5-3: Lily’s Simple & Easy Recipes

TL: Krrizis

Editor: Shirani

First published on Ainushi

 

 

After seeing Cedric-kun off, I was alone in the kitchen stirring a pot filled with a viscous liquid.

 

「… What are you making?」

「Oh, Sid-san. Welcome home」

 

I thought he wouldn’t be home since he was out accompanying Leonard-sama today.

 

When I said it aloud to him in puzzlement, Sid-san replied with a wry laugh, “That’s how it was supposed to go”.

 

「I’ve got a request for you, ojou-chan」

「Which would be?」

「Could you make something suitable for master to eat?」

 

… Hmm? What is going on? Isn’t it long past lunchtime? Has he not ate yet?

 

「He insisted that he won’t eat anything other than your food for lunch. Earlier, you gave madeleines to Cedric-kun, right?」

「Ah, yes. And?」

「When master heard about that, he said that he wanted to eat some of your food as well since you made those for him」

 

Umm, I wonder how I should react to that. F-for now, I better get some decent food, not just sweets, for him.

 

「Is there anything in particular that he wants?」

「No. Anything’s fine. He eats anything as long as you’re giving it to him」

「… Very well. I’ll have them prepared right away」

 

I removed the pot that I’d been stirring over the fire. It was done and all that’s left was to bottle it up.

 

Whilst it was piping hot, I poured it into a jar and closed the lid. Yup. That looks divine. Close by, Sid-san was watching and inquired about that concoction.

 

「… So, what is this?」

「Apple jam」

 

In order to preserve it, I had boiled it down until it was a concentrate. Since I added heaps of sugar to it earlier, it shouldn’t take too long before it gels. Now then, what should I make?  

 

As Sid-san stared at the contents of jar with great interest, I looked at him in puzzlement as I asked a question.

 

「You’ll be bringing the lunch that I make over to him, aren’t you?」

「Yeah, although it will be a bit excessive if I bring a plate of soup over」

「In the first place, I wasn’t going to give you that」

 

Hmm~ But even if you tell me to make something quick…

 

For starters, I’ll check the bread we purchased today. It’s a reasonably soft baguette.

 

There’s lettuce and mayonnaise. I can use them to make a sandwich. It’s not much different from what I made previously though.  

 

「… Shall I boil prawns?」

 

Whilst I considered what to make, I quickly parboiled the prawns that had been deveined. Yup, I’ll just start up with these first.   

 

「Well then, please wait whilst I begin prepping right now」

 

First, I took out dry-cured ham and bierwurst from the cold room. Also, some smoked salmon.

 

After which, I sliced them into thin slices and just layered them on the bread.

 

There were two varieties: dried cured ham with bierwurst, and prawns with smoked salmon. Both of which had lettuce as well. As the ham and salmon are very salty, mayonnaise alone was enough to serve as the flavouring.     

 

Oh! I also bountifully spread my freshly made apple jam on thin slices of bread and rolled them up to make a rolled sandwich.

 

「Okay, it’s done」

「That’s quick. Though why is there so much?」

「It’s for two people」

 

When I answered him as I piled the basket with the sandwiches, Sid-san’s eyes wavered.  

 

「Why?」

「Aren’t you going to eat as well, Sid-san?」

 

“Here”, I said and when I passed the basket to him, Sid-san cast his eyes downwards for some reason.

 

「Do you not need any?」

「It’s not that… Sorry, I’m really happy」

 

Even though Sid-san had covered his face with one hand, I could see his red ears that he couldn’t conceal which in turn, made me blush. It made me feellt embarrassed after all.           

 

「Thanks, Lily. See you later」

「Oh, take care… Huh?」

 

Isn’t this the first time Sid-san called me by my name?

 

He just calls me “ojou-chan” all the time… Uwah! What’s going on? My heart’s thumping so fast it feels like it’s about to burst!

 

Yup, that surprise attack was mean. Hmm… Leaving that aside, what should I make for dinner tonight?

 

「Ketchup! I really want to make ketchup」

 

Ever since I made mayonnaise, I haven’t been able to suppress my desires for more food.  

 

Even so, I really want ketchup. Though if I were to say what I really desire, it’ll be soy sauce. This world that I was born in relies on just salt, pepper, and herbs for flavors so I’m completely craving after that great all-purpose soy sauce.    

 

Although there is tomato sauce, the garlic flavor is potent and isn’t palatable for children.

 

Ketchup has a sweetness to it’s flavor so kids will enjoy it… Until now, I wasn’t able to make a large batch in one full swing but here, I have the space to store it and there’s enough people to consume it. In the garden, there are also a bunch of ripened tomatoes. Alright~

 

「I’ve decided, I’ll make ketchup today. And for dinner, I’ll make hamburg!」

 

I had just bought minced meat as well when we were out shopping.

 

「What’s with that declaration? What’s ketchup and hamburg?」

「Catch-up?」

 

Milis and Jill asked, having turned up whilst I was agonizing over it. When did they get here? They weren’t here earlier when Sid-san was around… right?

 

On another note, hamburg is on my family’s restaurant’s menu but it’s doesn’t particularly sell well.

 

Well, it is a popular dish on the menu with children though so I’m sure Jill will like it. There’s plenty of things a child can do if we make this dish like kneading the meat, and she’ll be enjoying herself as she helps me out.  

 

「Well, look forward to it. Jill, Milis, I’ll be relying on both of you to assist me」

「Got it」

「I’ll help~!」

 

Yosh! Now that’s decided, let’s harvest the tomatoes first.

「Do you need to use this much?」

「Yes, thank you」

 

Together with Jill and Amdo-san, we plucked roughly twenty bright red tomatoes. Amdo-san was astonished by the volume but it still might not be enough even with this much.

 

「Lily, I’ve heated a big pot of water like you told me to. But, what are you going to use it for?」

「We’ll use the hot water to take the skin off the tomatoes. Can you fill the large pot over there with ice water?」

「Sure… How do you ‘peel the skin off using hot water’?」

「Well, watch this」

 

I picked a tomato that had been thoroughly washed, deposited it into the pot of hot water, then retrieved it after twenty seconds had roughly lapsed and immediately cooled it in ice water. The skin came off easily when I lightly peeled the burst open skin.       

 

「This is how it works. The heat causes the flesh to expand whilst the skin shrinks」

「That’s interesting」

「Jill, do you want to help too? It’s very hot so be careful」

「Okay!」

 

Jill got on a stool and answered with a smile.  

 

Earnest at her task to peel the skin off using hot water, she was considerably exhausted by the time she finished with all of them. It’s going to be tough on her as there’s more to come. With a fine mesh, strain the tomatoes through it till it runs smooth, add in one whole grated onion and mix them over a high flame.   

 

「Milis, to avoid burning it, use a wooden spatula to stir it about」

「Sure. I won’t let it burn」

 

Stirring was also unexpectedly tiring. Before Milis was worn out by it, I have to get the other seasonings ready. Salt, pepper, a small amount of vinegar, garlic, one and a half cups of sugar and a bit of herbs.

 

「Lily, how long do I need to keep stirring this for?」

「Until about half is left」

 

In my previous life, the impetus to make this was when a lady in the neighbourhood had picked too many tomatoes and gave them to me. In order to fully utilize them, I looked in the library for ways of using them. The ketchup I produced was more flavorful to my liking than the any of the store-bought products.    

 

Since then, I always use the tomatoes we got annually from the lady to make ketchup. I miss those days…

 

「Lily, is this enough?」

 

Oops, I got somewhat distracted. Umm, let’s see how it looks.

 

「Ah, that looks good! Alright, now we just mix in the remaining ingredients and pop them into the jars over here.」

 

The jars had been thoroughly sterilized. By the way, these jars can be used multiple times so I’d used one of the empty jars for Leonard-sama’s staled jam. So far, I’ve added dried herbs to the sauce. I’d gotten Sid-san’s approval to use as I quote, “However much you like”.       

 

Now, we toss the balance of the seasonings in and boil it all.

 

「Hmm, like this?」

 

Boil it until the liquid has reduced to roughly half its’ size, then use a saucer to sample the flavor. … Mmm, delicious. It’s a little sweet however it’s just the right amount for Jill’s palate.   

 

「Okaa-san, is it ready?」

「Yep. That’s right, how about all of you give it a try?」

 

After that, I decided to try and make french fries. Speaking of ketchup, the strongest image I associate it with is french fries and they’re easy to make too.

 

「Okaa-san, it’s delicious!」

 


Free talk:

Sorry for the long wait. 5-3 has been in my folder for a while because I’ve been slow to finish most of it.

5-4 is in the works.

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