts a bit, she held out her phone with the Google search results on the screen. "That's the place, right? I want to make sure I got the right one. I mean, seriously? I'm way more a hands-on learner than anything. So these classes sound perfect for me. Least after I get some more learning under my belt, then I can get cookbooks to learn more. But I think you just solved all my problems!"
Holding out her other hand, her smile turned a bit sheepish. "Sorry if this is too forward but, I'm Cassie. Can I ask your name, and could I mention you to whomever I talk to on the phone?" She was aware some places were nicer if you went in on a reference but didn't want to pressure him. "Really I'm so happy you told me about this place. It'll do me a huge world of help."
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Posted: Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:04 am
Evan leaned forward to look at the screen and nodded when he recognized the address. "Yeah, that's the one." He couldn’t help but smile, even if only just a bit at her enthusiasm. He looked at her hand and then took it, giving it a quick shake. "It's not too forward, it's nice to meet you. Go ahead and mention me to whoever is there—my name is Evan. I really hope you like it there—and maybe I'll see you there sometime? I still go," he confessed, and once more looked a mixture of excited and embarrassed.
"I don't…really need the lessons or anything, but it's nice to watch other people cook. I mean, sometimes you learn new things? —Like, a lot of the older women have cooking secrets and tips that you won't find in any cookbook that ever got published. Plus they don't know how to use the internet so you're out of luck there, too," he shrugged. "But it's nice. Super sweet, relaxing place."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Good place to go if you're just kinda lonely, too. Because—I mean it—" he looked her in the eye very seriously. "They will gush and try to take you home and smother you with grandmotherly love."
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:49 pm
Address confirmed, she made sure to save the place so she wouldn't forget it later. And she had a name to the face. "It's nice to meet you, Evan, and yeah, I hope to see you there some time!" Her curiosity again made her have to bite back questions about him--how long had he been cooking? Was there any style in particular he preferred? Why the wording of lonely?
Didn't want to be rude, especially after he'd been so nice to help her out like this. So she shelved the questions, at least for the time being.
A light blush came to her as he caught her eye, laughing as she glanced down. "Not a bad thing. It'd um... be kinda refreshing to have an atmosphere close by. Plus sounds like it'll be a great way to take some stress off the semesters," she added, hoping he didn't get the wrong idea from her words. Kinda sucked when her grandparents lived a ways from the city. Though the idea of learning some fun meals to share with them next time she got to visit was great...
As she put away her phone, Cassie caught sight of the time and flushed, giving him a quick, apologetic grin. "Omigosh... I'm so sorry! I've been babbling so much and taking your time like that." She shoved her phone away, looking at some of the little spice jars she was going to grab anyways from the store. Giving him another apologetic smile, she bowed her head a little. "And now I'm being rude... but I've gotta run. I just need to make a quick purchase and zip. Promised I'd meet someone and I really don't want the guilt trips..." Ok more like Raja's puppy dog eyes were the guilt trips, not anything from Lil. But still.
Taking her leave towards the spice containers to grab a few and make her purchase, she looked back to Evan with a quick wave. "Thanks again! Hope to see you at the lessons!" It would be pretty awesome to see someone familiar in a new place like this...
Biting back the unease of if she didn't see anyone familiar, she made her purchase and left the store, trying to focus on the bright side of it all. Actual cooking lessons.
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