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 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2020 2:08 pm
It was a cool morning on the island with the slightest of autumn breezes keeping the sun's heat away. Between the clear skies and the cool air it was a perfect day for baking. As promised Shikoba had taken the berries that she had gathered with Qila and prepared them to make some sweets. The berries were sticky but delicious, something that Shikoba had to make certain of when she popped two or three more into her mouth for testing purposes. She had already worked hard to prepare the dough and had it resting along the wooden table outside of her hut next to the bowl of berries and the wooden roller. Some extra flour dusted the table and there were still hints of seasonings about, mostly some spices and a lot of sugar which she had kept in little ceramic jars next to the preparation area. A lot of work had gone into preparing everything earlier this morning and Shikoba's flour covered arms and tied back dreads attested to her efforts.
Nearby was a pile of wood and a firepit that Shikoba had dug into the ground months ago. It was the perfect size for setting down the portable iron oven that she had for baking. After all, she preferred baking outside and it was easy enough to place biscuits and other things such as today's pie inside with a lid to cover it for even heating. "Perhaps a pie will be best today." Mused Shikoba with a small grin as she started cutting out the strips of dough that they could use to cover the top of the pie once they were ready. Now to just wait for the little helper to appear...
[1/7]
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Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 3:57 pm
She'd had to wait for her mother to wake up before she could leave the house or go too far away. Qila had been annoyed by the time her mother had decided to roll out of bed. Even more so when the Elaria had insisted upon Qila being bathed and her hair pulled up. She tried to insist that it was fine down but her mother wanted it pulled back and out of her face. After everything was said and done Qila had booked it, taking off in a run for the cliffs that Shikoba had pointed out to her the day before. A stick in one hand served as her hatchet to cut back any foliage she had to go through since she decided to forgo the actual path. She was in too much of a hurry to be conventional, and the twists and turns took too long. The little warrior had gone for the straight and to the point path, even if it went through bushes. By the time she reached Shikoba's place she was out of breath and had a few twigs and leaves stuck in her dreads, along with a lone bead in her bangs. Through huffs she grinned. "I'm here~!" Her little voice declared.
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Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2020 7:11 pm
Oh my... It seemed that someone had ventured away from the path on their hike towards Shikoba's home. The Elaria could only shake her head in amusement at the little Elidae before moving forward to greet her with a smile. "So I see. I hope you got here okay, Qila." Shikoba bent down slightly so that she could pluck a few of the twigs and leaves from the younglings' dreads. "It looks like you were busy gathering a few unique beads of your own." She teased lightly as she recalled how the youngling had enjoyed the assortment of accessories that Shikoba constantly kept in her dreads. Today's beads were mostly vividly colored wooden ones with just a few metal ones to make a faint chiming noise whenever she moved. They were easier to tie into her hair, especially when she had only quickly pulled it back before preparing the outdoor baking area.
Tall trees arched above her little clearing and Shikoba gestured towards the wooden table with all of the goodies. "I thought maybe we could make a pie but if you would like we can try to make some little tarts with the extra ingredients afterwards. " It was a beautiful day for baking and Shikoba was fine with making as much as possible so that Qila could share the treats with any of the other Sisters throughout the encampment.
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2020 6:26 pm
She looked up at Shikoba as the Elaria came closer and picked twigs and leaves from her hair. She grinned a little and gave a small chuckle as sheepishly as possible. "I didn't want to be too late." Qila had felt bad about being as late as she was. When it was mentioned that they could make a pie she perked up. Pie sounded good. "Can we please make tarts after? Those are my favorites." Qila liked pie but tarts were better. They were smaller and had just the right flavor. Tilting her head back she beamed a smile up at Shikoba. "I can't wait!" Hands clapped together once in front of her as she waited with wide eyes for the go ahead to get started.
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Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2020 7:39 am
"Ah." Shikoba gave Qila a small grin, "Well no worries, you definitely made it before the pie decided to walk away." She shook her head playfully as she teased the youngling. "A few moments later and then we would have had to hunt it down!" The Elaria picked one last leaf from the Elidae's dreads before moving so that she could pick up the pie dish from the table, a round ceramic dish that she had personally made herself.
"Sure! We should have plenty so you can take a lot of tarts back with you." Replied Shikoba with a nod before gesturing for Qila to join her at the table. "We just need to roll out the dough some more and then we can put the pie together. Would you mind mixing the berries?" There was a bowl next to her and it had the various wild berries they had gathered inside. "You'll need to mix it in with the mixture I prepared..." Her words trailing off, Shikoba glanced towards a smaller fire that she had going. "Oops!" The Elaria actually flushed slightly before holding up one hand. "I'll be right back, Qila." Darting over she grabbed at a towel and snagged a smaller iron pot that had been hanging above the fire. Opening the pot revealed some of the blueberries that she had already smashed into a mixture with some honey and other spices. It bubbled angrily in protest but thankfully Shikoba rescued it in time to stop any of the berry mixture from burning. Carrying it carefully to the table, Shikoba poured the mixture into a separate bowl so that it would cool and stirred it with a wooden spoon. Once that was done she carefully took the hot pot back towards the second fire and left it on a rock to cool. When she returned she wiped her hands against her leggings and smiled towards Qila. "Now all you'll have to do is take the berries we have and carefully mix them together with this mixture for the pie. Once we put the filling inside we can just layer the dough however we want on top and put it in to bake."
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2020 6:32 pm
She laughed as Shikoba joked about the pie walking away. "If it tries I'll eat it!" Qila declared with a nod. As it was explained that she needed to mix the berries she started to nod her head again, this time in understanding but when the Elaria said 'oops' she stopped and blinked. Oops what? She watched curiously as Shikoba went to save the mixture from the fire. When the lid was lifted she stood on tip toes and leaned slightly so that she could be nosy and see what it was. She took note of the bubbles first then the smell. Berries. Hot berries. "Mmmm. Smells good." She followed her friend over to the bowl and waited until the hot concoction was poured out. Qila waited for instructions then willingly grabbed a spoon ready to mix. "You got it!" Once given the go ahead she'd get right to it though she was careful not to spill any.
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Posted: Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:39 am
Shikoba grinned at the youngling's enthusiasm. "Good to know! The pie will never know what hit it." She teased before focusing again on the task at hand. It looked like everything was ready....The Elaria pursed her lips thoughtfully before giving a nod and gesturing towards Qila. "Go ahead and mix." She instructed as she gestured towards their little baking station. While Qila would mix, Shikoba was working on the dough a final time to make certain that there were no random lumps or anything before she put it into the dish. Shikoba picked up the wooden roller from the table and started to press it against the dough, a faint humming coming from her lips while she worked.
Soon enough they would have a delicious pie and even some tarts! Hopefully they should turn out pretty good. She had some experience back on Yael and the berries here were somewhat reminiscent of ones she had eaten before on the other island. She could add some of that amber honey that she had gathered from the bees for more sweetness against the tart taste of the berries as well. It'll definitely be a good treat on a cool day like this. Shikoba grinned at the thought before peeking over to check on Qila. "How's the mixing going? Almost there?"
[4/7]
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 7:42 am
She didn't seem to pay much attention to Shikoba once she got to mixing the berries. That was her job and she was all in! Qila put all her effort into the mixing, even going so far as to have her tongue stick out just a little as she stirred. When the Elaria started to hum Qila joined her without thinking but her tune didn't quite match. When she heard the question directed at her she blinked, stared at the bowl, then looked up at Shikoba with a large grin. "I think I got it all mixed up." Her head gave a nod to affirm this. "Yep." Again her little chest was pushed out with pride as she was sure she'd done her job. "It's alllllll ready."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:42 pm
Shikoba could only smile as Qila started humming as well. Even if the little one was slightly off tune it wasn't a big deal to the Elaria as she finished up with the dough. Once Qila confirmed that everything was ready Shikoba moved so that she could make certain that the base of the pie was properly placed in the ceramic dish. Once that was done she moved closer to Qila and inspected the berry mixture. It smelled tangy and sweet with the slightest hint of citrus thanks to the juices that she had added when boiling the berries. "Smells and looks good to me! " She gestured towards the dish, "Do you think you can pour in the berries? Once we do that we can design the top however you'd like." They could just put strips of dough across the top or even make shapes to cover it. She was curious as to what Qila would like to do and was surprisingly patient with the youngling, a rare thing for Shikoba.
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:43 pm
Heras By Discord:
She waited and watched as Shikoba checked on the bottom crust then came back to look in the bowl of mixed berries. As she said it looked good to her she gave a nod of her head yet again. "Told ya!" She sounded so sure of herself. Her green eyes went toward the pie dish then to her bowl of mixed berries. Another nod and she reached out with both hands to grab the bowl and lift it up. "Hup! Here we go." She moved carefully over to the pie and slowly tipped her berry mixture out into the center, covering the bottom curst of the pie as best as she could though it looked like one side had more on it than the other. Qila gave a bit of a cheeky grin as she looked up at the Elaria. "This is my side."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:43 pm
Shikoba let out a laugh at the declaration, "If you say so." She replied with a shake of her head. How cheeky indeed! Her lips curved upwards into a playful grin at the thought. "We may have to give the pie a slight shake for good luck so that it bakes well." She teased before wiggling the dish a bit, the contents moving ever so slightly to be a teeny bit more balanced than before. Setting the dish back on the table Shikoba grabbed a knife and cut through some of the dough that she had set aside. "What do you think we should do? I can cut some flowers or we can just do a pattern with lines if you'd like for the top."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:43 pm
Heras by Discord:
A shake for luck? Qila watched her then frowned. "Was that enough luck?" She was of a mind to shake it a bit more to make sure it was the luckiest pie around. But Shikoba seemed to be satisfied with it so she had to believe it was fine. She set the bowl down to the side then moved over close to watch as the other dough was cut. Of course the idea of flowers made her perk up. "Flowers! I want flowers. Esena's flowers." Both hands lifted up into the air excitedly and she gave a small bounce on her heels.
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:44 pm
"Esena's flowers it is." Shikoba nodded before studying the dough thoughtfully. Taking a moment she visualized the flowers before lightly cutting an outline in the dough. She made at least six large blooms, some closed with others blooming, and added a few swirly lines of dough just for connecting them all together. A small smile crossed her lips as she stepped back to study her work. "Hopefully those work for you, Qila." She teased before taking the swirling almost vine like pieces and arranging them on top of the berry mixture. "Once you place the flowers around the top we can use the leftovers to make some small tarts to bake with the pie." Then they could just find other ways to pass the morning or Qila could come back in the afternoon to see their creation. Shikoba knew that she was definitely eager to see the finished product and even more excited to try a bite when the time came. At least they were almost done for now and with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of their morning. The Elaria glanced at the sky to check the sun's position before looking back to Qila with a grin. "I hope you know that if this comes out really good I'll have to get your help more often from now on."
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:44 pm
Heras by Discord
She watched with eager, wide eyes. Qila was impressed at the flowers taking shape before her eyes. When they were done and Shikoba stepped back to inspect them she nodded her head. "They look almost like I should expect a sister to pop out!" She giggled and looked up at the Elaria. As the dough was moved over to cover the pie she pranced out of the way but kept close to watch. Once it was in place she made sure the flowers were put in the right spots. "If its really good we can't tell my mom, she'll make me cook with her all the time." Which would cut into her play time!
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Posted: Thu Dec 03, 2020 6:44 pm
Shikoba chuckled. "Okay I promise not to tell." She patted Qila's shoulder before moving the pie to the side so that they could focus on making the tarts. Once those were quickly finished then they would bake their treats and hopefully enjoy them soon enough! Shikoba found herself grinning at the thought as she started pulling things together to help Qila with the tarts. Who knew baking could be so amusing? Shikoba definitely had enjoyed her morning so far and could only hope that the rest of the day would continue being so delightful.
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