♁.•°°•.•⭒•.•°˙°•.✧{17}✧.•°˙°•.•⭒•.•°°•.♁
3rd POV
The group offloaded their cooking supplies onto the edge of the firepit. The extra two rows of mud bricks on the outside of the firepit served as a nice table for food prep.
Scott grabbed his fire poking stick and grabbed two cut logs from under one of the stools.
Jamming the fire poker under the pot he crumbled a few logs into hot coals before shoving the new logs under the comically large pot.
As Scott messed with the fire Amelia fussed with the stew ingredients. Moving the bowls around until they were in same size groups. She then layed out the chopping board she had somehow stuck in her waist band and grabbed the knife.
She removed the cover of the knife and fished the thicar out of the bowl it was in.
Working quickly she removed the many layers of outer skin and chucked them down into the fire. Then she cleaved the layered root down the center then removed the tops and bases also quickly tossing those into the fire. In quick smooth motions she sliced the layered veggie horizontally three times, and three times vertically in each direction.
Reaching to her left she picked up the bowl of silvery butter and used the spoon to scoop the contents of the bowl into the pot.
She then added the thicar, poking the two ingredients in the bottom of the pot with the stirring rod she brought with her.
Moving back to her chopping board she grabbed the two heads of garlic and removed all of the cloves from the thin flaky skin on the outside. She then layed all of the cloves flat on the chopping board.
Working with efficiency she laid her knife flat over a few cloves and leaned over the chopping board quickly applying force onto the flat side of the knife.
A large crunch rang out into the chilly morning air. She did it two more times over the remaining garlic cloves and peeled the skins, yet again tossing them into the fire.
She then chopped off the ends of each clove, disregarding the waste and minced the large amount of garlic.
With calculated movements she simultaneously dumped the garlic into the pot and sturned the contents.
A thick aroma of garlic and thicar surged up from the pot. Resting a relaxed homy feel, the crisp cool air making the warm aroma of the soup seem even more appitizing. Despite it only being butter and a few roots for flavor.
"That will forever be my favorite meal that we make around the cold seasons"
Chris nodded at Scott's words from his place next to him on the bench.
Also nodding Amelia reached over and picked up the large bowl of iru meet. Carefully lifting the large bow she poured the cubed meat into the bowl, and then repeated the process with the naepa.
The iru and naepa sizzled against the sides of the pot at Amelia stirred the whole pot together.
Carefully watching the meat cook Amelia browned all sides.
Once the browning was done Amelia tapped the stirring stick on the side of the pot and placed it across the top. It didn't want to cooperate at first and rolled a bit before setting on the pot.
Well keeping her eyes firmly on the stirring stick, as though her gaze would hold the stick in place, Amelia reached down and quickly poured in the carrots, cluckles, caranth, and potatoes.
After quickly snatching the stirring stick Amelia turned around to address the boys who had sat down behind her.
"Water in the pot?"
Chris questioned seeing her turn around.
"Water in the pot"
"Alright here we go"
Chris stood up and grabbed the large water jug, the body was as tall and almost as wide as his torso and the neck of the jug was so tall the mouth was just under his nose.
Awkwardly lugging the jar up Chris laid the mouth on the side of the pot and started lifting the base.
A gurgling noise could be heard as the water poured into the pot, disappearing beneath the veggies and meat.
Slowly the pot was filled, the jug had just enough water to barely cover the pot's contents which left about six inches of space from the stew to the top of the pot.
Once Chris moved the jug away Amelia took his place. She scooped up the last bowl on the counter. It was all sorts of spices and herbs.
The smell was enough to make anyone sneeze.
Holding the bowl awkwardly away from her face she dumped the contents into the pot then used the stirring stick to evenly mix everything in the pot.
"And now we wait"
Amelia nodded her head at Kellen's words as she fought to get the stirring stick to stay on the counter.
Eventually she dragged the water jug over to prevent it from falling onto the floor.
"Anybody know where Ava went?"
"Not a clue, those two disappeared to get the water when I was fixing the fire and she was still explaining knives to the rescues when I walked away"
Humming at Scott's words Amelia scanned the crater they called home.
"We were talking about teaching them to hunt earlier, maybe she pulled out her targets and is doing target practice."
"Not a bad guess"
Scott leaned back on his bench placing his handat behind his head and resting against the back.
"I'm gonna go help, better we have so much food we have to give it to the village than us not being able to feed all the new mouths"
Amelia decisively walked up out of the fire pit.
"Watch the stew, you know the deal!"
She hollered over her shoulder as she started jogging to Ava and Chris's tree.
She hoped the rescues and Ava were somewhere on the other side of the tree doing target practice.