Volume 2 Snippet 2.3 (1/2)
Volume 2 Snippet 2.3
3 The Taste Of Showa
「Wow, a large strawberry！」
「That’s quite the specimen ain’t it. 」
Strawberry picking season had finally arrived in Ortem.
「This year’s harvest is quite good.」
「But is this time of the year generally strawberry season?」
「This type of strawberry is usually picked in March.」
Haruna agreed with the elves and together they arduously continued their strawberry picking.
As they picked Haruna observed the somewhat larger than usual strawberries and couldn’t help wondering about the taste.
「How about ya give it a try?」
「Is it okay if I do?」
「Strawberries taste better as soon as they’re plucked from the bush after all. 」
At the elf’s suggestion Haruna took a bite. The taste was mild compared to Japanese strawberries but it had an overall tasty juicy balance of sweetness and sourness.
「It’s delicious!」
「That’s great.」
Haruna ate three more strawberries and continued the harvest. While doing so she tried to come up with other uses for the strawberries.
It looked like they had enough to feed not only the entire village but also the three neighboring clans. It seemed to her that it was a waste to only eat the strawberries in their raw state.
Perhaps she could use them as a base for condensed milk. Or maybe she could freeze them for later. She could also use them for cake decorating. If she had adzuki beans on hand she could also try making strawberry daifuku but she wondered whether the strawberries would be compatible with sweet white bean paste.
A myriad of dishes floated across her mind. Compared to the sweetness of Japanese strawberries these ones were quite bland so she would have to compensate with some seasoning, it would be a chance to show off her skills. She thought of this throughout the entire half of the day as she intently harvested the fruit.
「You sure helped us a lot.」
Thanks to Haruna they had completed the harvest earlier than expected.
「Here, take this.」
The elf handed over two overflowing baskets of strawberries to Haruna.
「Huh? This much?」
「Yup. This year we had such an abundant harvest that even after sharing it with the other tribes we’ll still have a lot to spare.」
「But…」
「If you insist, in exchange ya can show me how to make some delicious dishes with these.」
At the elf’s proposal Haruna finally agreed to accept the strawberries. If thanks to her cooking instruction their eating habits were able to improve Haruna was definitely willing to teach.
「Okay! I’ll try to make a lot of dishes! 」
「If ya don’t have enough lemme know and I’ll bring ya some more. There’s still so much left. 」
「O—kay! 」
She met the elf’s hopeful gaze and headed toward the house she was staying at. Around this time Hiroshi and the others were still engrossed in developing a counterplan against the Mana-eater. She decided to fashion up a meal using the strawberries by the time they got home for dinner.
「Hmm, what should I make? 」
Food-loving Haruna held a fresh strawberry in her hand as she cheerfully thought up some recipes.
「Hm~……」
It seemed that none of them were suitable. She looked down at the simple strawberry snacks. There was a sherbert clad in condensed milk, cupcakes, and crepes. Each of them were samples made with short potions.
「Rather than ordinary, there’s nothing interesting about them. 」
None of them were bad. All she could think of were snacks that she hadn’t made at the ‘simple is best’ elf village. But Haruna wanted to make something else.
Later while she desperately wracked her brains over the matter she was preparing to boil some jam when suddenly from the corner of her mind an idea suddenly appeared. Jam bread. A type of bread stuffed with jam. To be more specific, the type of bread with cheap jam mixed with gelatin.
「I remember long ago hearing about a type of snack that had gelatin and used cheap jam…」
That keyword was all Haruna needed to quickly and accurately resurrect the memory. As always, when Haruna wanted to remember something she would no doubt remember it. This occasion was no exception.