Too Much Salt?

Richard was, to say the least, worried. Worried about Ignicio, worried about Giacinto, and worried about the future of this coven in general.

He bit his lip and frowned, inspecting the instructions on the back of the box.

From what he heard, making bread was considered therapeutic - kneading the doe often releasing stress. So, despite his lack of skills, he decided to make his own, following the directions on the packet precisely and carefully.

1 tsp of salt.

Not used to the term, he bit his lip and deciding it meant tablespoon. He opened the draw to take a silver one out, and used it to measure out the salt. He frowned a little, unsure if that was too much or too little, before shrugging and adding the contents into the mixture. He set the silver spoon by the bowl of mixture, and studied the box again.

1 tsp of sugar. 1/2 a cup of milk. Stir.

He hummed and followed the instructions, not realising his mistake.

---

tsp = teaspoon, not table spoon. May or may not be based on a real event >>

Sharifa limped her way into the kitchen, her torso covered in bandages and half healed gashes along her jaw and cheeks, feeling the urge to eat some food rather than drink blood. she was exhausted and wanted something solid to help her heal herself from the events in the Chosen Regents meeting room

she sighed heavily and winced, holding her ribs.....Gia really did a number on her

ALtair, who was perched on her shoulder looked at Sharifa with an apologetic and sorrowful look, nudging her

Sharifa smiled and chuckled, raising her hand to stroke altair and sooth him

she heard someone else was in the kitchen and pushed the door open, raising an eyebrow curiously as she looked in to see Dick pour in a tablespoon of salt and sugar

her eyes widened and she limped into the kitchen

what on earth are you doing!? you don't put a tablespoon of salt and sugar into a bread mix!!!! it'll kill whoever eats it!

she chuckled lightly, going over to dick and shaking her head, wincing every so often

He jumped, clattering the spoon full of sugar into the bowl. He frowned and turned to whoever it was shouting at him, about to argue that is what it stated on the instructions.

His eyes widened as he saw what a state Sharifa was in as she headed towards him. He automatically grabbed a chair and indicated her to sit down in it, with a concerned look upon his face.

"Are you alright?"

she waved off the chair and grinned

small room. my sensitive nose. a demon. a really very pissed of Gia. and an exorcism involving me, Gia a Lycan and Altair. need i say more? i'll be fine though......just need to eat something

she then turned to the recipe book

also, just so you know, tsp means Tea Spoon.....Tbsp means table spoon....that amount of salt and sugar would poison people.....their kidneys wouldn't be forgiving you any time soon

she snickered, and stroked Altair s she pointed out the different shorthands

she shook her head again looked at Dick again, still grinning a she cradled her ribs

He blinked, slowly taking in the situation "And exorcism?! Wait, who-" He paused, remembering the conversation he had with Sharifa back at the Valentine Ball. "Alexander, I am guessing?"

He frowned and mulled over the situation that Sharifa explained to him. From her grin, he guessed that nothing extortionately bad happened. Other then a few, more then minor, scraps.

He turned to the bowl to fish out the spoon, then froze, his cheeks turning a slight pink colour as Sharifa pointed out his mistake. He did not look at her in the eye as he heard her laugh quietly at him. Instead, he quickly fished out the spoon, and dumped the contents into the washing up area - deciding he won't be cooking today.

Still not looking at Sharifa in embarrassment, he told her were to find food: "I think the are a few cakes in the fridge, but they are pretty much stale. There is a lot of instant food and fresh ingredients though..."

it was okay, Gia passed out eventually, the Lycan looked knackered, and i had a seizure from the sudden lack of power. but it's best i don't go into description. we're all still alive.

she chuckled again at Dick's blushing face, and understood why Nico liked it, but she couldn't help but think of him as a child, mom instincts kicking in

it's no problem *chuckles* i could show you how to make bread if you want. you seem a little stressed. so i can help you. you got everything else right beside the sugar and salt

she opened the cupboard and brought out the needed ingrediants and tool, washing out the bowl

come here and i'll show you

she smiled as she brought over a couple of eggs, and pointedly, but still jokingly, brought out a tea spoon

"At least nobody is dead." He muttered in agreement, a ping of worry coming back at the mention of Giacinto passing out.

He turned to look at Sharifa, a little bit of hope and embarrassment at being shown how to make bread set out on his face.

He cracked out a "Thank you." and he walked over to Sharifa as she invited him over. Hands moving to twist one of his rings, only to frown when he remembered that he took them off. Something about Health and Safety.

He stood next too her, looking away as she pointed out that they were too use a teaspoon, red seeping back up to his face.

she bumped Dick with her hip and grinned wider, despite the slight stinging sensation

look kid, it's cool. we're all still here, so don't panic. what's done is done, so it's not gonna change now. Gia's probably feasting on a few humans right now

she chuckled and then brought over the measuring scales

right, first things first. the flour. it says to use 300 grams of self raising flour. pretty simple, you measure it out. however, i've found you don't have to be overly accurate. you get the same results and sometimes tastes better

she grinned, and showed Dick how to measure everything out, getting around the required amount, maybe a few grams out here and there, but pretty much.

now! with the salt a tea spoon not a table spoon. this way, the consumers kidneys won't rebel and shut down. same with the sugar, you wanna mix it? you need to put a bit if strength behind it when it thickens, and i'm afraid it may reopen my wounds

she grinned sheepishly and petted Altair

He flushed a little more at the jab of his mistake, yet watched Sharifa intently, noting down anything that he did not do before from his other cooking attempts. He went to twist the ring again, having nothing to do with his hands, only to come to the same problem as before.

He glanced of to the side, red faced, at the mention of how his cooking was a health hazard. Muttering a quick "Sure.", and glanced over at Sharifa in slight worry about her wounds. He picked up the bowl, pushing the worry to the side (she was a grown woman), and began to carefully mix the contents - blowing at his hair to push it out his face, not really wanting to tie it back.

she smiled, and quietly noted how he always used to go to his fingers, as though to fiddle with the ring, then drop his hands finding nothing there

she figured it was a nervous habit

love, why're you so nervous? we're just making a loaf of bread

she chuckled and shook her head

also, you may wanna tie your hair back m'dear.

she went behind him and quickly tied it back with a yellow ribbon and grinned

we don't really want any 'essence of Dick' in the bread

she snickered, and Altair simply rolled his eyes, bowed his head and hid his face under a wing

"I am not nervous." He said in defense, yet hesitated "It is just that... Cooking tends to be unsuccessful for me." Looked down in the bowl, as if something wrong will happen any moment.

Sharifa made him jump once more as she began to tie his hair back, his right hand he was using for mixing instinctively shot up to cover the suspicious bruise marks on his neck. His face now a brighter red at he comment. He turned to gap at her for a few seconds as she simply snickered at him.

"P-pardon?

i see. well, i'm here to help so yeah

she saw the bite marks and shrugged it off. she'd given Gia much worse

she smiled again, however, at Dick's comment, and laughed at his expression

you know, 'essense of Dick', as in your hair or something. i heard your nickname was Dick, so yeah she chuckled and then gave a sly smirk why? what were you thinking m'dear? has the dear Nico began tainting your mind? wouldn't suprise me the amount of times he's marked you my dear boy

she laughed, and Altair nipped her ear to make her behave and she calmed down quickly, apologising to ALtair

"Of course not." He yelped, feeling his face warm up again, and felt hatred his nick-name that the majority of Richards got called 'back in the day', which was now a not so innocent word.

His face slowly getting more redder by the comments, he quickly spun back around at the last comment, almost chocking on air. He quickly mixed the contents up - a lot faster and not as careful as before. Embarrassment seeped out of him as he heard Sharifa laugh behind him.

He also felt a tad bit of annoyance - aimed at Ignicio for getting him in this situation.

Sharifa snickered

calm down...you'll spill the mixture boy. and sorry for embarrasing you *grin* i do it all the time with my kids and grandkids. they hate me for it an always go 'moooom dirty old woman' or 'grandmaaaaa eeewwww' *chuckles*

she snickered and waited till the doh was ready

right, next thing to do is knead the doh. you do this by using the heel of your palm, like so

she had taken the now sticky doh out of the bowl and began needing it with the heel of her hand, putting a fair amount of force into it and occasionally changing its position and flipping it over

He slowed down, willing his body to cool off. He hmmed at the apology, cheeks now only a light pink, and listened as she gave a little snippet of her family life. In all honesty, he did not expect her to be a Grandma, with his own being strict and short-tempered - so he never put teasing and... "fun" in the equation when it came with Grandmothers.

He stepped away from the bowl, and once again carefully watched her. Seeing how she kneaded the doe, correctly. He took notes in his brain, not wanting to forget next time he felt an urge to cook. Which was, luckily, rarely.

she looked over at Dick

you wanna go hun?

stepped back to let him do so

just relax into it and go with it. and put some of your body weight behind your movements.

she smiled. it was like teaching her kids to cook back home

"Sure."

He slowly kneaded the doe, a little surprised by the amount of strength needed. He picked up the pace, quickly getting used to the slight stickiness of uncooked due under his hands. He was silent for a small while, concentrating on the die, before he decided to speak, to pick up the conversation.

"So, out of curiosity, how many Grandchildren and Children do you have back at your home?"

she thought for a moment, leaning back against the counter

two children. Malik and Yasmin. and then Malik has three children, and Yasmin as five. she was originally just wanting three, but on her third pregnancy, she got triplets *chuckles* you shoulda seen the look on her husband's face when Yasmin told him *snicker* it was priceless

her shoulders moved up and down as she chuckled

when i was still at home, they would bring their children to me to train them up as fighters and to live how we all lived in my coven, it's a family coven really, with a few peripherals that wanted a coven, but wanted to wonder Arabia as well. we all live by a Creed as such, an Honour thing that the Ibn'La-Ahads have lived by for generations. *smiles* of course, after their training, i spoil them rotten, of course. my children always tell me i'll taint their children, but i know i won't as my grandkids have their parent's, who i brought up a bit firmer, to straighten them out again

she laughed, and she felt a slight pang of homesickness, wanting to see her family again, but she couldn't until the mess back home had cleared up

Altair nuzzled her

He listened to her speak, finding it soothing in a way, as he continued to put his main focus on the dough . His lips quirked as she mentioned the triplets, finding amusement in Sharifas own as she talked of her family.

He glanced at the ring on the side, out of harms way, for a second, then went back to listening and kneading the dough.

Though he won't admit it, how her coven was set up flew over his head a bit, not quite paying attention, hoping he hmmed in the right places.

He slowly felt his arms get bored of the repetitive action, but he continued on, not completely getting the therapeutic side of it.

she noticed how he spaced out a little and chuckled, and also smelt the slight bordem and irritation at something...probably because he was hoping to get something out of it

you gotta put more strength into it. you're supposed to get any air bubbles out of the dough. kneading it like a pansy isn't going to get you any where. putting strength behind it was what makes it soothing as you're letting out frustrations as if you were hitting something.

she grinned, chuckling quietly

my youngest granddaughter, Basima, can do better that that

her eyes flashed at the last comment, hoping to get a rise out of Dick so he actually does it properly, and hopes it would help him ease up a bit through the work

He glared at Sherifa and he comments, and turned to put a lot more pressure into kneading the dough at a much faster pace. He felt determination go through him, not wanting to be compared to a granddaughter that was, most probably younger then him, in a worst light.

He continued knead the dough as such, imagining his uncles face on on it. He waited for Sharifa to tell him to stop, or at least something a long those lines.

she chuckled and put her hands over his to stop him

okay that's enough *chuckles* feel any better m'dear?

she grinned broadly at the determination she had seen in his features. it was rather amusing as it was exactly the same expression as Basima's

however, the young man didn't need to know that

He slowed and stopped as Sharifa placed her hand on his and told him that's enough. He stepped away from the dough, to give the older woman room.

He hummed in thought, not feeling as tense, he guessed. "I guess I do feel a little better" he admitted.

He turned to look at Sharifa, giving her a question look as she grinned. He then asked: "So, now we put it in the oven?"

we actually leave it to prime now. in other words, let the yeast start up and make the bread rise a little she explained as she put it in a bread baking tin and covered it with a tea cloth and i'm glad you feel better. you looked so wound tight i thought something was gonna snap she chuckled, picking up the tin and placing it on the side

she then gathered several other ingredients from around, getting all sorts, such as chicken, salt, olive oil, garlic, spices and herbs and some Falfela that she had prepared at an earlier date, as well as several other more exotic ingredients, and placed them on the worktop

Color=gold]while the dough primes, i want to make myself some dinner. and i will teach you how to cook at the same time[/color]

she grinned broadly, putting all the ingredients in an order only she understood completely

this is everything needed for making Chicken Shwarma. it's a really nice simple dish and tastes awesome. she chuckled quietly as she began defeathering the chicken, and putting the feathers to the side in a plastic bag. it was the general waste things that she could deal with later this was the first recipe i taught my children and, them their children, as it's a good staple, and it can have things added to spice it up from the basics. it's a nice beginner recipe

"Ah, okay." He sat down on the chair he pulled out earlier, feeling a little useless as she went around the kitchen, collecting all sorts of ingredients. He lent over to grab the two rings on top of the counter- slipping them back on his fingers.

He blinked a little in surprise, and the corner of his lips twitched up as she offered to teach him to cook. "Thank you."

Deciding that he could not see from where he sat, he stood up back next to Sharifa - yet still stood far away enough to let her cook "So, it is like a family recipe then?"