[Solo] A Fox in the Kitchen

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More times than the petite Sorcerer could count would be the approximate amount of times she had promised or planned to cook this or that for someone. Rarely, though, did the promise ever come to fruition and she was actually able to whip up a meal of any type for anyone. She did on occasion cook for herself but she was still pretty self conscious about the results. But! Today was to be different. She didn't have a specific person in mind that she was cooking for but she knew if she was to ever fulfill her various promises of snacks, treats and meals, she needed to practice. To that end, she had arranged with her guild leader, Hiro, for a time when she could have full access to the Apocrypha kitchen. After discussing it over with him, they had worked out a time when it was least likely anyone would be in the guild house, which happened to be the Buckingham Palace. That promised time happened to be this afternoon, which was just a few hours off from now. Her level and skill in the Chef subclass was embarrassingly low, so she intended to start simple – sandwiches. She wasn't quite confident enough to bake her own bread so, for now, that would be purchased from the market along with the other ingredients she had in mind.

Which was what brought her to the shopping plaza now. She needed the proper ingredients before she would be able to make anything. Since she wanted food with flavor, she needed to actually cook what she wanted without relying on the system menu. Artemisia glanced down at her small shopping list, her green eyes scanning over it once more to mentally check to make sure she had everything she needed to. She wondered if “small” was exactly the way to describe the list, as it contained more items than one would expect. She didn't want to use anything that might be stocked in her guilds kitchen so she was planning to get everything she needed to do this properly. But, first she would start with the bread she needed. A sandwich simply couldn't exist without a delicious, sliced bread to hold it all together, after all. With this in mind, she tucked away the paper list and stepped into the small bakery she typically frequented to quell her sweet tooth. She was greeted by the shop owner and she smiled politely as she made her over to the wall of baked dough. The smell was amazing and comforting, as if she had just walked into an old grandmother's kitchen. It was extremely difficult for her not to venture over to the sweets but she stayed focused. Her blonde hair bounced around her frame as she moved, inspecting the different breads she could choose from. After a few minutes of debate, she selected a few simple loaves of basic white bread and exchanged the necessary gold with the owner. Tucking those away in her inventory, she exited the store and continued on.

She made equally brief but bountiful stops at the meat stall, cheese stand, produce distributor and spice dealer. One last stop at the general supplies and she had everything she needed to head on to the Palace to see if she could successfully put this together. The sandwich, at least, involved no cooking what-so-ever so she was pretty confident in that but she had a few other things she wanted to test her hand at while she had the chance. Who knew when she would have a day to herself again, after all. Especially with no one else in the guild kitchen. It was much easier to cook there than to try and borrow a kitchen off some random shopkeeper or to rent an expensive enough room at the Inn that it came with a stove. With this thought in mind, she made her way straight to the guild hall. Her blonde fox tail swished excitedly behind her the entire way as she mulled over the various different things she could try making with everything she had bought today. To be honest she had probably bought just a little too much but she was also expecting one or two mistakes to be made in the process. She just had to keep a positive out look on things and everything would be fine!

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Words: 730

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It didn't take long for the Sorcerer to arrive at the gates of the Buckingham Palace. Every time she saw the ornate building she was still slightly in awe that this was the headquarters for her guild and she was allowed to stay here. Never in her time as April, which was the name she went by before finding herself living in this world, had she had the opportunity to tour the Palace so she wasn't completely sure if their version was quite like the real one but it was more than grand enough for her tastes so that was all that mattered. She smiled, briefly imaging herself as a Princess as she walked up the pathway to the main entrance. She wasn't sure if she would love or hate such a life. She assumed it was pretty pampered with maids and personal chefs and all the luxuries one could hope for which would be pretty nice but then there was also the social pressures to basically be perfect all of the time and she wasn't all that confident she could pull that off. Well, she was almost certain she would never have to deal with the issue. Living in the Palace these days didn't equate to any sort of royalty status. Even the man who owned the building wasn't afforded any additional social status for doing so in this world, so even the amusing concept of him being a King was much too far off for reality.

Putting aside her weird musings before her thoughts drifted too far into fantasy, she stepped through the doorway of what was basically her home lately. The door closed softly behind her. It was a welcoming and relaxing feeling to be here but it felt as if she was the only one there, which was what she wanted. It was also a bit unsettling, as the building was usually full of Hiro's Harem. Leaving her shoes at the door, which was empty of any other footwear, she trotted towards the kitchen. Once inside, she reached back and pull her hair together. She almost always kept it in a pig tail style but for now, she needed to secure it. With a little bit of effort, she weaved the two comically long and thick bundles of hair together and tied it off behind her head. The twisted golden locks still hung nearly to the floor, given her short height, but at least it was fastened securely behind her and wouldn't get in her way. After washing her hands and preparing a few things she would need, she popped open her inventory and brought out all of the things she had purchased before which dealt with the sandwiches she wanted to make.

First, she sliced the loaf of bread into individual slices of more or less equal thickness, laying them down in pairs across the cleaned and bare counter top. Once she was done preparing the bread, she moved onto the cheese and began to slice that as well. She had picked a simple, mild cheese to complement her equally straight forward sandwich. This continued on for a few more minutes as she sliced the meat and a few vegetable toppings for her sandwiches. Satisfied she had stacked enough up onto the bread, the blonde looked down at her creation. Yes, it was just a sandwich but they looked pretty good. The only thing was... they seemed a little dry, like perhaps they needed a sauce? Yes, they definitely needed something to go on them but what?

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Words: 592

Using this:

Ordinary Food
Materials Required: Material Fee (5 Gold x Item Level)
Posts Required: 2
Requirement: Level 1 Chef or Level 5 Brewer
Players who have taken the Chef crafting subclass are able to create food that actually retain their taste. Doing so requires that the Chef rely not on the system menu, but on their real-life cooking skills. As such, pretty much any foods in real life can be made as long as the proper ingredients are provided. Eating this food provides a slight HP restoration. The Chef that crafts this item may rewrite its name and description. Drinks may be made by Chefs, but they will usually lack any special effects that a Brewer may otherwise be able to add.

to create this:

Meat and Cheese Sandwich
Materials Required: Material Fee (5 Gold x Item Level)
Posts Required: 2
Requirement: Level 1 Chef or Level 5 Brewer
This food item is meat and cheese topped with some vegetables and placed between two slices of bread, creating a simple sandwich. Eating this food provides a slight HP restoration.

[Deleted]

After considering it for a few minutes, what she knew versus what she had on hand, the petite Chef was able to sort out her thoughts and realize she had the makings of a simple sandwich condiment commonly known as mayonnaise. She had wanted to make mustard but without a mortar and pestle, it would be difficult and that would require her going back out and getting a few more ingredients. Mayonnaise however was pretty simple to make and would add a creamy aspect to the sandwiches, solving the issue of them seeming a little dry. Perhaps next time she would try out some other condiments, though because not everyone was a fan of her chosen topping.

Artemisia set out what she needed – eggs, oil, salt, vinegar and a lemon and grabbed a one small bowl and a large mixing bowl from the well stocked Apocrypha kitchen. First, she cracked the eggs on the side of the bowl, splitting the shell enough to allow her to carefully separate it, leaving the contents of the egg in one half of the shell. Using her fingers as a separator, she split the yolk from the egg white. In this case, all she needed was the yolk. Perhaps she would find something else to use the white for later. She discarded the shells and put the yolks into the bowl, setting aside the part she didn't currently need. After this, she sliced the lemon into two equal parts and squeezed it over the bowl with the yolks, using her hand to catch any seeds which may have dropped in. A small dash of the vinegar was also added to the bowl. After putting all of this in, she added a dash of salt, to enhance the flavor.

She grabbed the whisk with one hand and began to mix the egg yolk and lemon juice together. Once they were combined, she, slowly and evenly, began to add the oil. In order to create the desired consistency, the oil needed to be added little by little, in a constant stream while she continued to whisk the mixture vigorously. Slowly but surely the mixture began to thicken and look like what she was going for. It took several minutes of intense (and kind of noisy) whisking but it was coming together. She added a little more oil and made sure everything was mixed together properly. She took the tip of her finger and scooped off a tiny bit of the condiment off the whisk, to taste it. She smiled and nodded – it tasted just like she thought it should. She was pretty proud of herself.

With the mayonnaise made, she used a flat butter knife to spread it onto the sandwiches she had made, creating a layer on each. She was careful to make sure it was evenly coated but not too thick to overpower the rest of the meal. Once this was done, she put the two half of each together to finish everything off. Content she had done all she could with these, she began to clean up and prepare for her next practice round of cooking. But, before that... a good chef always tastes their food. She picked up one of the sandwiches and took a large bite out of it. As simple as it was, it tasted great. Probably even better because she had been the one to prepare it. Proud and happy with her success, she finished the entire sandwich before moving on to clean up and get the kitchen ready. She still had time to keep practicing.

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Words: 597

Using this:

Sauce
Materials Required: Material Fee (5 Gold x Item Level)
Posts Required: 1
Requirement: Level 1 Chef
Researched by Chef Caerbannog. The result of mixing food ingredients together with one base ingredient, a seasoning and an additional ingredient or seasoning. Craftable by any player even those who are not Chefs, and some may not require actual cooking. This adds some flavor to other food items, even to Unfounded Food, however the taste is highly dependent on materials used. The character that crafts this item may rewrite its name and description.

To create this:

Mayonnaise
Materials Required: Material Fee (5 Gold x Item Level)
Posts Required: 1
Requirement: Level 1 Chef
A basic condiment topping for sandwiches made from eggs, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and salt which is often described as creamy, tangy and sometimes even a little sour. Can also be used as a base for other recipes, such as salad dressings.