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Special Ingredient Hunt 1: "Bottle Peppers" [Tetsu]
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Post by Max on Jul 9, 2019 12:38:04 GMT
Max the Impmon-X was incredibly excited to have his message on the Tamernet answered within the day by others that seemed eager to help him on his mission - to hunt for the rare and tasty "Bottle Peppers" that grew only in the middle of the vast and potentially treacherous lands of the Backup Bayou.
Max had been taught of this region in his Rosewood lessons by Owen the Gaomon. The Backup Bayou was the area downstream of the rivers of the Eastern Timberlands. There, about 200km from the coast, the rivers would first converge, then spread out to a vast delta system of hazardous marshland, full of mazes of reeds and mangroves; paths intersected by muddy waters and bogs, the way forward often clouded by mists. It was a place few would risk visiting, but, the nutrient-rich soils provided for the growth of plants that bore leaves, roots and fruit that could have incredible properties. And Max wanted one in his grasp.
When he had been assured of help, Max would then take a Trailmon back to Rosewood, then another Trailmon out toward Whitewater, disembarking at a small station at the edge of the bayou. It was here that he made camp on the main road through the bayou toward Whitewater, cooking himself up a hearty minestrone soup for supper, sleeping in a makeshift bedroll, then waking up and cooked himself well scrambled eggs with mushrooms and tomatoes.
It was there that he waited for two individuals known as "Tetsugao" and "V.Chill4Belphy". He was either expecting a human and a digimon, or 2 digimon, one of them probably a Gaomon. He hoped it wouldn't be Owen, it'd be a little uncomfortable for his teacher to accompany him here. For now, Max went over lists of ingredients in his head for what possible recipes he could make from the peppers. Somehow, he thought a nice Green Curry would be a safe bet to try them out on.
"So, Rice... ginger... coriander... chicken..." he muttered to himself, trying to remember the recipe that was taught to him by Chef Flawizarmon of the Rosewood Inn.
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Post by tetsushi on Jul 9, 2019 12:59:51 GMT
"WHEEEEE~~!"
Blasting on the sky, unhindered by any sort of problem are... BEARS!? There are three of them, each looked like phantasmal apparition, roaring as they pulled a sizable silver chariot. It looked like any war chariots from the olden era, except it's probably looked like it's mixed with batman styled modern touch, slightly gothic, but also regal. The one riding the chariot however was not a warrior. He might be built like a warrior, but this child seriously came from the modern, 21st century Japan.
"We're almost there, Brother," the Bearmon quipped. He honestly have a mixed feeling about the carriage pulled by bears, but at least they're part of the vehicle itself. Yes, the bear are nothing but effects, similar to the contrail of light produced by the chariot's wheels. They're green, almost like aurora. For onlookers, it would looked beautiful, but Gryz cannot shake off his feeling that this thing... is designed for ramming too. It might be cool and beautiful but in the end it's still a weapon.
Either way, thankfully it's time to descend. Tetsu saw an Impmon X down there. Quickly, he pulled the reins. The bear roared as they descended down. The chariot stopped few feet in front of the waiting Max.
"Howdy!" Tetsu greeted. Once the chariot completely stopped, the bears vanished into thin air.
Gryz hopped off from the chariot too and waved at the Impmon.
"Are you Maximp? Hmmm, you smelled like Bellamy. A relative?"
"Huh, he smelled like Bells? That's interesting!"
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Post by Max on Jul 9, 2019 13:20:47 GMT
Max had positioned himself so that he was seated on a log that looked back along the road to Rosewood, so that he'd expect his travelling companions to appear from there. He certainly did not expect them to appear from the sky, riding a flying chariot driven by ghostly bears.
"NO FREAKIN' WAY!!" Max exclaimed, having to hold his composure to resist the urge to run away at the sight of them. These guys had to be the ones he had contacted on Tamernet. How else would they know when and where to show up as they did? Max managed a small grin as he realized what kind of help he had managed to come across here. These guys looked like they were pretty experienced.
Disproving his theory of one of them being a Gaomon, Max noticed that they were in fact a small but stocky human and a Bearmon. Well, both of them were bigger than he was so he didn't yet know the scale of which to judge how strong a human was, so, he assumed that they were pretty good.
The ghostly bears were terrifying at first, but there was a majesty about them, like looking at aurora. Max hadn't seen such things with his own eyes before, but, memory inside told him that maybe his parents have.
When they landed and disembarked, they quickly reassured Max that they were the ones he had talked to on Tamernet, calling him by his username at first. Max was then surprised when after a small sniff that he was correctly identified as related to Bellamy.
"Yeah, I'm Maximp, I mean... Max. Just Max. And yeah, I'm related to Bellamy. I'm his son." Max explained, still a little shaken by that astonishing entrance, but eventually composed himself. "So, you're the guys I talked to on Tamernet? Tetsugao and V.Chill4Belphy?" he hoped to learn their true names. He'd offer his paw to shake as a well mannered introduction.
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Post by tetsushi on Jul 9, 2019 13:45:56 GMT
"Hey hey~ Yep, that's us. Name's Tetsu. Shishidou Tetsushi~ and this is my partner Gryz!"
Gryz waved once more, then met him to shook his hand. Tetsu did the same after Gryz.
"Nice to meet ya, Max. Your father helped us several times. in the past. So I guess this time around it's our turn to return the favor, yeah?" Gryz commented with a friendly grin. "So a chef, eh? I don't really know about your other father, but I heard he's a chef himself... so I guess you're an aspiring chef?" Gryz asked
"Sounds awesome to be honest, Gryz also love to try out new dishes, so maybe you guys can trade recipes and whatnot!"
"I only cook for fun though," the Bearmon commented, trying to be modest. "I just find it relaxing, but I do understand your passion in trying to find new ingredients to create new dishes. We also want to explore the bayou anyway, so let's just say that our interest lined up!"
"Hehe well there you have it! Anyway, Max, what do you think you're going to cook with these chillis? It sounded special, almost made me want to try to cultivate some too! Oh, I'm a farmer by the way."
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Post by Max on Jul 10, 2019 12:45:10 GMT
So, Max's travelling partners would be Tetsu and Gryz. There was an element of familiarity with those names, partly because of word of mouth in Rosewood, and partly because of lingering memories from his parents. Max's intuition told him that he could trust these guys.
Gryz mentioned that Coronamon was a chef, and asked if he was an aspiring chef. "Yep, that's right. My goal is to become a greater chef than Coronamon. It'll be a big challenge, given his advantage in experience, but I want to be greater than that. When I enter a town or village I want others to say "Oh boy, Max is here, we're gonna have some awesome food tonight!" I... just really wanna bring joy to others through well cooked food, you know?"
Max had to give a little 'heh' on the next point. "Recipes are worth more than gold with me, so if ya want some of mine, you'd either have to have a lot of treasure or be a good friend. Otherwise I'll defend my recipes with my life." He was joking a little here, but what was a famous chef without his secret recipes? Still, he'd be eager to share some of the things he learned from Flawizarmon with these two if they proved to be good friends.
Gryz said he liked to cook for fun, that he found it relaxing. Max could empathize with that. "Yeah, it is a good feeling ain't it? At the start all you've got is raw ingredients. Sloppy, raw meat. Hard, woody vegetables. Bland, unseasoned grains. Then ya do things to those ingredients, bring flavour into them, combine them, purify, create... heh, it's kinda like magic isn't it?" the Impmon-X was grinning broadly at the thought of it.
Tetsu then asked what he wanted to make with these peppers. Max was about to answer, when Tetsu mentioned he was a farmer too. This made him blink for a moment at the realization of it. If Tetsu could obtain the plants that produced these peppers, he had the knowledge to cultivate and grow them! This could be a glorious long term partnership between them! That only solidified his decision to work with these guys.
"Well, pretty much any recipe that needs a bit of heat in it..." Max began to answer. "But, I think a good way to start would be a Thai style green curry. Tried it a few times, but I just can't get it right with inferior peppers, either it's too bland or too hot and unpleasant. If these peppers are what they're rumoured to be, they'll make it perfect."
Also he couldn't let that last remark go by. "Also... you're a farmer? Hey, uh, if you can collect some of the plants and cultivate them for me, I'd be really, really grateful for that, and be willin' to go into a business partnership with ya if you want." he offered.
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Post by tetsushi on Jul 11, 2019 2:47:22 GMT
"That's admirable," Gryz commented with a smile. "I understand your passion of wanting to be acknowledged for your talent, and I feel it's great thing to have."
"Right right!" Tetsu added "I'm also like that. I really love it when someone told me 'hey Tetsu, your vegetable tastes really great! Your meat also! Please grow some more for us'. It's like a reward you know? I'm currently working hard so I can to provide a city with more vegetables. But... saline ground is a bit too hard for me to make a farm on I guess... either way, I'll be glad to help you with anything as someone who also provide meal for people!"
Gryz also let out a "heh" at Max's answer. "Well sadly I don't have lot of treasure, but I sure can offer friendship. However, if trading recipes are not the way to go, would you like to help me instead with my small project? You see, I want to spread awareness of tasty cooking to the tribes around Digital World. Some of them gave me their recipes, but unfortunately their seasoning is a bit on the blander side... there are local spices around, and I can show you where to procure them, but these local tribes tends to never use these seasonings... it almost turned to be a waste if you ask me. So I'm hoping by introducing them to seasoning they'll be interested more and more to improve their lives."
Gryz can understand what Max meant. "The way raw ingredients turned into something edible also fascinating. The sizzle and the way they sound when you cooked them, the aroma that wafts from the heat, the anticipation as you pour the seasoning and coat them with batters, the way they turn golden brown and cooked, it's all just sparks happiness don't you think?"
Tetsu raises an eyebrow at the green curry part... so it's not really a red pepper, but a green pepper? Interesting... "I don't have that much experience with the green variant, but I have done experiment several times about the red peppers. Assuming they're pretty similar, then i think I can give it a try to grow a patch of it... let's see.... about 5000 meter square? Probably enough..."
He keeps muttering as he checks on his notes, but enough to snap himself back to attention when Max said something about partnership. "Sure, why not? I'll give you a nice price too~ I'm someone who's interested in working on plants you see~"
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Post by Max on Jul 13, 2019 14:34:01 GMT
It was here that Max felt truly delighted. He felt so lucky to have found a travelling companion that could understand what he felt. Someone as passionate in their life goals as he was. While Max wanted to cook good food, it seemed Tetsu wanted to grow good food. And as a chef, Max appreciated that. The best ingredients came from farmers who cared for their crops and meats. Those who cultivated them with care, those who went about their business without laziness. Max could make a pretty good bet that Tetsu was that kind of farmer.
Gryz's alternative request immediately made Max interested. The thought of spreading proper cooking doctrine among tribals of the digital world was something that he would approve of. "Hmm, yes, that does sound very good..." he began. "Teaching them seasoning is good, but, I'd expand that into teaching them proper food treatment, hygeine and storage. Cripes, the amount of digimon that have fallen sick because of badly stored food... in my opinion, that is the most important thing to teach to them. Preserve meat by freezing and salting; preserve vegetables in brine... ideally fresh food should be used, but, they need to know how to make it last as long as possible so it doesn't rot and poison them."
Clearly Max was passionate about this facet of knowledge. His criminal record in Rosewood was mostly comprised of accosting restaurant owners that failed to store their food properly and were possibly giving their patrons food poisoning because of their ignorance. Charges against Max were lifted by friends, mainly Owen, but, the Impmon-X was frustrated to the point of anger about the lack of education given to digimon about how to store their food properly.
Those thoughts aside, Max beamed at Gryz at what he spoke next. "Yeah! That's right! You get it!" he exclaimed, almost bouncing with excitement. "Cooking's not just putting ingredients into a pot, it's about tempering the flavour... like a swordsman crafts a sword. It's about making sure all the flavours spread through all of the ingredients. It's both a science and an art. Sometimes it even boils down to sheer luck. But I want to perfect my methods so it's 100% every time."
Tetsu then mentioned that he was surprised they were looking for green peppers rather than red peppers. At this, Max shook his head. "Nono, it ain't the peppers that makes the curry green, it's the curry paste that does so. The peppers used can be red or green. Personally I dunno what colour the Bottle Peppers will be, but, I presume they're green, since green's a common color for a bottle as far as I know. Also just in my experience, green curry is better prepared with fresh peppers than red curry."
Max beamed again when Tetsu indicated he was interested in growing the samples they could hopefully collect from here. Ah, this filled the Impmon-X with hope. That he would no longer disappoint his customers with weak peppers, or send them fleeing to the toilet after feeding them with ridiculously hot peppers like Red Habanero's. If they could both discover this rare pepper and Tetsu could follow on with a steady supply, Max would be forever grateful.
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Post by tetsushi on Jul 16, 2019 5:45:11 GMT
"Hmm, helping like that is fine and all, but what sort of help entailed here?" Gryz asked. "I mostly asked because these tribes... doesn't really have fridges as strange as it is. They don't have power source... or the fact that the fridges are unusable in their terrain. If you don't mind to suit your teaching way based on the climate on the places and such, I feel they would love to have your help. However, if you introduce... things that they felt too alien for them I think you'll get rejected, just like us back then honestly..."
"Yeah we got rejected... ouch." Tetsu muttered. "We just wanted to introduce something like fertilizer usage, but apparently there was a tribe who felt doing so is like eating back something that's already digested, so they felt it's a taboo... At times like that, I got chewed by the village elder... so we decided to just use kitchen waste, and dried leaves instead..."
Hmmm, so bottle pepper isn't green pepper? "Well, either way..." Tetsu took something out from his Infini-Store. It's shaped like Digitama, but with clear lid. Inside seem to be some form of soil. "I got these planters ready for the peppers! I'm honestly excited to try all sort of soil composition with the peppers! I have soil samples from all over the Digital World to see which soil is the best for that!"
"Well looks like we're all set. Would you like to guide us, then, Max? Or would you like to ride me as Gryzmon? Going by air is good and all, but only when you walk by foot you know what sort of stuff you'll find on the way. The pepper is our target, but seeing bonus along the way isn't bad at all, isn't it?"
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Post by Max on Jul 19, 2019 14:07:00 GMT
Max had an easy response to Gryz's question. "Well, it's simple. If ice isn't available, they use alternative ways to preserve food. Salt, spice, pickling and drying. I know how this is done, Mr. Owen of Rosewood taught me how to preserve food when on a long journey with no resupply. And I can teach this to others. The food might not ever taste good again, but if it keeps a digimon alive and doesn't poison them, that's the next best thing."
The Impmon-X knew where Gryz was coming from though, that he was concerned that too much knowledge might scare the tribal digimon into rejecting them altogether. And this was a valid concern. "I admit... I don't really know how to approach digimon like that in order to help them... I might have been taught a lot, but, I'm still young. Do you think you might be able to teach me how to approach them?". Max was by now rather trusting with Gryz, and respected him, so he was willing to learn lessons from him and his partner.
He listened as they stated their last problem about fertilizer. Max knew enough about cultivation to know what that meant. "Oh geez... that must suck big time." he said, shaking his head.
Then Tetsu revealed something curious, which Max quickly decided was splendid. "Oh man, that'd be perfect!" he exclaimed. "Yeah... if we can do that, find the peppers, collect samples of the soil they grew in, that'd be awesome!"
If someone knew both Bellamy and Coronamon, they would quickly find that Max reacted to good news as Coronamon would - with much more excitement and enthusiasm. Bellamy would normally just remain cool about something like this, and not be like Max and be close to dancing a jig in celebration. Still though, Max tried to stay professional and on task.
Tetsu then asked if they were ready, which they were. He then asked if he'd like to guide them, or if they'd like to proceed riding Gryz in his Gryzmon form. Max thought he'd like that option. "Yeah, we'd best go the Gryzmon way. If ya can fly, that's great in case we need to get out of a problem, but, we probably need to be close to the ground to find these peppers. So if you can get us across the bayou, that'd be the best way we can go about this."
Max then awaited the beginning of their journey.
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Post by tetsushi on Jul 27, 2019 0:34:37 GMT
"Hygiene probably one of things that you don't need to teach some of the tribes we have gone to. Apparently they have adopted the habit of cleaning up prior to feeding... but storing on the other hand... well, let's just say there are a lot of waste. Meats goes rotten... veggies goes pasty and spoiled, it was horror. By that time they just feed it to Numemons and Raremon who took them happily... but even then to me it felt like a really bad case of storing," Gryz commented.
Oh, that's quite the humble thing to say. Gryz smiled and gently pat the Impmon's back. "Of course, of course I'll be happy to do that. Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours, eh? To spread awareness of delicious food, and health in general, I'd do anything honestly! Our interest pretty much aligned, so let's do this together as a team."
Well the course of the journey is decided. Gryz nodded to Tetsu who quickly evolved him to his Adult stage Gryzmon. He let the two to ride him and began his journey inside. Being a bear, honestly, Gryz had some scary thought that the wooden bridge would creak or worse, crack under his weight... but to his surprise it holds quite well. He walked in deeper as Tetsu tries to strike a conversation with Max.
"So, what else are you interested on in this place other than the pepper? Usually when it comes to Swamp..."
"There are Stringy Grass. They're not filling, but very great for reducing fatigue from training," Gryz commented. "And there are of course local fishes. Digi Catfishes are found around here, along with Digi Arowana."
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Post by Max on Aug 2, 2019 9:14:18 GMT
Max was glad that Gryz got what he meant by teaching the natives how to preserve food. "Yeah, that's right. Especially in tropical places like this, where food can go off really quickly." the Impmon-X reasoned.
Then, Gryz responded to his request by patting his back. Max rather liked the feeling, but did his best to remain as stoic as possible here. Still, he smiled directly at Gryz for the gesture, glad to have him nearby on this journey.
"As a team, yep, I'm happy with that." Max replied, giving a thumbs-up. Following that, Tetsu evolved Gryz to his Adult form, and Max boarded his back, eager to see where they would go. Of course, he was a little paranoid about freak bogs and similar, but, none had eventuated, so there was no need to fear from those areas of the area at this stage.
Tetsu then asked Max what got him interested in the Bayou in the first place, other than the peppers. "Well... it's like it's a whole new region of the digital world, ready to be explored ain't it?" the Impmon-X replied. "There's stuff in here that nobody in Rosewoord or Terminus or Whitewater or any of the other big places know about. That plus I'm kind of a believer in risk equals reward, you know? More risk involved, the bigger the reward, although not to the point where I'll risk lives for somethin'. That and Chef Flawizarmon told me just how rich the ingredients in this place are, so, thought I might see for myself".
He noted with interest the other ingredients mentioned by Gryz. "Hmm... I've heard of the catfish, but not those other things." Max answered. "Stringy Grass you say? Hmm... it goes against my code as a cook to eat raw food, but that it has those properties piques my interest." Maybe there was a way for him to create a dish that used those fatigue reducing properties?
"Digi Arowana? Haven't heard of those, although I kinda wanna find out if they're so famous." Max continued. His thoughts were jarred by the obstacle ahead. "...oh crud."
It seemed that the bridge ahead was out. Apparently it had rotted away, only one rope remaining across it. The other rope had collapsed, and rotting wooden boards were dangling above the muddy water below. The bridge was meant to cross one of the many waterways that covered this vast river delta. But, it seemed, this particular path was closed off to traffic, probably because of some other careless traveler that didn't bother fixing the bridge after they broke it.
"So... what happens here?" Max asked, unsurely. "Do we go back and find another route? Or is it safe to swim across?" he asked.
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Post by tetsushi on Aug 14, 2019 13:57:24 GMT
"I heard there are also plants that can decelerate degradation of food's freshness but as for where we can find such plants, we have yet to find them," Gryz commented. "It's said by after coating the meat with salt, then wrapping such leaves on them, it could extend the meat's consumption time by about two weeks, which is honestly not bad if you consider the no-refrigerator..."
"We might find some of them here? Maybe~?"
"Well I wouldn't be too hopeful, but let's just try," Gryz commented.
So it's a lot of new ingredients that brings him to this place. "Mother Nature provides indeed," Gryz sagely nods "You're right in exploring some places yourself if you want to find something good. Sometimes what one forgot is there's a reason why something grow or lives at certain condition, and a great chef must understand that reasons, and work how to preserve that taste. I feel you got those in spades though."
Ah, obstacles. How nice. This is not one of the moments where they should worry though. Gryz just tapped at the bridge, and from the mud, few huge chunks of earth floats, which he then stepped like it's some bridge. "Easy there, Max. You're in good hand," Gryz commented with his signature zen face.
"By the way, do you have any clues where they grows, like the temperature, moisture or anything? These bottle peppers I mean," Tetsu asked.
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Post by Max on Aug 15, 2019 11:28:53 GMT
Max rubbed his chin when Gryz mentioned certain leaves could be used to preserve as well. "Interesting. Hope we can find some in here then, that'll be handy to know." He understood how things like that worked, if the leaves could block the conditions ideal for causing food to go rotten, then they would be very well utilized.
The Impmon-X smiled at Gryz's remarks. "Yep, ya got me." he said, appreciating being understood like this. "In fact that's one of my philosophies. Everyone deserves joy in their life. And an easy way to get joy is through great food. If it's flavoured well, it makes ya happy the moment it touches your tongue. And if it's healthy, it'll make ya good on the inside too. So if I teach as many other digimon how to cook properly as possible, well, by logic, the digital world's gonna be a happier place, yeah?"
When they were at the ruined bridge, Max could hardly believe his eyes as Gryz solved the problem instantly - making chunks of earth rise to the surface, forming a makeshift bridge that they could cross safely.
"...huh, wow, that's impressive!" was all he could say in response to this. He was glad they didn't have to get wet and dirty quite yet, so without further impediment, they crossed safely. Once across, Tetsu asked more about the conditions of the bell peppers.
"Well, for one thing, I know they grow in the middle of the bayou, so, tropical conditions - high humidity and medium temperature are probably necessary. And moderate salinity too, swamp water is saltier than normal. But... those alone are usually atrocious properties for growing crops. There's gotta be somethin' really fantastic about the minerals in the soil to get them to grow and be so legendary. Trouble is, no way of knowin' that until we find 'em." Max reasoned.
As they continued, Max noticed some plants nearby that piqued his interest. Initially he ignored it, but then he turned again to notice a bushel of grass that was greener than the other dull yellow plants that grew in the area. Plus it looked rather like string.
"Hey, is that the stringy grass?" he asked curiously, pointing to it.
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Post by tetsushi on Aug 16, 2019 13:19:24 GMT
"I heard it's called something along the name... 'Pico Leaf' or something... They said it's a tropical plant, but we tried to scour the Binary Archipelago but found nothing. Apparently 'not damp enough', so here we are I guess," Tetsu commented. Still, he noted what Max said about the ecology of the plant. So in the middle huh... that's interesting. As much as it make it easier for them to just ride the bear chariot, Tetsu prefers doing thing slowly like this too... It's not laziness, though. After all, they found stringy grass!
"Stringy grass forms clump. Normally, if they grow on the swamp, they... float on the water... and if they grew on the ground, they tend to be greener than the rest indeed," Tetsu commented. Without even batting an eye, he quickly approached the grass. It's growing in cluster, and easy to harvest too! With just a bit of light pulling, Tetsu already got a clump of it. He put it inside the egg shaped pot.
"By the way, stringy grass tends to grow in solitary manner. There is about fifty meter radius between one another until you find another one... like here!" Tetsu picked up another, then another, then another... until he got about fifteen small clumps. He didn't put it all in the pot of course. He left about five of it for Max.
"Here, why don't you try it? You're curious, right? Ah..."
Tetsu took out a necklace from under his shirt. The blue gem shone, gathering moisture from its surrounding, enough to create a sphere of water, where he washed the grass, gently, making it floats inside, an somehow gets its dirt and soil cleaned thoroughly.
"Here you go!"
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Post by Max on Aug 23, 2019 14:30:47 GMT
So, the preserving herb was called a "Pico plant". Max pondered about this. "I see. Going by what I know about food preservation, it'd be somethin' of an acidic plant. You know, since acidic fruits like oranges, limes and lemons can ward off goin' rotten through high acidity." That was one of the lessons Chef Flawizarmon taught him.
"Acids are sour, bases are bitter. It's a fine balance, but if in doubt, trust your tongue." was his advice. By now, Max had learned that advice well. Good food should never be too sour, bitter, salty or sweet, but a decent balance of all of them.
His thoughts were drawn to the moment when indeed they had come across stringy grass. Tetsu collected a lot of it, then gave Max a purified sample so he could investigate it.
"Hmm... smells decent." the Impmon-X remarked. Then to explore its culinary properties, he took a bite of it raw, then shuddered, ugh, it was awful. But, not so much daunted, he attempted to cook it quickly in multiple ways. Firstly, by using his fire magic to cook it directly. Yes he burned most of that attempt into charcoal, but, what remained did taste rather nice. The last attempt was to put the grass into a small vessel of water, then he boiled it for a few minutes, then tasted it. At last, he felt like he understood it.
"Oh... wow, I get it now!" he said, delighted. "It's like somethin' between chives and scallions... with a savoury finish. Yeah! I think I can use this herb!"
Delighted at this discovery, Max was eager to go forward. He rather hoped to find the other ingredients mentioned in the bayou now, such as the catfish and arowana. Although fishing wasn't really his specialty, his fire magic wasn't much good against fish.
"Okay, we ready to go ahead?" he asked his companions.
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