Feast

With the second giant harvest over with, and all of us extremely tired and hating corn and wheat, I watched as everyone filtered into the house, lounging around while they watched me swiftly enter the kitchen.

Two giant harvests, with so much food waiting to be eaten...

Glancing back, I pursed my lips as I watched Camara and Kalia sitting side by side, both using a small chisel to chip away at a wooden block, carving...

Something.

Besides them, Yiksa was watching on with curiosity, her emerald eyes fixed on her daughters movements, while Aethisia laid on the ground next to them, her eyes closed.

Lastly, Rhefia draped herself over my back for a moment, kissing my cheek before plopping into a chair.

With the calmness surrounding the house, I decided to make an executive decision, as is my right as the mother of three and lover to four.

Tonight we would have a feast.

Now, I wasn't going to waste ingredients; I knew what I could make to create the 'illusion' of there being more food, when in reality it was still little used for this large meal.

First on the menu was, obviously, bread.

Lots of bread.

Different kinds of bread as well; not just the whole grain bread that we were all now addicted to, but more.

I had been thinking, and as my thoughts drifted to my newest Breeding System skill, I wondered if I could make Milk Bread, which was a sweeter, fluffier bread.

Obviously, I didn't have all the ingredients; that was the downside of having awoken in a deserted forest filled with little variety, that we've found anyways.

However, that idea of sweetness made me perk up a little, and I stared thinking of more things to make.

I could thin out the dough and create stuffed pasta, with either meat or vegetable.

Boiling corn was always good as well, and since had so much of it, corn would be an incredible thing to add to most meals.

More and more recipes floated around my head as I started preparing a dough by hand first, enjoying cooking myself instead of relying on the system.

With that thought in mind, I glanced at the waterskins I had filled with milk, deciding to have the system craft the Milk Bread for me while the normal loaf baked.

Sliding the dough into the oven, I then moved over to the stove and placed a pan over the fire, letting it heat up as I started rubbing some sage and other herbs onto the meats, slicing them into thin strips along with a scallion.

Dropping them into the heated pan, I then turned to the last thing I wanted to make; my favorite, the salads~

I more so enjoyed them because Rhefia and Aethisia seemed to believe meat was the only thing that was edible, so whenever the greens showed up they tried to skimp out on eating them...

Only to scarf them down as I smiled at them.

So I prepared a large bowl of Nettla Leaf, Vetusberries, Rojaberries, and Corn, cutting the kernels off the cob and adding them into the mixture.

Tossing everything around, I had that finished, before I started checking on everything else.

The smell of cooking food permeated the cottage, and all the women inside were watching me intently, waiting for the meal to be prepared.

Their stomach growls made me smile as I turned the meat over, glancing up at each of them as they salivated, Aethisia licking her lips while Kalia stared at the oven, her eyes fixed on the bread.

Pulling the pan off the stove, I let the meat simmer on the heated metal before taking the bread out of the oven, placing it on the counter.

Cutting the loaf into slices, I placed them onto each plate before laying the meat on top, before placing a second slice above that, creating a sandwich.

I was planning on adding greens as well onto mine, but I wasn't going to force everyone into that route unless they wanted to.

Everyone instantly got up as they saw me preparing the plates, grabbing one for themself before ferrying them over to the table, sitting down and staring at the food with a blatant hunger.

It made me frown for a moment, before I shrugged it off; they made it look like I was starving them!

Carrying my own plate and the salad over, I sat down and nodded to them, watching as everyone started eating.

Camara and Yiksa added the salad onto their sandwiches, while Kalia was already biting into her sandwich, tiny bites slowly eroding the dark brown bread.

As for Rhefia and Aethisia, well...

I don't think they breathed as they ate, the food simply disappearing into their mouths in mere moments.

By the time I had piled some salad onto my bread and plate they were finished, instantly making their way back over to the remaining bread and meat and creating another sandwich, giving each other wary looks as they tried to get more than the other.

Sighing, I raised my food to my lips and bit down, nodding to myself at the flavor.

I had used venison meat, the rich taste being subdued by the sweetness of the corn and shrouded by the abundance of Nettla Leaf.

Meanwhile, the bursts of sweetness and tartness from the two berries combated the rich taste of the meat, while their juices combined to enhance the overall taste.

Then there was the earthy taste of the firm, warm bread, the nutritious whole grain bread absorbing the other flavors.

Taking a deep breath, I steadily finished my sandwich while I listened to everyone start to speak, their hunger satiated even as they grabbed another round of food.

Conversing with them while I ate, I eventually watched as everyone sat back, rubbing their stomachs before staring at me curiously as I got back up, going back to the oven.

Pulling out the Milk Bread, I grinned at the fluffy buns that were produced, laying it on the table before pouring some milk for everyone, each grabbing their cups and sipping right away.

Blushing slightly at that, I then divvied up the bread, which was eaten with a round of soft moans; everyone loved the sweet treat after the large meal, and we all chuckled as we watched Kalia slowly drift to sleep, her head resting against Yiksa's shoulder.

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Wanted to get something out even as I was tired, so there isn't much interaction this chapter.

Instead I just focused on displaying the diverse things they would or could be eating over the winter months while also getting something out today lol~

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