Pasta Dinner Night -- Open to All

[renegadedriving]

Characters: Anyone who wants in!
When: April 7, 2013, 6pm onwards
Where: The communal kitchen
What: Shepard hosts a communal dinner to make sure all the kids are okay, but adults and digimon are welcome as well!

[There's a good chance Shepard is going to regret emptying her wallet later, but for now, she's armed with a massive quantity of uncooked pasta and a bunch of jars of red sauce, along with butter and salt just in case of picky eaters. She'd normally just make the same thing for everyone, but she's dealing with what could be very young, very frightened children, so it's best to err on the side of caution.]

[She settles into the kitchen at 6, and after banishing Monodramon to their apartment (he's still in trouble for the incident with Gomamon), sets about to cooking.]

[If you show up early, you'll find her manning a large number of cooking pots full of heating sauce and boiling water. If you're on time, you'll find Shepard handing out plates of pasta and offering a choice between sauce or no sauce, then herding you to a table filled with anyone who got here before you. Why not get to mingling? There's enough food and company to go around, tonight.]

Comments

[acceptedburden]

[He looks relieved. Good, he hadn't actually hurt her. He'd need to be more careful around here though.]

Oh. No, I am fine. Thank you. I just thought the Commander could use more pots. I did not realize others had also come to help.

[culver]

[Good, good. This dinner is supposed to be a nice time for them all to get to know one another, after all. She'd hate to start it off by having someone get hurt.

A nod, and she considers the pot for a moment. It's big, but he looks strong enough to carry it (not that empty pots are very heavy, but she's concerned anyway). A moment later she darts around him and into the pantry to grab a few boxes of pasta. She steps out again, holding them in her arms, smiling at him. They can definitely both help Shepard.]

[acceptedburden]

[He glanced over his shoulder as the girl darted into the pantry and then back out with pasta. Right. How could he have forgotten that.]

I will admit, I am not sure how much help I may be. I have not made spaghetti before. Have you?

[culver]

[Sometimes it's the simple things.

Her eyes go a little wide at that. Not made spaghetti? Why, it's pretty much the easiest thing in the world to manage. Also... one of the only things they'd really eaten in the underground on a regular basis. Noodles are cheap, after all. She nods, wings flitting as she starts towards the counter. Yes, she has made pasta many times.]

[acceptedburden]

[He just hasn't had to cook all that much. Not to mention living under the sea means having to do without such culinary delights. He HAD seen M'gann make it before though, when she was in one of her "moods" and he knew that first he had to boil water.

He set about filling the pot with water.]

[culver]

[Meanwhile, cooking is pretty much all Nill had been able to do to help her friends besides clean the church. Leaving had been too dangerous--she might get stolen away. And she isn't much of a fighter, to nobody's surprise. But she's never minded. As long as she's doing something, that's what matters. The blonde sets the pasta down and begins opening the boxes so they're ready to go into the water once it's hot enough. But she does head to the sink once the pot is full, wings flicking, waiting to help if she's needed.]

[acceptedburden]

[It took a few minutes but once the water was on the stove it did not take long for it to heat up and bubble. Kaldur nodded to the girl.]

I believe we can add the pasta now, right?

[culver]

[Nill waits patiently for the water, idly looking at the pasta. Some of it is in shapes she hasn't seen before--swirls, little bowties. They're novel, and she likes them. Hopefully, they'll cook in the same time as the regular spaghetti pasta.

When he speaks she turns to him and nods, grabbing two boxes of the pasta--she hands one to him, and works on opening her own. She has to go on tip-toe to dump it in the pot, but she doesn't burn herself.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur takes the pasta, apparently he gets the swirly kind, and dumps it into the water. He then turns the box around to read the directions.]

It says it should only take a few minutes for the pasta to cook and then we drain it.

[culver]

[Draining it might pose a problem, especially if the pot gets too hot. Nill nods, and then begins searching for some potholders. She quickly finds one in a drawer, and holds it up to show him. She then holds up two fingers--they need at least another one. The blonde gestures to the other drawers, a request for help searching.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur watches her for a moment. At first at a lost because he does not know what she is looking for. But then he gets it and he raises an eyebrow before nodding.]

All right.

[He pulls open another drawer and begins helping in the search.]

[culver]

[Hopefully, the water won't boil over while they're searching. Just in case, she checks it every few moments. But it seems alright, and soon enough she's exhausted her side of the kitchen and turns to Kaldur, looking hopeful. If he hasn't found one, she doesn't know what they'll do.]

[acceptedburden]

[It takes him a bit but he does find another shoved deep in a drawer, practically hidden behind several hand towels. Kaldur pulls it out, realizing belatedly that they probably could have used the towels to protect them from the heat of the pot as well.]

Here.

[culver]

[Hindsight, man. The blonde smiles, setting the one she'd found on the counter before going in search of a strainer. She doesn't think she could lift the pot, water, and noodles on her own, but she really hopes he can. The strainer goes into the empty sink, and she trots back over to the pot to check the noodles.]

[acceptedburden]

Do they appear to be ready? I am not sure how to tell.

[He waits for her to answer. It shouldn't be hard for him to lift the pot at least, but he's not going to drain it before it's time.]

[culver]

[She peers over the edge of the pot, looking to see if any of the noodles are floating. Nill points to a little clump that have floated to the top of the water and then makes a circular gesture around the pot; more of them need to be up like that. In her experience, most pasta doesn't take very long to cook, but that depended on if it was meant to be al dente or not. Just to be safe she decides to give them a few more minutes, which she relays to him by holding up three fingers. Three minutes and they should be just right.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur peers in and notices the pasta floating at the top. So, that's what cooked pasta looks like.]

Might it help to stir it a little?

[He looks around for a spoon of some kind. Weren't you supposed to stir things like that?]

[culver]

[Stirring would probably be a good idea, actually. Nill nods, and starts looking as well--eventually, she comes upon a wooden spoon. Perfect. She gives the pasta a quick stir--more pieces float, and she decides that it's almost done. The strainer is ready in the sink, and she sets the spoon on the counter before giving him a nod.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur takes the pot holders and lifts the boiling water and noodles. It is quite heavy but he manages it easily enough and carefully starts to pour them into the strainer. He has to be careful to not lose any noodles though.]

Let me know if I am pouring too fast.

[culver]

[Nill hovers around him, making sure not to get too close to the hot water. She watches him poor, nodding as he goes. He's doing an excellent job, considering this is his first time making noodles, apparently. Once all the noodles are in the strainer, she swoops in and picks it up, shaking it a bit to help the water drain.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur sets the pot down and returns to watch Nill at work.]

So what happens next?

[culver]

[She dumps the noodles back into the pot and then goes for the sauce. It will be okay to mix it all together, she thinks. So she pops one of the jars open and dumps the sauce into the pot. She gestures for him to do the same.]

[acceptedburden]

[Kaldur watches her work. So apparently once the noodles are ready then you can add in whatever sauce you are making use of. Kaldur steps forward and opens a jar as well before pouring it in.]

It certainly smells good, I hope it will taste just as well.

[culver]

[There is probably a less lazy way to do it, but considering the amount of people likely showing up to eat, this is the better alternative, in her opinion. She's quick to find a big spoon to mix the pasta and sauce with, and nods enthusiastically. There are few things that she's eaten in her relatively short life that smell good but taste bad. She doubts (or at least strongly hopes) that this pasta will not be one of them.]