She Becomes The Hero In Another World 82 She Gives A Cooking Lecture

"Need any help?" She asked.

"Teacher! What are you doing here! Aren't you injured? Ponzu exclaimed when he saw Robin had silently arrived behind him.

"I strained my mana core, not my heart." Robin snorted. "Besides, I am in the mood for something with cinnamon...what's left?"

Ponzu shrugged. "All I have left is the leftover pie crust dough from the turnovers. The kitchen hands made an extra batch by accident when I was working on the hash browns."

Robin's eyes lit up as she thought of something. Ponzu immediately caught the gleam in her eyes. He paused as he put the silver tray on the final breakfast dish. These trays had rune spells to keep the food warm and fresh until it was time for breakfast.

"You've thought of something?" He asked.

"Maybe..." Robin said as she looked around the kitchen, and caught one of the kitchen hands glancing in at the door.

"You, there! If you're going to spy on us, you might as well come and openly observe so that you have something to make of yourself later." Robin said.

"Can I come watch, too?" Gerard peeked his head out of the nearby broom closet room.

"You again! I knew you were lurking about somewhere. But do you have to hide in such unexpected places?" Ponzu grumbled, eyeing Gerard with a despairing helplessness.

Gerard's hiding skills were getting better and better, regardless of his platinum white head of hair. Even Ponzu was now unable to find out where he was until after several tidbits were stolen from the pans.

Gerard tilted his head. "Isn't it the best place to hide only because it is unexpected?" He asked innocently.

"At least, hiding where someone expects me to hide, isn't that the same way as letting them know where I am?"

Robin chuckled. "Well, you're not wrong. But with those cobwebs in your hair, you won't be able to help us make it. So you can only watch."

"Okay!" Gerard beamed happily, glad to be allowed to show his face in the kitchen once more.

"I'll turn on the oven again. What color?" Ponzu asked.

"According to the color chart, It should be yellow-orange. Is there any cream cheese? Robin asked, as she slipped an ap.r.o.n on over her clothes.

"Cream Cheese?" Ponzu asked, curiously.

"You don't have it?" Robin asked as she tied the ap.r.o.n strings.

"Are you talking about sour cream?" He asked, as he touched a spell rune. This would turn on the oven. He also placed the lava beast scale into the oven, so that it would be able to tell him when to stop increasing the heat..

"So you don't have it..." Robin sighed. 'All right, b.u.t.ter should do for now. But after this I will also be teaching you how to make cream cheese."

Ponzu eagerly grabbed the things Robin needed, which only amounted to five things: b.u.t.ter, granulated sugar, cinnamon, powdered sugar, and a cup of water.

First, Robin rolled the pie crust dough out into a large round pizza shape. She liberally applied the b.u.t.ter, spreading it on the round dough until it was about a quarter of an inch away from the edges. Then she mixed a few spoonfuls of granulated sugar and cinnamon together, and liberally sprinkled it over the b.u.t.ter.

All that was left was rolling it up, slicing out the rounds, and putting them in the oven to bake. Robin took out one of her last pieces of baking paper, and placed the swirly rounds on top of it, on the pan.

"What's that?" Gerard asked.

"Paper prepped with b.u.t.ter." Robin replied.

The kitchen aid swallowed hard. A single page as white as that would go for a silver, at least! And now Robin was using high quality paper for baking. As expected of a superior chef! He would not compromise when it came to flavor.

Actually, Robin was just doing that because she didn't want the cinnamon rolls getting stuck to the pan, and ripping. The cinnamon rolls were placed in the oven, and the door was shut.

"So, how long do I need to wait before they're done?" Ponzu asked.

"About twenty minutes. Now I can show you how to make the cream cheese." Robin chuckled. "Cuz that also takes about twenty minutes."

"Eh? But what about the powdered sugar and water?" The kitchen lad asked.

"Four tablespoons of water to one cup of powdered sugar is enough to make the frosting to drizzle over the rolls." Robin said.

"But, it's best to make that a bit before the rolls are done. otherwise, it might dry out and harden by the time the rolls are ready."

"Oh." The lad nodded.

"But now, cream cheese!" Robin said with a somewhat earnest glint.

"Okay, what do I need to do?" Ponzu asked.

"First off, we need milk." Robin said, as she glanced into the pantry. "Four cups should do, but if we're prepping for the mayor's people, too, then we'll need eight cups."

After she finished looking about, she ordered the kitchen aid. "No citrus fruits?...Very well then. Go grab the white vinegar. We'll need a few tablespoons of it. Also, grab a bit of salt, a cheesecloth, a large saucepan, and a large bowl."

After a.s.sembling all the ingredients, Robin smiled. Then she instructed Ponzu. "Place the milk in the saucepan, and heat it on the stove to simmer. Keep stirring the whole time."

When it began simmering, Robin had Ponzu lower the heat by a third. Then she started to add the white vinegar a spoonful at a time, one every minute. Once six spoonfuls had been added, Robin observed the milk that Ponzu continued stirring until the milk began to curdle, and separate. A clear, greenish liquid could be seen in the bottom of the pan, under the curds.

At that point, Robin had Ponzu turn off the heat, and pour the contents of the pot onto the cheesecloth secured over the large bowl.

"So we throw out the contents of the cheesecloth, right?" The kitchen aid asked, looking at the lumpy white curds.

Robin looked at the lad as if he had gone crazy, and finally couldn't help but laugh. "Absolutely not! Have you never made cheese before? The contents in the cheesecloth are what we are going to use to make the cream cheese. We're just waiting for it to cool a bit, before using it." She chuckled.

"Then, we're getting rid of the stuff in the bowl, right?" The lad asked.

"Why do you think we need to discard something when making food?" Robin asked. "The true value of a chef, is in making things delicious. If it's not poisonous, and not inedible, then it's a chef's ingredient, no matter how odd it looks or tastes. A chef's work is finding out how much of something is good to add to a dish to make it delicious." Robin lectured.

"Is that so?" The lad replied, feeling enlightened.

"There are also ingredients that are tasty, but poisonous without being properly processed or over a certain amount, so make sure you are aware of any demerits of an ingredient you wish to use." Robin pointed out as she lifted the cheesecloth and pointed at the whey.

"Do you see this liquid?" Robin asked.

"Yes, it looks disgusting." The lad made a face.

"That's due to your prejudice after knowing that I made this with milk and vinegar." Robin shook her head. "This here is a perfect flavor enhancer for soups. It helps the stomach to feel full faster, and has a lot of good things in it which promote good health in the body. Throwing it out is such a waste, don't you agree?"

"Well, now that you put it that way, it does sound slightly more appealing." The lad replied, somewhat embarra.s.sed.

"Good things like this liquid are thrown out every day. Isn't that such a big waste? Just because it is unappealing now, doesn't mean it can't be used to cook. Don't let your eyes deceive you. Cooking isn't all about sight. Instead, it is mostly about smell, taste, texture, and aftertaste." Robin instructed.

"I see!" The lad replied, as her words seemed to resonate within him.

Because of this simple twenty minute lecture, this young kitchen lad would one day grow up to become one of the world's most famous leading experts on exotic edible foods.