Hard bread and white sauce

While Marie and I are making lunch after returning from shopping, I ask Ed, Cliff, and Rudd to carry the bed to the garden and dry it in the sun.

"There's also the worry of mold because it's been closed for a long time, and drying it in the sun also removes dead mites and fleas."

When I briefly explained to them, who seemed to be wondering why I needed to do something like that, the three of them happily agreed. As you would expect from a professional cargo mover, he does the work skillfully.

This may be due to the sanitary concept of a previous life, but mold, dust mites, and dead fleas can cause allergies, so you should dry your clothes in the sun regularly.

"Okay, let's get ready for lunch."

I entered the kitchen and checked the groceries that Marie and Ed had bought for me. Vegetables in wooden boxes, milk in jars, and eggs in small boxes lined with sawdust. The meat was surprisingly wrapped in a large leaf.

When I apply "Appraisal," one of the few powers that Melfina can use, it comes out as a leaf of a plant called Moon Rabbit. The information that came to my mind was that it smelled like pepper, and that the leaves absorb a good amount of moisture and have a long shelf life.

--It's like memories you don't remember are coming back to you.

For the daughter of a high-ranking aristocrat, "appraisal" is a magic that doesn't have much use. Whether it's something you carry around you or something you eat, it's normal for a full-time servant to check everything, and merchants in particular use appraisals that are many times more accurate than Melfina's "appraisal," the opportunity for Melfina to do so was itself rare.

"There is an anecdote that when travelers wrapped meat in these and traveled, the meat turned into dried meat. Actually, if you don't rub in salt, the meat will just become dry and tough."

"It absorbs a lot of moisture. It seems like it can be used for many things. Is this something that grows naturally?"

"If you go to the forest, it seems that they grow everywhere. They are sold in bundles at stores, and it is common for ordinary people to wrap their lunch in these and carry them around."

Apparently, it can also be used as a lunchbox. The meat was chicken, and had a beautiful pink color that seemed to be fresh.

The bread in the basket has a dark chocolate-like color. The skin is firm and firm, and the inside is also dense. The bread of commoners in this world generally looked like this, and it was common for it to be baked hard to the middle to increase its shelf life.

"Sorry, we can't get white bread in the village."

Relatively soft white bread is served at the tables of high-ranking aristocrats close to royalty, but this is the secret recipe of the personal chef who serves the aristocrat. It's not something you can get in a town or village.

Whether or not you can serve white, soft bread for dinner depends on your aristocratic status. Naturally, the cooks who can bake the bread are highly paid and hired by the aristocrats and are rarely seen by commoners.

"Don't worry about it. But next time, let's bake some soft bread."

"Does your wife know the recipe for white bread?"

"Yeah, well, mostly?"

There are no precise measuring instruments here, and there is no such thing as convenient dry yeast, but I remember how to bake bread using natural yeast. I've actually baked it several times, so there's nothing I can't do.

"Well, it seems you can cook as well, where did you learn that?"

"Hehe, I've only done it a little bit just for fun."

There's no way I can explain it just because I lived alone in my previous life, so I just laugh it off and stir-fry some chopped vegetables and meat, then transfer it to a pot and simmer it. Soup is a must at the table for dipping hard bread.

I want fine-grained consommé, but if I don't have it, I can't help it, so I decided to add a little more salt, and while the meat and vegetables were simmering, I poured some butter into the frying pan on the stove next to it.

"eh"

"Oh, what's wrong?"

"No...I was wondering if you use butter in cooking."

For Marie, pouring a lot of butter into a frying pan seems like an unexpected use.

Come to think of it, butter is a luxury item in this world, something that aristocrats eat by spreading a small amount on their bread. Since he couldn't get any white bread, he probably bought it for me.

"It's okay, I'll make it delicious."

"yes..."

While frying thinly sliced onions in butter, I thought to myself.

Marie doesn't change her expressions much and is quiet, but I guess she's a kind girl. Even though she is a watcher for the same duke, she is at least gentler than Cedric, and not only did she follow me when I left the castle the day after we were newlyweds, but she also paid close attention to me. There was also a lot of help.

--Marie's employer is Alexis, so it might be difficult for her to become friends with him due to her position, but I hope we can get along while she's here.

When the onion becomes transparent, pound the flour in a rough cloth and drop it into the frying pan, then continue frying. Add milk little by little and mix to avoid lumps, and the white sauce is ready. When I put it into the pot of boiling water, Marie let out another huff.

Mix carefully and check the taste. As expected, the lack of consommé or solid bouillon resulted in a bland taste, but the chicken wrapped in moon rabbit leaves seemed to be producing a good stock, so the result was pretty good.

"Would you like a taste?"

"...I'll enjoy having this"

Marie seemed nervous, but when she took a bite of the small plate he offered her, her eyes widened.

"Is delicious"

"Good. Now, let's make one more dish and have it for lunch."

While I was quickly finishing up a stir-fry of thinly sliced chicken and vegetables, Marie carried the stew to the dining room.

"Thank you everyone for your hard work today. Thank you to Ed, Cliff, and Rudd for asking me to do an unexpected job."

When we arrived at the table, everyone looked confused and refused to sit down.

"What's wrong? Let's eat while it's still warm."

"No, uh... I'm too scared to sit with you."

I finally realized it when Rudd, the oldest of the humans, told me about it. Basically, aristocrats do not share the table with commoners. Even during the journey up to this point, even Marie would go out to eat meals alone in her room at the inn or in the carriage.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice. I'll eat in my bedroom so everyone can stay here."

"No! That's strange!"

"I'll eat it after your wife finishes."

Cliff says so following Rudd. She didn't say anything, but both Marie and Cedric looked confused.

That said,I feel like there's something different about eating alone while everyone is watching or kicking everyone out of the cafeteria and eating alone.

"Well, this is not a nobleman's castle, and although it is called a feudal lord's residence, it is a bit more compact than a wealthy merchant's house, isn't it? I have no intention of acting like a nobleman's wife here, and this dish I made it myself, so I'd like to hear your impressions and eat it with you..."

"But..."

"But..."

"That's right. Could you accompany me to practice so that I can live here from now on?"

"Practice, huh?"

Rudd asked in confusion, but then he nodded in response.

"I know it's against custom, but I'm going to live here from now on, and I don't think it's good for me to continue to abandon my aristocratic customs. I eat at the village restaurant. I can't and don't plan on kicking out all the other customers when I eat dinner, so I'd like to practice sitting around the table with lots of people."

Everyone was looking at each other, but Marie was the first to move. She sat down next to me, leaving one open among the ten chairs.

"Marie"

"I can't let my husband say the same thing three times."

When Cedric called her name accusingly, she responded calmly, and Ed, Cliff, and Rudd each sat down facing Marie. Perhaps thinking that there was no point in being stubborn all by himself in this situation, Cedric sat down one chair away from Marie.

"Thank you everyone for today. It's a small gesture, but please join us."

I called out to them, and to make sure everyone didn't shrink back, I added my mouth to the stew first.

The meat and vegetables were cooked soft, and even though I was cooking for the first time in 16 years, I think it was quite delicious.

"White soup?"

"Wow, delicious!"

"Oh, wow, it's really delicious!"

I couldn't help but smile when I heard the voices of the three human legs holding the spoons. Marie was also surprised, but it seems that stews using white sauce are rare in this world.

I guess it can't be helped because butter itself is a luxury item. I wish it would be a little easier for ordinary people to use it.

"It's really delicious. This is the first time I've eaten something so delicious."

"I'm glad you compliment me, but don't you think it's a bit exaggerated?"

"No, it's really delicious."

Marie tore a piece of bread, dipped it into the stew, and chewed it in a daze. Apparently, she really liked it.

"This stir-fry is also delicious."

"It's definitely more delicious than the famous restaurant in the capital."

"I definitely like soup."

No matter what, if everyone says it's delicious, that's better.

It's been a while since I had a meal with someone, and it was at a lively table, so Melfina ended up eating more than usual.