Lt Jovenan – Appetizers and appetizees
Jovenan
((Holodeck 2, Deck 2, USS Artemis))
Jovenan: Hello, Vitor! ::looks around:: This is a very spectacular kitchen!
The Human, dressed in an apron over his t-shirt, smiled seeing her enter. Jovenan walked past several worktops and other necessities as Vitor opened his arms, presenting the holographic recreation of a high-end Earth-style kitchen.
Silveira: Welcome Nan. You know I always take that extra effort. I like a big “workspace” and that way we won’t be bumping into one another as we cook.
Jovenan took an apron from a neat pile and put it on her. While tying the strings around and behind her back, she followed with her eyes as Vitor gestured around the kitchen. She could see several familiar kinds of cooking equipment, from knives and spatulas to frying pans and stoves, although there were also some she couldn’t name. She wondered if they were more specialized, or if there was some cultural barrier present.
Silveira: I hope this setting suits you. When did you cook last?
Jovenan: I don’t cook often, last time with Hiro before he left for the Ronin, though he had a lot less, um, appliances than this. I have to admit, I don’t even know what half of them are. ::smiles:: I guess you’ll have to teach me.
Vitor made a little bow to her direction.
Silveira: I am sure you will find similar utensils to the ones you use. It was easier for me to “build” this with the more familiar setting of the kitchens I know.
Jovenan smiled some more. The fact that Vitor could create such a facility in the first place told her enough of his cooking abilities. If he had made Jovenan try and program a fully equipped kitchen, no matter which culture, they might not have had their lunches ready before the next breakfast.
Hearing someone approaching from behind, Jovenan turned to face them as well. She was happy to see that Doctor Sadar, the other promotee of the previous award ceremony, had not bailed them out. She knew that Sadar was shy and introverted, more so than she was herself, and she had been worried that the Mizarian might have not been comfortable in joining them.
Sadar: H-Hello Sirs... I-I’m sorry for the delay.
Silveira: You are right on time, Sada. Welcome. I hope you brought up some good things for us to try.
Jovenan: There was no delay, I came here just before you did!
Sadar made a brief detour to retrieve an apron for herself, and soon all three were donning a similar protective garment over their clothes. Sadar had opted to wear her uniform, and although Jovenan preferred dressing down when possible, she assumed the uniform brought the Doctor a level of comfort. Now to think of it, had she ever seen her out of uniform?
Sadar: Oh, uhh, I-I have a selection to choose from? I wasn’t sure what the two of you wanted to make, so...
Silveira: I would say anything and everything. But I would be good with a nice original lunch.
Jovenan wasn’t sure in which sense of “original” Vitor was referring to, but a nice lunch sounded great. The combination of different cultures almost guaranteed they’d each be having something they hadn’t had ever before.
Jovenan: I’m open to anything as well!
Sadar: Well then, in the interest of making a three-course meal, I could make a desert?
Vitor gave a look at both of them and shrugged.
Silveira: I was thinking we worked on different dishes, but why not? That way we certainly have an original meal. What do you think, Nan?
Jovenan: So that we each make a part of the meal and eat them together? Sounds perfect to me!
Vitor seemed satisfied with the plan and continued to present the different parts of the kitchen.
Silveira: That’s the replicator we can use to get the ingredients. ::He smiled and winked at them.:: And so we won’t cheat, it isn't programmed to give us anything cooked. I searched the ship’s computer for Edo and Mizarian food. I hope I haven’t missed anything.
Jovenan nodded. It made sense, ordering anything that was already cooked would have made the occasion pointless. Even if they didn’t replicate prepared dishes, just mixing semifinished ingredients didn’t sound like cooking either, although it would have been much easier to Jovenan, at least with her minimal cooking experience.
Jovenan: You don’t trust us not to cheat? ::mischievous smile:: Only the fresh and unprocessed ingredients, got it!
Sadar: Response
Jovenan moved closer to the replicator and opened the Edo food ingredients selection. She made a few scrolls down the menu, skimming through the short list of familiar names. There were full fruits and vegetables, from moner to riamalen clusters and even lanetus, both red and blue variants, as well as anything one could gather or harvest from different parts of Rubicun and God’s Claims. Even such exotic ingredients, like etajam bark from Strnad were listed, although there were some obvious omissions as well. No doubt, food items from a culture far away were underrepresented in their replicator files, although Jovenan was impressed they had even so much.
She was certain she could make a good dish out of them, and now the only obstacles were her choosing the recipe and actually cooking it.
Silveira: OK, so Sada is in charge of dessert, then what are we having before that. Two course meals of fish and meat for example? Maybe a salad and then either one of them? Tell me my Buddy Chefs?
Jovenan: Hmm… Well, um, I don’t have any meat or fish recipes, those aren’t a thing in my region. I could make something from vegetarian, either something lighter or more filling, depending on what you’d like.
Opening the PADD she was holding, she accessed the files where she had stored the recipes. They required different amounts of effort and time, and while she thought that the point of this cooking themed get-together was the journey and not the destination, she considered which options she could match with how much time the others might take with their respective dishes.
Sadar: Response
Silveira: Don’t worry about me, I can … ::Suddenly he got an inspiration. Considering their location and Zie’s favorite dish he smiled, snapped his fingers and opened his arms in triumph:: I know what I am cooking. It’s been a while but I made this Hasperat that even the Captain approved.
Jovenan nodded approvingly. She had seen hasperat being served practically everywhere, but she had somehow managed to avoid it. She considered herself lucky that she’d get to taste it first made by someone who knew how to make it instead of the sad, wilted ones served in the side alley cafés in Hurkos’ Main Campus.
Jovenan: Sounds amazing, I’ve actually never had hasperat before! They’re pretty spicy, aren’t they, so maybe I’ll make something lighter and cool.
Sadar: Response
The division of labour settled, Jovenan still scrolled through the recipes she had at hand. Something refreshing, tasty, good with hasperat. Chopping vegetables and mixing them into a salad seemed easy, but at the same time, it might have been too easy, and after a few minutes, she’d be staring at the others still in full work and wait. No, she’d make something that more complicated than that!
Eventually, after verifying that all the ingredients were available from the replicator, Jovenan landed on simulias kurun salad with vokatos dressing. Taking the ingredients out, she reserved one of the worktops for herself. Placing the PADD with the recipe on a stand, like she had noticed Vitor had done, she picked up a knife and a cutting board and started chopping the ingredients.
Before they’d start making too much noise with their respective tasks, Jovenan saw an opportunity to chat with her friends.
Jovenan: ::to Sadar:: Have you relocated to new quarters yet? How’ve you liked it?
Sadar/Silveira: Response
Chop chop chop. Jovenan continued talking while keeping her eyes mostly on the vegetables she was cutting, so that she wouldn’t find herself in yet another accident. At least they had a doctor nearby.
Jovenan: I’m still in the process of furnishing my quarters, so don’t be too stressed about it. ::pause:: Hmm, I should probably have started with the dressing. Since it needs to be cooled down.
Sadar/Silveira: Response
She put the salad ingredients aside for now and took out the vokatos for the dressing. Holding one in the air in front of her eyes, she recognized that she lacked critical skills for the first step.
Jovenan: Vitor, could you give some advice. I’d need to get this vegetable into a paste. ::looks around, then to Silveira:: Which appliance should I use?
Sadar/Silveira: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11