Chapter 67: Mushroom Cuisine
Curious to explore its potential beyond pepper, I wanted to test its usability for other purposes.
As I plucked the leaves I had gathered, another pleasant fragrance wafted through the air.
This aroma is familiar.
It's the scent of herbs.
Since this too can be used as a secret ingredient in cooking, it seems quite valuable.
I tasted some by biting into it—there were both bitterness and flavors that seemed unusable.
While experimenting, I stumbled upon more fruit.
The fruit was very small and hard.
Perhaps it's sesame.
Sesame exists in this world too, but it's only available in the capital or cities.
Let's give it a taste.
As soon as it touched my tongue,
"Yes, it's definitely sesame!!!"
The taste of sesame spread in my mouth.
Great, now that I've acquired sesame, my culinary repertoire will expand.
Speaking of sesame, there's also sesame oil.
By crushing sesame, you can extract its oil.
Since there's no oil here, I'll make an attempt to gather some from the mountains when I have time and try making oil.
I came to this barren land with nothing.
At first, I was lost, but with my alchemical skills and ingenuity, I managed to sustain myself.
Every day brings new discoveries.
And the mountains still hold more secrets; they're filled with massive trees.
I left them untouched this time, but they could be used for woodworking.
If the materials from the Torrent run out, I'll have to gather more.
Visiting the mountains was the right choice.
Sui and Mofurun are already waiting at the table.
The fragrance arrived before me, making them even hungrier.
"Here it is, mushroom rice. And I've also grilled some meat."
"Wow, mushroom cuisine!"
"The mushrooms we collected pair well with the rice!"
"And the meat has a kick of pepper!"
"The pepper comes from the fruit I gathered in the mountains. I brought it back without knowing what it was, and it turned out to be a great seasoning. Pepper complements the meat wonderfully."
"That's amazing! Pepper and meat are a fantastic combination!"
Sui and Mofurun are pleased with the peppered grilled meat and mushroom rice, and it's heartwarming.
I'll have some too.
I'm quite hungry.
"Yes, the pepper adds a spicy kick. It's quite flavorful!"
It turned out spicier than I anticipated, and I enjoyed it.
Since the meat is running low again, I'll ask Sui to hunt some Jagamans for us.
Land development is progressing day by day, and it seems like we'll be able to stock up on ingredients.
Once that happens, this territory might even flourish enough to sell to neighboring towns.