(no subject)

[tobeajedi]

Who: Herons and visitors!
Broadcast: None.
Action: SS Heron
When: February!

[It's a February mingle! Come visit, stay and do nothing, enjoy the luxury bath suite.]

Comments

[diplomacme]

[ Shinji's reaction is a bit unexpected, to say the least. Padmé can tell that he's shy, so she waits patiently for him to respond.

She hands him a spoon of vegetable soup to try. ]

It's a picnic lunch to surprise my husband.

[ "Husband" still rolls off her tongue strangely. It's a word she's not been allowed to say until just recently, and it still feels strange to be able to say it aloud. ]

[astrobleme]

[Shinji accepts the spoon carefully, unwilling to waste a single drop.]

A surprise... [He isn't a stranger to that sort of thing. He always felt awesome when he used to surprise his friends at school with homemade lunches. (That feels like it happened in a different lifetime.)] That's nice of you, [he says, then slips the spoon into his mouth.

Vegetable soup. It's fresh, obviously; it's way better than the ship's protein gel. His eyes widen with appreciation.]

It's really good. But, mm, is there... any lemon juice? Just a teaspoon of that would make it perfect, I think. If you don't mind my saying so.

[diplomacme]

[ Cooking is making her feel more at ease, especially since she's doing it for Anakin. Something nice, normal. A distraction they could desperately use. ]

Lemon juice-- you're right, that would brighten it up and add a little more acidity.

[ She smiles gratefully as she slices a lemon. ] No, please be honest. I love him, but Anakin will say that anything I make for him tastes good. I'd like it to actually taste good, though.

[astrobleme]

[A dry, slightly uneasy half-laugh.] I know someone like that. I'm pretty sure I could give him shoe leather and he'd think it's just as good as filet mignon... [Shinji actually has no proof that Kaworu would be so conciliatory. It's an educated guess based on how Kaworu treats him otherwise--blindly favorable.]

Anyway, the lemon juice is the only major thing. The rest would depend on personal taste. I mean, does he enjoy spicy food at all?

[diplomacme]

He enjoys all food, to be honest. [ She carefully squeezes a bit of lemon juice into the pot. ]

I haven't made anything spicy yet. But I would appreciate suggestions.

[astrobleme]

There's spicy curry... spicy tofu... spicy noodles, maybe. [Shinji lifts up onto his tiptoes so he can peer into the pot.] I kind of have a weak stomach, so I haven't tried everything out there. But red pepper flakes can add some good heat to a recipe.

[diplomacme]

I know what noodles are, but you lost me with the other two.

[ A smile ] But it would be nice to try to cook food from another galaxy.

[astrobleme]

Oh, sorry. [Shinji has to remind himself that not everyone is from his world, much less his galaxy, much less his universe.] Curry is like... seasoned vegetables, or meat, or both, that you serve with rice. The spices are sweet and savory. Pungent. And tofu is... well, some people don't like it, but it's a block of bead curd. It's soft and soaks up flavor.

I could try to write down some of the recipes I remember.

[diplomacme]

I've eaten something similar. Though I can't recall what it's called. The cook was speaking too fast.

That would be wonderful. It's like a cultural exchange. I have some recipes memorized as well, if you're interested.

[astrobleme]

Cultural exchange? [Shinji smiles a little more. Sharing recipes is the least harmful way of learning about another group of people.] Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. None of mine should be too difficult to make, as long as you have the ingredients. I tried to go for convenience over... being fancy. Healthier options, too.

[diplomacme]

There's something to be said for simple food. Sometimes complex food feels like it's for show.

I'm sure there are others who would be happy to share as well. I can ask around, if you're interested.

[astrobleme]

I'm interested. [Shinji tries not to sound too eager or too desperate about making a connection. He's a very lonely person, yet too shy to introduce himself most of the time.] Even if it's something complex, I wouldn't mind learning the recipe for it. The only issue is... well, the ingredients. I get the feeling we don't have unlimited ingredients around here.

[diplomacme]

True. We may have to substitute many ingredients, but that's part of the challenge-- and maybe with enough thought, we can make the protein paste taste less... like protein paste.

[astrobleme]

[Shinji laughs quietly, a touch restrained.] Yeah, it's pretty bad. I thought the synthetic stuff back home was the worst, but then I got a taste of this... The peanut butter type is almost acceptable, though. Have you tried that?

[diplomacme]

It doesn't taste too bad, though I've never had peanut butter before.

[astrobleme]

Never had-- [Blink. Blink blink.] You didn't have peanut butter at home? [Oh, right, different dimensions... but still...]

[diplomacme]

No. But we do have butter.

[ Just not made from cow's milk. ]

[astrobleme]

Well, peanuts come from... plants... [Not the most inspiring description.] They're a type of nut. [...] Have you ever had hazelnuts, or walnuts?

okay no for real this time

[diplomacme]

I've heard of hazelnuts before. We may have walnuts or peanuts but under a different name, perhaps.