• Solo • Pies, Pies, and More Pies

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

1st Vhalar, 717


Kirei eyed Elyari cautiously. She had that look in her eye again. Aris called it her "evil eye." Kirei wasn't certain about the "evil" part, but whenever their employer got that particular look, it meant another "challenge" for them. Some of her challenges were fun. Others turned into disasters. And some of the challenges were both. But all of Elyari's challenges were both interesting, and very informative. They pushed her apprentices to their limits, and Kirei always found herself learning a lot when Elyari set a challenge for them. For that reason, Kirei loved these little challenges of Elyari's.

"So. What do the three of you know about baking?" Elyari began.

"That Aris should never do it." Andiron said promptly.

This comment caused Aris to stick her tongue out at Andiron. Kirei watched this curiously. There was obviously a story behind this comment, and knowing Aris as she had come to know her, it was probably a funny one. Kirei wondered if she would be willing to tell her about it later.

"Andiron..." Elyari cautioned.

"Well, it's true! The last time Aris tried to bake a cake, she added salt instead of sugar, and very nearly burned the whole place down when the oven caught fire!"

Or, she could wait until Andiron told her. He and Aris seemed to have a rather...unique relationship. Aris loved to laugh, and joke around as she worked. And she wasn't above pulling harmless pranks on the other people who worked at Elyari's Hope in her attempts to lighten the mood. Not even Elyari and Carlisle were safe from her antics. But her pranks were harmless fun, and most of the other employees took them in stride as Kirei had learned to do. Unfortunately, Andiron was far too dignified and uptight to deal with Aris's carefree love of life easily. He was a bit of a snob really, and that led to a lot of conflict between the two of them since Aris took his attitude as a challenge. But In the time that Kirei had been working here, she had learned that Aris was as loyal as they came. If Andiron ever really needed help with anything, or was threatened by anyone, Aris wold do everything in her power to help him. Or anyone else who worked at Elyari's Hope for that matter.

"Let's get back to the matter at hand, children." Elyari chided gently.

Kirei turned to look at her employer. The older woman often seemed to act like a mother to her apprentices. Aris loved it, and Kirei found that she enjoyed it as well. Andiron on the other hand, often seemed to be offended by it. Possibly because it was too informal for his tastes. Kirei grinned at the antics of her fellow apprentices briefly before turning her attention back to the challenge Elyari was about to give them.

"Baking is a dry heat method of preparing food." she offered, remembering the long trials of her slave training.

The others turned to stare at her, which made her frown in confusion.

"...Because it doesn't involve the use of water of stock to cook the food..." she elaborated after a few trills.

Elyari nodded.

"That's true. What else?"

"It's easiest to use an oven to bake something, but you don't really need one. You can even bake something with nothing more that a camp fire if you wanted to." Aris said.

"No you can't! Don't be stupid, Aris! Everyone knows that you need an oven to bake something with!" Andiron exclaimed.

Once again Aris stuck her tongue out at Andiron. Elyari stepped in quickly before the situation could degenerate any further.

"Actually, Aris is right, Andiron. All that is required to bake something is heat, and an enclosed space. Normally, that means an oven, but it doesn't always have to be."

"So there!" Aris exclaimed.

Andiron scowled at Aris, but he didn't try to dispute Elyari's words.

"Is there anything else?" Elyari asked.

"There are several different techniques when it comes to baking. Two of them are chocolate work, and sugar work. Chocolate work involves just that; working with chocolate. It can mean making chocolates themselves, or it can mean drizzling chocolate over something like a cake as a decoration. And sugar work involves melting sugar and using it to craft different shapes and textures. It produces beautiful results when done well, and can be considered a form of edible art. Elyari, when will you teach me how to work with chocolate and sugar?"

"Not just yet, I'm afraid. Both of those are very advanced techniques, and your baking stills aren't good enough for that just yet."

"Well, at least I'm better that Aris is. She'll never be good enough to learn any advanced techniques." he muttered sullenly.

"Andiron..."

"Sorry."

Kirei didn't think that Andiron looked as though he felt sorry for needling Aris, but she was eager to get back to the upcoming challenge.

"Can anyone tell me anything else about baking?" Elyari asked.

Kirei thought hard about what she had learned during her arcs at the Athart slave school. The Avriel masters had been dull teachers at best, delivering their lessons in painfully dry lectures most of the time. But they had been very informative in their desire to create the best slaves possible to sell to prospective buyers.

"It's not a technique exactly, like Andiron was saying...but baking is used to create flour based foods such as pastries, breads, cakes, biscuits, shortbread, and cookies. Things like that. And even though baking and cooking are two separate things, some cooking techniques can be used while baking; specifically preserving. Preserving is a technique that uses one of a variety of methods to preserve ingredients. Making jams, jellies, and preserves such as marmalade, and chutney, salting or smoking meat, drying out fruits, canning things, and pickling things in vinegar are all examples of this technique. And since dried fruits are often used as toppings for pastries and cakes, and jams, jellies, and chutneys can be used as fillings for pies, cupcakes, and other pastries, it helps to know how to do it if you're going to do a lot of baking."

Elyari smiled.

"That's very true. As I remember it, you made some fresh peach jam as part of the test I gave you when I hired you, didn't you?"

Kirei nodded.

"As you have all probably guessed, my challenge for you today involves baking. I want you to get together and think of as many different pies as you can. Then you will make them."

"All of them?" Aris asked wide eyed.

"That's a lot of pies."

Elyari smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, all of them. Whether you split them up and each take responsibility for making some of them, or you work as a team to make them is up to you.

Kirei frowned as she wondered if she could bake anything edible on her own. Although she had done a lot of baking for her family, she had always had Kaelen's cookbooks and instructions and Lihara's help while doing it.

"I'll let you lot get to work."

With that, Elyari was gone.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

"How much do you know about baking, Kirei?" Andiron demanded.

Kirei frowned at the other apprentice's superior tone, but she didn't respond to it.

"Not as much as I'd like." she admitted after a couple of bits.

"I've done it many times before, but never without help."

"Hmm. Well, as Elyari said, I'm hardly the best at it. But it sounds like I might be better than you are, and I know that I'm better than Aris is. An infant would be better at baking than Aris is. So it might be best if you two work on preparing the ingredients for the pies we make while I do the actual baking."

Aris stuck her tongue out at Andiron, but didn't protest his words. Kirei nodded slowly in agreement.

"But I want to watch you do it, and help if I can. I'll never get any better at it if I don't try to learn." she insisted.

"Fine. But Aris stays away from the ovens. We don't need another kitchen fire like the last time."

"Hey! I don't always set the ovens on fire!" Aris protested.

"You've done it more than once, and one of these trials, you're going to burn the whole restaurant down around our ears!"

"I will not!"

"You will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Guys, can we please get back to Elyari's challenge? If we don't, she's going to come back, and we won't have anything to show her." Kirei interrupted before letting the argument get too far.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"So what kinds of pies do you know about? The ones I'm most familiar with are apple pies, peach pies, meat pies, and chicken pot pies."

"Well, let's see. There are several different kinds of meat pies, using different types of meat, fish, and poultry. Then there's chocolate pie, banana cream pie, pumpkin pie..." Andiron began.

"Blueberry pie, raspberry pie, strawberry pie, rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, blackberry pie, boysenberry pie, mincemeat pie...um..." Aris interrupted.

Kirei tried not to laugh. Aris and Andiron really were like little kids at times. Kirei couldn't help but wonder if Tauriel and her younger brother or sister would argue like that some trial.

"So a lot then. And Elyari really expects us to make one of every kind of pie we can name?"

Both of the other apprentices nodded in unison before turning to glare at each other. Kirei sighed.

"So my question is this; do we make full sized pies, or small, single serving ones? The smaller ones would bake faster, right? And use less ingredients, so we won't have to make as much pie crust?"

"I think we should make single serving pies." Andiron stated.

When Aris nodded in agreement, the decision was made. The three apprentices went to get the cookbooks they would need. As they approached the room where all of the cookbooks were kept, they found that someone had left a good sized pile of dessert cookbooks on the table for them. Kirei and Aris grinned at each other, and they got to work.

[Kirei Qe'Azour]

Once they had found the recipes they needed, it was time for the real work to begin. The first thing they needed was a good recipe for pie crust. Kirei had been confused by the choices immediately. But Andiron found one that promised to be light and flaky that seemed to suit their needs. While Kirei and Aris began gathering the ingredients they needed to make the pie crust, Andiron went to ask Elyari a question. By the time they were ready to start making the pie crust, he was back.

"Elyari says that she has plenty of pie crust in the ice box that we can use. But we still need to make some because we need to replace any that we use."

Kirei was about to ask why they couldn't just make their own and use what they made, but glancing at the recipe told her why; the pie crust needed to be placed in the ice box for at least four breaks before they could use it. Leaving it in the ice box overnight would be better. Since they needed pie crust they could use now, using anything they made this trial wasn't an option.

"How many batches do you think we should make?" Kirei asked.

"The recipe says it can be used to make a 9" pie crust." she added a few trills later.

"That depends. We're making smaller pies, right?"

Kirei and Andiron nodded.

"If we make 3" pies, we can make three pie crusts out of a batch meant to make a single 9" one. That seems like the easiest thing to do. And if we each make one batch, we will have enough pie crust to replace what we would need to make nine pies. If it turns out that we need more, we can always make more batches later."

With that decided, it was time to get to work. Andiron went to get the ingredients for two more batches of pie crust while Kirei and Aris began studying the recipe carefully. Once Kirei thought she understood what she needed to do, she combined one and a quarter cups of flour, and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt into a large mixing bowl. Then she diced the half a cup of chilled butter she had set aside before adding it slowly into the mixture as well. When she checked the recipe, it said that the end result should look like coarse crumbs. After eying her mixture, she decided that it probably looked the way that it should. So she began carefully stirring in her quarter cup of ice water a tablespoon at a time until it was gone. By then, her mixture had formed into a ball. Kirei wrapped this up, and placed it into the ice box before taking a ball of pie crust out of the ice box to use.

Using a rolling pin, she rolled out the ball of pie crust, and cut it into three portions that would fit a 3" pie plate. Each one was evenly pressed into the bottom and sides of the pie plate like the recipe dictated. Kirei eyed the result critically. "Evenly" was debatable since the crust looked thicker in some areas and thinner in others. But no amount of trying to fix it seemed to help, so eventually she gave up trying out of fear of ruining the crust completely.

"What next?" she asked.

"Now we start making the pie fillings." Aris declared.

"And how do we go about it? Do we split the different pies among us, each making a few, or do we each make one of every kind of pie we make?"

"I don't think we have time for each of us to make one of each kind of pie." Aris said doubtfully.

"What do we do with the extra filling, then?" Andiron wanted to know.

"I bet it could be used for other things. Rolls, cupcakes, and such." Kirei suggested.

It was, of course possible to try and make just enough filling for the smaller pies if they were to reduce the recipes. But Kirei wasn't certain that she trusted her skills enough for that. Especially not when Elyari wasn't there to oversee them, and offer them advice. When the others agreed, they each decided on which pies they wanted to try making, then got back to work.

Kirei decided to try making an apple pie first. It was one of the ones she had the most experience with, and as such had the most confidence in making. She started by gathering the ingredients she needed, then turning the oven on to the correct temperature specified in the recipe. With that done, she began by coring and slicing four large red apples as thinly as she could. Then she put her six tablespoons of unsalted butter into a small pan, and began melting it using medium heat. Once it was completely melted, she stirred in her half a cup of brown sugar, quarter of a cup of white sugar, a quarter of a cup of water, a quarter of a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. The next step was to bring the syrup to a boil while stirring it constantly to dissolve the sugar. As she stirred, she wondered what the difference between white and brown sugar was, and why some recipes called for one or the other while others required both. It was a question she filed away to ask Elyari when she had the chance. When the sugar was completely dissolved, she took it off the heat, and set it aside.

She placed as many of the apple slices as she could into one of the pie crusts she had made earlier. The recipe called for strips of pie crust for the top of the pie, so she carefully measured and cut eight 1" wide strips out of the second pie crust she had taken and rolled out earlier. The strips were criss crossed over the apples. When she finished with that, she carefully crimped the over the strips with her fingers. She checked the recipe to see what the next step was, then spooned the caramel sauce over the strips of pie crust on top of the pie. Once the strips were covered with the sauce, she allowed the rest to drizzle through the crust into the apples.

Kirei checked the recipe once more. It said to bake the pie for fifteen bits before reducing the heat and allowing it to bake until the crust was golden brown, the caramel was set, and the apple filling was bubbling. The last stage of the baking was supposed to take thirty five to forty bits, but she assumed that it would take less time since the pie she was making was smaller than the one the recipe called for. Finally, it needed to be allowed to cool completely before it was sliced and served. Kirei placed her pie in the oven, and stared at it for a few bits as she decided what she wanted to try baking next.

Since peach pies were something else she had experience with, she decided to try making one of those next. So she took the rest of the time she had left before she had to reduce the heat on her apple pie to get the right recipe, and gather the ingredients she needed. After she reduced the heat on her apple pie, she turned her attention to her new task. She began by washing, peeling and slicing five cups worth of peaches. Then she beat an egg, and used a fork to brush some of it onto the bottom of her pie crust. According to the recipe she was using, this would prevent the dough from becoming soggy.

After consulting with the recipe, Kirei placed her sliced peaches into a large mixing bowl, and sprinkled them with two tablespoons of lemon juice; since she had found some in the ice box, she was saved the effort of squeezing her own lemon to get the juice she needed. After mixing them gently, she set them aside. Then she combined half a cup of flour, one cup of white sugar, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, a quarter of a teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt. She mixed these ingredients together before pouring them over her peaches, and mixing everything together gently. As she did so, she noted that this recipe called for white sugar and not brown sugar.

Kirei took a moment to check on her apple pie. It looked as though it was ready, so she removed it from the oven and set it aside to cool. Then she turned the oven back up to the temperature that her current recipe called for. Once that was done, she checked her recipe once more. Then she poured her peaches into her pie crust and dotted them with two tablespoons of butter. She covered the pie with her other pie crust, and folded the edges under. Then she sealed them by pressing them with the tines of a fork that had been dipped in egg. Kirei wondered what purpose the egg had, and made a note to ask Elyari about it when she had the chance to question her mentor. The recipe called for her to brush the remaining egg over the top crust, so she did that before making several slits in the top crust to allow steam to vent. She knew from past experience that failure to do that would cause a horrific mess to clean up as pressure built up within the pie until it exploded.

She checked the recipe once more. Then she put her pie in the oven. It needed to bake for ten bits before she reduced the heat and allowed it to keep baking until the crust was brown, and the juice was bubbling through the vents; which would take roughly thirty to thirty five bits. The recipe said that this pie would taste better when warm rather than hot, so Kirei made note of that before trying to decide what she wanted to try making next.

A quick glance at what the other apprentices were doing told her that Andiron seemed to be focusing on the savory pies rather than the sweet ones. Aris, on the other hand was working on a pumpkin pie with help from Andiron, who clearly didn't trust her to do it right. Andiron noticed her watching him, and came over to see how she was doing.

"Is everything going okay?" he asked briskly.

"I think so. I just finished an apple pie, and I have a peach pie that is in the oven now." she said, indicating the apple pie cooling on the counter.

Andiron examined her apple pie. It must have looked all right, because he didn't scowl at her.

"Do you know what you're going to do next?" he asked after a few bits.

"Not really. Something easy, hopefully. I don't think I can handle anything too complex, even with a recipe."

Andiron nodded.

"Why don't you try making a blackberry pie? Elyari taught me how to make them, and they're simple enough."

Andiron's suggestion had merit, and Kirei didn't have anything else in mind, so she nodded.

"I think I will. Thanks, Andiron."

Andiron nodded shortly before going back to his work. Kirei reduced the heat on her peach pie, then looked through the recipes until she found one on how to make a blackberry pie. There were fewer ingredients than the other pies required, so it didn't take her long to gather what she needed. According to the recipe, the first two steps were to preheat the oven, and to prepare her pie crust. But the oven didn't need to be preheated since it was already hot from being in use. And since she already had a pie crust ready, she skipped ahead to the third step.

She mixed half a cup of flour, and half a cup of white sugar into a bowl. Again, she noticed that this pie only called for white sugar. Was using brown sugar in a pie a rare thing? When she was done with that, she added three and a half cups of blackberries into the bowl, and stirred gently until they were all coated with the mixture of flour and sugar. Once that was done, Kirei checked her recipe before spooning the mixture into the bottom of the pie crust. Her next step was to pour her remaining half a cup of blackberries over the top, and cover it with the top of her pie crust. After sealing the edges by using a fork to crimp them, she brushed the top of the crust with two tablespoons of milk, and sprinkled the remaining quarter cup of sugar over it. All that was left was to make several slits in the top to allow the steam to vent, so she did just that.

By then, her peach pie was finished, so she removed it from the oven, and raised the temperature to what her current recipe wanted the oven preheated to. When it was hot enough, she put her blackberry pie in and timed it for fifteen bits before reducing the heat. It required less time than the other two pies she had made, and would be finished in twenty to twenty five bits.

Aris and Andiron seemed to be finishing up too, so they began work on cleaning up the dishes they had used. Each of them had made three pies, and used up all of their pie crust. If Elyari wanted them to make more pies, then would have to make some more pie crust to replace what they would need first.

[Muse]

Your review is ready!

Yum! Now I want some pie. Everything was deliciously described in here and I love the interaction you've got going between the NPCs. Thanks for a great little solo!

Finn

Points

XP:
10 | These points cannot be used for magic.

Fame:
N/A

Loot

N/A

Injuries + Overstepping

N/A

Knowledge

Skill Knowledge:
Baking: is a dry heat method of preparing food
Baking: requires heat, and an enclosed space; usually this means an oven, but it can be done over a campfire too
Baking: is used to create flour based foods such as pastries, breads, cakes, biscuits, shortbread, and cookies
Baking: Technique; Chocolate work is working with chocolate. This can be making chocolates as a finished product, or drizzling it over something as a decoration.
Baking: Technique; Sugar work is almost a form of art where sugar is melted and then used to craft shapes and textures
Cooking: Technique; Preserving; uses one of a variety of methods to preserve ingredients; examples include making jams, jellies, and preserves (marmalade, chutney, etc.), salting or smoking meat, drying out fruits, canning things, and pickling things in vinegar

Other Knowledge:
Recipe: pie crust
Recipe: apple pie
Recipe: peach pie
Reicpe: blackberry pie

Kirei: loves a good challenge

Andiron: is a bit of a snob
Andiron: is very dignified
Andiron: doesn't deal with Aris's pranks well
Andiron: has a very "unique" relationship with Aris

Aris: should never be allowed to bake anything
Aris: loves to laugh and joke around
Aris: enjoys pulling harmless pranks to lighten the mood
Aris: is incredibly loyal and would do anything for a friend
Aris: loves life
Aris: has a very carefree nature
Aris: takes Andiron's attitude as a challenge
Aris: has a very "unique" relationship with Andiron

Elyari: often acts like a mother to her apprentices

If you've got a question or concern or if I've missed anything, don't hesitate to PM me!

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