It Started With a Vacation

Chapter Four

"So," you said, once everyone was in the kitchen, "what do you guys want to eat?" They looked around at each other, none of them knowing what to say.

"Right," you said, "soldiers. Don't know or care what they eat, as long as it feeds them." Man, cooking for them would be harder than you thought.

"Um, well, there is nerf meat, so we could make stemau," you said while thinking out loud.

"Stemau?" Wrecker asked.

"Stemau is a specially cooked and seasoned piece of nerf meat that is traditional to Dohbar. It used to be a traditional offering for the old Dohbarian religion, though nobody, or at least very few, still practice that religion today," Tech said while scanning his data pad. The others were giving Tech slightly bored looks, so you went over and smiled at him.

"Hey, they may not appreciate when you info dump, but I find it fascinating. Even if it's stuff I already know. It's cool that you care so much about learning new things," you said quietly as you put a hand on his shoulder. He smiled down at you and set his data pad down.

"So, are you going to teach us how to make this?" He asked.

"Yup! So go wash your hands and get ready to get messy," you said. As the boys washed up, you got out all the ingredients for stemau. You also decided you would make ebruah with it, so you got those ingredients out as well.

You noticed the boys had finished so you took a step back and looked at them.

"Aren't you going to wash your hands?" Tech asked.

"Nope. I'm not cooking, you are."

"But we don't know how to make this," Wrecker said.

"I know. I told you I would teach you, but I'm not going to help," you said while giving them a wide grin. The uncertain expressions on their faces made you giggle slightly.

"Okay, who wants to start?" You asked. They looked around at each other before Hunter took a small step forward.

"I guess I will," he replied. You motioned him to come over to you, the others following behind to watch.

"First, you have to slice the nerf meat into portions to be seasoned. Typically, the portions match in size and thickness." You handed him a knife and he took it hesitantly, looking at the uncut meat before him.

"Usually the portions are about a centimeter thick. My first time making this on my own, I accidentally made them an inch thick," you said, laughing internally at the memory of the horribly thick meat. "It took forever to cook all the way through."

You watched as Hunter carefully cut the meat, checking each time with you to make sure he had the size right. He stepped back and placed the knife next to the sink when he was done.

"Great! Now we have to rinse the meat before we season it. We also need to start the heat so that we can start cooking as soon as it's ready. Crosshair, could you start it for me? Make sure you set it to the middle mark between high and medium. After that, place this pan on top so it can warm up as well." The clone grabbed the pan then walked over to the stove and twisted the knob to start it.

"Tech, I want you to season the meat. Each portion gets a pinch of cerma, a small spoonful of derak, and two shakes of the ubyua on each side. But don't do the other side yet, wait until we start cooking it." Tech did as you said, carefully following your instructions. You stopped him for a second as he was about to put a little too much of the derak on.

"Sorry," he said quickly.

"No need to apologize, Tech. This is your first time making it, and you're already doing better than I did the first few times I tried." You gave him a reassuring smile that he returned before going back to seasoning.