1st Spring, 517
"Common" | "Kontinese" | "Tukant"
"Common" | "Kontinese" | "Tukant"
It was the first of spring and Elin knew that she'd have to work hard if she wanted to give Ilia and Rion the life that she wanted them to, and so she'd got herself a job as a cook at one of the taverns in the city, rather than focusing on the odd jobs she had been trying her hand at. She'd even managed t find a friendly neighbour that was happy to look after her two children while she was away at work.
Sighing, she looked up to see that she was at the tavern, and she smiled slightly, her eyes glancing over it before she stepped inside and headed to the tavernkeeper, a warm smile on her face as she did so.
"Hello, my name's Elin?" she said calmly as she looked the tavern keeper in the eye. "I'm supposed to start work here as a cook today? I'm not late am I?" she said warmly, tilting her head slightly as the tavernkeeper told her that she wasn't late and lead her through to the kitchen, explaining to her how long food should take to be ready to serve, and how there was another cook she'd be working with, that she should be able to ask for help or advice, and that on days that the other cook wasn't there that she'd have a few brief recipe notes to work from to make sure that she didn't miss anything out.
Smiling warmly, she thanked the tavernkeeper and he handed her an apron that she quickly tied on, before checking around the kitchen trying to get her bearings.
It was bigger than she had used before, and a variety of cupboards held pots, pans, plates and bowls, while drawers held things like knives and spoons.
"Time to get started then!" she mused to herself, washing her hands as the other cook arrived smiling warmly. Elin couldn't help but smile back as she dried her hands and opened her mouth to speak to the woman.
"Hi there, I'm Elin." she said calmly yet happily before opening her mouth again. "What would you like me to start with?" she asked, listening carefully as the other cook asked her to prepare the vegetables, showing her to a few boxes of carrots, potatoes, onions, brocolli and a few other vegetables, and Elin smiled at the cook, before moving to her work space and grabbing an onion and one of the sharper knives.
Calmly she chopped off the head of the onion and began to peel away the brown papery skin, until the onion was left with just the waxy white layers.
She chopped off the base of the onion and threw the waste away, before cutting the onion in half down the centre of the onion and lay the two halves so the cut side was facing the work surface.
Her eyes were already beginning to sting and water, as she'd forgotten quite how pungent the vapours from an onion were. They were painfully strong, and Elin had to bite her lip to keep persevering.
Blinking away the water from her eyes, she continued cutting, cutting the onion so the layers weren't broken up, then changing the direction of the knife to dice the onion.
It wasn't anywhere as neat as she'd have wanted it to be, with a few pieces of onion being bigger than the rest, and others being much smaller. Still, the onion was chopped and that particular onion was ready for use.
There were still four in the box and as much as her eyes stung, she preferred the idea of chopping all of the onions together, rather than having to break to chop them later.
Frowning she grabbed the second onion and cut the head and base from it, her cuts much messier than she'd wanted, but she peeled off the papery skin.
By now her eyes were streaming with tears but she didn't dare wipe them for fear of aggravating them more. Instead she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes of the stinging feeling before she turned away for a few minutes trying to compose herself before she continued chopping the onions as fast as she could without risking harming herself.
It took more chimes than she enjoyed with tears streaming out of her eyes, but she had got them done!
Next, she picked up one of the potatoes and checked it over. They were quite small for potatoes, but that was probably something to do with the weather.
Glad to be done with the onions, she began to wash the potatoes in a bucket of clean water, scrubbing them to try and remove the dirt from the skin, and maybe even remove some of the skin so she didn't have to do that later.
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Sighing, she looked up to see that she was at the tavern, and she smiled slightly, her eyes glancing over it before she stepped inside and headed to the tavernkeeper, a warm smile on her face as she did so.
"Hello, my name's Elin?" she said calmly as she looked the tavern keeper in the eye. "I'm supposed to start work here as a cook today? I'm not late am I?" she said warmly, tilting her head slightly as the tavernkeeper told her that she wasn't late and lead her through to the kitchen, explaining to her how long food should take to be ready to serve, and how there was another cook she'd be working with, that she should be able to ask for help or advice, and that on days that the other cook wasn't there that she'd have a few brief recipe notes to work from to make sure that she didn't miss anything out.
Smiling warmly, she thanked the tavernkeeper and he handed her an apron that she quickly tied on, before checking around the kitchen trying to get her bearings.
It was bigger than she had used before, and a variety of cupboards held pots, pans, plates and bowls, while drawers held things like knives and spoons.
"Time to get started then!" she mused to herself, washing her hands as the other cook arrived smiling warmly. Elin couldn't help but smile back as she dried her hands and opened her mouth to speak to the woman.
"Hi there, I'm Elin." she said calmly yet happily before opening her mouth again. "What would you like me to start with?" she asked, listening carefully as the other cook asked her to prepare the vegetables, showing her to a few boxes of carrots, potatoes, onions, brocolli and a few other vegetables, and Elin smiled at the cook, before moving to her work space and grabbing an onion and one of the sharper knives.
Calmly she chopped off the head of the onion and began to peel away the brown papery skin, until the onion was left with just the waxy white layers.
She chopped off the base of the onion and threw the waste away, before cutting the onion in half down the centre of the onion and lay the two halves so the cut side was facing the work surface.
Her eyes were already beginning to sting and water, as she'd forgotten quite how pungent the vapours from an onion were. They were painfully strong, and Elin had to bite her lip to keep persevering.
Blinking away the water from her eyes, she continued cutting, cutting the onion so the layers weren't broken up, then changing the direction of the knife to dice the onion.
It wasn't anywhere as neat as she'd have wanted it to be, with a few pieces of onion being bigger than the rest, and others being much smaller. Still, the onion was chopped and that particular onion was ready for use.
There were still four in the box and as much as her eyes stung, she preferred the idea of chopping all of the onions together, rather than having to break to chop them later.
Frowning she grabbed the second onion and cut the head and base from it, her cuts much messier than she'd wanted, but she peeled off the papery skin.
By now her eyes were streaming with tears but she didn't dare wipe them for fear of aggravating them more. Instead she blinked rapidly, trying to clear her eyes of the stinging feeling before she turned away for a few minutes trying to compose herself before she continued chopping the onions as fast as she could without risking harming herself.
It took more chimes than she enjoyed with tears streaming out of her eyes, but she had got them done!
Next, she picked up one of the potatoes and checked it over. They were quite small for potatoes, but that was probably something to do with the weather.
Glad to be done with the onions, she began to wash the potatoes in a bucket of clean water, scrubbing them to try and remove the dirt from the skin, and maybe even remove some of the skin so she didn't have to do that later.
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