11 Apr 2021, 17:11
Dangos & Matcha
The sight of the grounds was truly breathtaking during springtime. Many cherry blossom trees bloomed and the fallen soft pink petals floating gently around in mid-air. To the Gryffindor Prefect's relief, the weather today happened to be quite good. It was sunny and the air is fresh and the breeze was gentle and cool. The perfect day and the perfect area for students to enjoy the errand.Date: Friday, March 26th
Time: 14:50 pm
Weather: Sunny with gentle breeze
Location: Grounds near the Great LakeParticipates
Reducio
Mitarashi Dango Group
@Piper Clark @Michael Miller @Carolyn Hunt @Quinlan Knight @Marshal Mozor
@Pericles Dralt @Violet Carrington @Elisabeth Erner @Xailah Alptraum @Tory Williamson @Levi Drakos @Andrew Vance @Opeila Winters @Scarlett Aden @Akari Kato @Lindsey Springhall @Piérre Marchonné @Rhea Miller @Sylvain Wyllt @Everly Charlton @River Dewlight @Adlai Rod @Hanako Tone @Rose Moon @Alistair Coventry @Ami Procoppio @Serena Towers @Lillian Davis @Cassandra Ironwoods @Starlee Kennedy @Arista Elderman
After the House elves prepared everything for the Hanami Dango group, Griseldis would first wait for the participates and show them how to make Hanami Dango. Once she finished, she would leave the group to let them try it out on their own then she would go greet the other groups. Griseldis first decided to greet the Mitarashi Dango Group. Honestly, seeing there were only a few people interested to make Mitarashi Dango did sightly surprise her a bit. Perhaps most students liked Hanami Dango more because of how colorful they were and looked more interesting than Mitarashi Dango. However, in her opinion, she found that Mitarashi Dango tasted better than Hanami Dango. Don't get her wrong, both Dangos are really delicious, but she preferred the rich flavor over the mild sweetness more.
MITARASHI DANGO GROUP:"Hello Mitarashi Dango group, I'm very happy to see that you're interested to make this delicious Japanese dessert. Mitarashi Dango are quite popular in Japan and most kids love eating this as their daily snacks, Hanami Dango as well. They're very chewy rice dumplings smothered in an irresistibly sweet soy glaze. But the only difference compare to Hanami Dangos is that they get a hint of char from grilling. Now, let me show you how to make Mitarashi Dango." With that being said, Griseldis used the tools she needed and started to mix Tofu and Mochiko together in a bowl. It didn't take long until it became a dough then she would try to scoop out portions of dough in tablespoon size and rolled each of them into small balls with her hands. The boiled water was already prepared, so she could just put all the small dough balls in the cauldron and waited until they float.
"So once the dough balls starting to float in the boiling water, we have to let it cook for a few minutes, maybe two to three minutes would be enough, then remove all the cooked dough balls from the water with the ladle and place them onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Now, I'll show you how to make the Mitarashi sauce." Griseldis added all the ingredients in a smaller cauldron and started to stir for a while. "While we let the sauce to be cooked, we can start sliding the dango balls onto each skewer. And after that we will head a frying pan, the House elves already cast a spell to keep it at medium heat. We cooked it until it became lightly browned then we can put the dangos on a plate and coat it with the sauce. And Tadaaa! Your very own home cooked Mitarashi Dango is complete!"
Griseldis put her self-made Mitarashi Dango on a plate and placed it on the picnic table in front of the group, "Go ahead and taste it, I hope after showing you how it was done you'll be able to try it out yourself but if you need my help you can just come and ask me anytime. Have fun making Mitarashi Dango!"
MATCHA TEA GROUP:After showing the group how to make Mitarashi Dango, she could finally meet the last group."Hello Matcha Tea Group, sorry for letting you wait. I had to explain to the Dango groups and show them how to make Hanami and Mitarashi Dango first before I can come greet you all. So I'll show you how to make the Japanese traditional Matcha tea. The way of making a Matcha tea is not simply just the boiling water then add the tea bag. There are certain steps we need to follow and make it with care."
Griseldis sat on the picnic blanket, and showed them the traditional Matcha ceremonial tea set. She then began to demonstrated on making a Matcha Tea. "Normally, we first boil the water of course then we put it into a measuring cup and leave it cool for a short while. We can use this bamboo teaspoon and scoop a bit of Matcha powder into the bowl and then another teaspoon of cool water to the Matcha in the bowl. Whisk the mixture until it's smooth and then we can add the boil hot water from a measure cup." With a smile, Griseldis picked up the whisk that was laying on the tray, "Now here's come to the fun part, we will start using this whisk to stir the Matcha but make sure that your grip is light and stir it gently and not too strong, otherwise it won't become smooth. While we stir it, use the other hand to turn it in the direction of your whisking motion in order to mix the Matcha. And that's it, you'll be able to enjoy your wholesome Matcha Tea."
Griseldis would give the nearest person (the first person who posts here) the Matcha Tea she made and let them try it. "Hope you enjoy the taste and its aroma." She would say to that person then turned to look at the group, "Well then, everyone. There's a pile of clean picnic blankets over there, and you can ask the House elves to give you a Matcha ceremonial tea sets to start making your own Matcha tea. Oh! And we will also eat the dangos later once the other groups are finish. The dangos will always taste good with Matcha tea."
Important Reminder
You can read this link to learn how to make Matcha Tea [Accio]. Or you can watch this video to get some inspiration [Accio]. Same thing with Mitarashi Dango, you can read this link [Accio] or watch the video [Accio].
Please don't forget to add your word count in each of your post and once you completed the WC requirement you must add "Status: XXX/1000" in your sign-up post. Deadline is 9th May 2021.
Stamina: 11 | Evasion: 10 | Strength: 10 | Wisdom: 5 | Arcane Power: 7 | Accuracy: 12
Fearless|Martial Artist|Evasive Maneuvers|Obnoxiously Strong
Fearless|Martial Artist|Evasive Maneuvers|Obnoxiously Strong
12 Apr 2021, 07:50
Dangos & Matcha
Interaction(s): -
Interaction status: OPEN
Action(s): making tea
Other mention(s): @Griseldis Edelhart
Elisabeth smelled the aroma and sipped the green matcha tea handed by the Gryffindor prefect and was honestly surprised. It was not completely bitter, but it was not necessarily sweet like fruit juice (even fuit juice which did not use additive sugar). Considering his sweet tooth, which the Hufflepuff herself inherited, it was no wonder her papá had never made it at home. Meanwhile, Elisabeth's mamá was sensitive to any kind of caffeine and thus never made any tea or coffee, save for chrysanthemum tea for her throat when she was not feeling great. So... yes, this was the first time the eleven-year-old had ever tasted a sip of green matcha tea, even though she had heard its name several time in her life - particularly because her mamá had a number of friends from Taiwan and this made Elisabeth aware that the flavour of matcha was quite popular among people there.
Speaking of Taiwan, Japan from where green matcha tea originated, and the cultural products of these two countries... Elisabeth suddenly focused her thoughts on the clothes she put on that afternoon. It seemed like a good idea when she donned it before coming here, but now it did not. "Uncle" Yasuaki, her mamá's friend from Japan, had once explained to our Belizean girl that traditionally Japanese did not have a celebration of spring the way people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China celebrated lunar new year to mark the beginning of the season of blooming. Therefore, just this morning Elisabeth considered it might be a nice idea to dress in her red qipao. Her maternal grandparents got her that as a gift for lunar new year two years ago and usually it made her felt like an upper-class Shanghai girl; but this afternoon, with cherry blossom trees blooming around the grounds near Hogwarts' Great Lake and a number of traditional Japanese cuisine made by the laughing students, Elisabeth felt so out of place. Qipao is clearly very different from kimono.
But perhaps it was still an OK idea. Had she put on a kimono (not that she owned one, though!), she would have trouble walking around in the foot-length dress and it would not be practical to boil tea while wearing it. Qipao, on the other hand, was only down to one's knees and had short sleeves; it was more practical to move around in a qipao rather than in a kimono.
The third-year who was in charge of today's DIY instructed the kids to each take a matcha ceremonial tea set from a house elf. They could boil their tea on a picnic blanket, she explained. Our Hufflepuff followed the instructions to the letter. Slinging her handbag on her left shoulder and thanking the house elf who handed her a tea set, Elisabeth went over to the picnic area and sat on a clean picnic mat.
After unpacking the tea set, she boiled some water. Elisabeth wanted to make some thicker green matcha tea, so she boiled a one-third cup of water instead of a half-cup one. While waiting for the hot water to boil properly, the girl attempted to create a mixture of cool matcha powder before it could be mixed with the boiled water. Just like Griseldis' demonstration, she scooped
a bit matcha powder - perhaps about half teaspoon - using the bamboo spoon and placed it into a clean, unused bowl. Next, she took roughly the same amount of cool water to create the desired mixture.
She remembered the prefect's instruction that the mixture needed to be whisked until it was smooth enough, but it had to be mixed gently. Griseldis had mentioned earlier that unless their grip was light and they stirred it gently, the result would not be smooth. "How interesting!" Elisabeth said inside her head. "Very often, people need to stir strongly so that the result will be pleasing - not too solid. Al contrario, *) with matcha powder, you have to be gentle to produce smooth mixture..."
The kettle whistled. All right, that could only mean one thing - that the hot water was boiling properly. The Latinx-Asian girl was tempted to pour it directly to the bowl, but the Gryffindor prefect's advice was that they waited for a moment until the water cooled down a little bit - maybe until it was just barely harmful to human skin. Since Elisabeth really had no idea what would happen to her green matcha tea if she ignored this "waiting" step, the Hufflepuff decided not to ignore it this time.
So she waited for about three or four minutes, perhaps five, listening to the birds singing and admiring the view of the Great Lake. Everything seemed so peaceful and it was such a lovely time. Around the first-year, her fellow Hogwarts pupils were busy with their green matcha tea preparation as well. For Elisabeth, everyone looked absorbed in their work right now; maybe later they could chat and have a great time. Besides, there were also other students preparing the food - what was it called? Dango or dangi, something like that, she believed. Earlier, Griseldis had informed the kids who prepared tea that they could also taste this traditional food together with the boys and girls who made them. Which meant, these students from the food groups ought to have a chance to sip some tea, too. Thus, Elisabeth decided that she would make several cups to share with them.
Seemed that the waiting time was over! The girl mixed the hot water with the cool matcha mixture, pouring the boiled water into the bowl. Was she performing this right? Was her grip light enough to make the matcha smooth? It looked like so (and she hoped so). Left wrist flicking, right hand kept turning the bowl in slow motion.
When the process was over, Elisabeth poured some into a cup and sipped a little of it. It did not taste too different from the one she had tasted earlier, the one made by Griseldis. "I assume this is correct, then," she thought. Repeating the whole process, the Belizean made several cups of green matcha tea, waiting for other kids to join her with their tea or dango (or both) and a friendly chat.
Translation:
*) On the contrary (Spanish)
Speaking of Taiwan, Japan from where green matcha tea originated, and the cultural products of these two countries... Elisabeth suddenly focused her thoughts on the clothes she put on that afternoon. It seemed like a good idea when she donned it before coming here, but now it did not. "Uncle" Yasuaki, her mamá's friend from Japan, had once explained to our Belizean girl that traditionally Japanese did not have a celebration of spring the way people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China celebrated lunar new year to mark the beginning of the season of blooming. Therefore, just this morning Elisabeth considered it might be a nice idea to dress in her red qipao. Her maternal grandparents got her that as a gift for lunar new year two years ago and usually it made her felt like an upper-class Shanghai girl; but this afternoon, with cherry blossom trees blooming around the grounds near Hogwarts' Great Lake and a number of traditional Japanese cuisine made by the laughing students, Elisabeth felt so out of place. Qipao is clearly very different from kimono.
But perhaps it was still an OK idea. Had she put on a kimono (not that she owned one, though!), she would have trouble walking around in the foot-length dress and it would not be practical to boil tea while wearing it. Qipao, on the other hand, was only down to one's knees and had short sleeves; it was more practical to move around in a qipao rather than in a kimono.
The third-year who was in charge of today's DIY instructed the kids to each take a matcha ceremonial tea set from a house elf. They could boil their tea on a picnic blanket, she explained. Our Hufflepuff followed the instructions to the letter. Slinging her handbag on her left shoulder and thanking the house elf who handed her a tea set, Elisabeth went over to the picnic area and sat on a clean picnic mat.
After unpacking the tea set, she boiled some water. Elisabeth wanted to make some thicker green matcha tea, so she boiled a one-third cup of water instead of a half-cup one. While waiting for the hot water to boil properly, the girl attempted to create a mixture of cool matcha powder before it could be mixed with the boiled water. Just like Griseldis' demonstration, she scooped
a bit matcha powder - perhaps about half teaspoon - using the bamboo spoon and placed it into a clean, unused bowl. Next, she took roughly the same amount of cool water to create the desired mixture.
She remembered the prefect's instruction that the mixture needed to be whisked until it was smooth enough, but it had to be mixed gently. Griseldis had mentioned earlier that unless their grip was light and they stirred it gently, the result would not be smooth. "How interesting!" Elisabeth said inside her head. "Very often, people need to stir strongly so that the result will be pleasing - not too solid. Al contrario, *) with matcha powder, you have to be gentle to produce smooth mixture..."
The kettle whistled. All right, that could only mean one thing - that the hot water was boiling properly. The Latinx-Asian girl was tempted to pour it directly to the bowl, but the Gryffindor prefect's advice was that they waited for a moment until the water cooled down a little bit - maybe until it was just barely harmful to human skin. Since Elisabeth really had no idea what would happen to her green matcha tea if she ignored this "waiting" step, the Hufflepuff decided not to ignore it this time.
So she waited for about three or four minutes, perhaps five, listening to the birds singing and admiring the view of the Great Lake. Everything seemed so peaceful and it was such a lovely time. Around the first-year, her fellow Hogwarts pupils were busy with their green matcha tea preparation as well. For Elisabeth, everyone looked absorbed in their work right now; maybe later they could chat and have a great time. Besides, there were also other students preparing the food - what was it called? Dango or dangi, something like that, she believed. Earlier, Griseldis had informed the kids who prepared tea that they could also taste this traditional food together with the boys and girls who made them. Which meant, these students from the food groups ought to have a chance to sip some tea, too. Thus, Elisabeth decided that she would make several cups to share with them.
Seemed that the waiting time was over! The girl mixed the hot water with the cool matcha mixture, pouring the boiled water into the bowl. Was she performing this right? Was her grip light enough to make the matcha smooth? It looked like so (and she hoped so). Left wrist flicking, right hand kept turning the bowl in slow motion.
When the process was over, Elisabeth poured some into a cup and sipped a little of it. It did not taste too different from the one she had tasted earlier, the one made by Griseldis. "I assume this is correct, then," she thought. Repeating the whole process, the Belizean made several cups of green matcha tea, waiting for other kids to join her with their tea or dango (or both) and a friendly chat.
Translation:
*) On the contrary (Spanish)
Word Count:
1,043
12 Apr 2021, 20:15
Dangos & Matcha
Japanese culture had always been a small interest of Adlai's since she herself was part Asian, but she was Indonesian and Afghani instead of Japanese. She knew lots about her Afghani heritage since her mother had grown up there and mainly only spoke in Arabic to Adlai and her younger sisters. However, Adlai knew very little about her Indonesian heritage.
Apparently her grandmother, on her mothers side, had come from a large family in the city Serang of the Banten province in north Indonesia. Adlai only knew this because her mother had told her when she was doing a family tree project for school a few years ago. After that though, Adlai was advised by her mother to not ask her or her grandmother about Indonesia. When Adlai asked why, she wasn't given a direct answer, in fact her mother changed the topic all together.
Adlai had never met any of her grandmothers relatives, which was to be expected since she had never heard her speak of Indonesia or her family in general. This only made Adlai even more curious than she had been before she knew where her grandmother had grown up. Nonetheless, she didn't want to rock the boat and didn't ask any questions, she stayed silent and some what contempt with what she already knew.
On the other hand she had met plenty of distant cousins on her grandfathers side of the family on the rare occasion her family made a trip to Afghanistan to see her grandparents. Her grandfathers family was warm, welcoming, and loud. They were much like her own which made her proud. While together they would sing and dance, eat good food and laugh. Her father would often struggle to communicate with her mothers side of the family which often lead to Adlai translating between them, which lead to praise, which lead to an even happier Adlai.
Yes, her family was a good one. One she wouldn't give up for the world, and so now she would let herself be blind to her heritage and would instead enjoy the culture she was learning about in this very moment.
Sitting on one of the picnic blankets that had been provided to those taking part in the activities Adlai had begun to follow the directions which had most likely been explained to her multiple times. When it came to tea all poor Adlai knew how to do was boil the water. Often times her mother would handle the rest. Nonetheless, she followed the instructions to the best of her abilities. Reaching the third step Adlai began to whisk and once again drift off onto a new train of thought. She was just whisking, so what could go wrong?
Adlai Winifred Rod
Andrew Vance
13 Apr 2021, 08:33
Dangos & Matcha
1 | 2
Open to interactions
Color-changing charms. So convenient. Saved money and wardrobe space on clothes. As of late, Andrew had been in a whimsical mood of showcasing more vibrant colors to expand beyond his usual muted palette of blues, grays, and greens. Just for special events like these.
He drew inspiration from around him, and the errand he was partaking in.
Pink shirt to match the cherry blossom trees? Why not. You know pink was once a masculine color in the 19th century.
Green jeans for the matcha tea? Sure. To identify which group he was in.
And for his sneakers, hmm... Yellow, for the beautiful sunny day.
A test of self-confidence, as well. Not that he ever really lacked in that department. Fashion was anything you wanted it to be, right?
He turned his attention to the Gryffindor prefect's lesson on how to prepare the matcha, watching with half-amused interest. The whole process seemed simple enough. Was there anything to overthink about it? How could you possibly get tea wrong? The hardest part looked to be the archaic whisking method. Unless if someone was capable of burning water, which would be impossible anyway, since the heat sources were enchanted. As someone who grew up lazy in the kitchen, relying on Chef Microwave, Andrew doubted he could mess this up.
He found a spot to spread out his picnic blanket, thanked the House elf who handed him his tea set, and then sat down and got to work. Just like brewing potions, comfortable enough. Only with more room for trial and error and no risk of explosions.
In fact, no offence to the prefect, but a few of the steps, he saw as unnecessary.
Like, the measuring cup. Pfft. Did the ancient Chinese have measuring cups back in the day? No, he would do this the true traditional way. By simply letting the kettle rest for a while, once it reached a boil and Andrew took it off the heat.
Unlike the majority, from those he saw around him, Andrew wouldn't bother stressing himself over precise measurements or timing. He'd eyeball it and let his palette do the rest, starting out with a more concentrated tea and adjusting the water according to taste.
Experimenting on one cup first, he added a few scoopfuls of matcha powder, then poured about a tablespoon or two of hot water from the kettle; whisking it all to get rid of the powder clumps and make the whole mixture smooth, before diluting it with a little more liquid. Exactly how he would make his hot chocolate at home! Except for the whisking. Filling his cup to the desired level, he'd whisk it for a minute until the bubbly froth formed on the surface, and violà! His very own cup of…!
Liquid grass.He sniffed the aroma and swished it around for a moment, before braving it to take a sip. First-time matcha drinker, here. Andrew was a bit skeptical, assuming that if it looked like grass, it must take like grass, but tried to keep an open mind in exploring new flavors.
He smacked his lips and blinked, a bit of a blank face, as if waiting for some kind of change to impress him.
He shrugged. "Tastes like edible dirt," was his review, short and straightforward. It wasn't his intention to sound condescending. On the contrary, his tone was quite chipper and his face smiling, neither apologetic nor gloating about his opinion. To each their own, of course. Andrew could stomach it and finish his cup (and maybe a few more cups if it meant not looking disrespectful), but the earthiness of it was…not his cup of tea, heh. Preparing a few more cups all the more confirmed that, asking some students nearby to try out his brew; other appreciators of the drink couldn't find anything wrong with his, proving it was all personal tastebud preference.
Welp. At least he could say he had tried the stuff.
His sister Stacy liked matcha. Then again her favorite animal was a horse, and horses eat grass, so it made sense that Stacy would like the taste of grass too.
He was curious. Did anyone else in this errand not like matcha? He kept silent out of courtesy, not wanting to sour the mood, rain on the parade, or start a quarrel. It seemed that most students who signed up for this errand already had heritage ties or a liking for Asian culture, making him feel like the odd one out. Just a neutral British guy seeking to try something new, for the sake of "why not".
Though his mother was Filipino-Korean, there was hardly any imprint of it on Andrew and his family and their household in London. Andrew didn't know anything about Filipino or Korean culture, and neither did his mother, whose parents were born in the US and later moved to England. Except for the Tagalog language his mother spoke to her friends sometimes, passed down by her mother; but never bothered to teach Andrew or his siblings for some reason along the lines of "didn't see a point". Sad? Not really, in Andrew's eyes, who never felt he was missing out, or the urge to explore that half of his heritage. Filipino and Korean were just empty words to him. All genes, no cultural substance.
But this was what this errand was all about, right? New experiences? And, well, food, of course. He looked forward to those dangos, and just hoped to make the best of what the rest of the event had to offer.
Word Count: 929/1000
Last edited by Andrew Vance on 23 Apr 2021, 03:00, edited 2 times in total.
14 Apr 2021, 01:37
Dangos & Matcha
♠ No Interactions ♠
♦ Making Tea ♦
♠ Metamorphmagus ♠
♦ Cats Grace ♦
♦ Cats Grace ♦
Gryffindor Prefect Griseldis Edelhardt, was one of the few acquaintances that Xailah could confidently claim she liked. Griseldis had proven a number of times to be a reliable coworker, and a friendly face. Her kindness was unmatched- as it had no real ulterior motive. Not a detectible one anyways. Either the girl was truly nice, or she was an evil genius and had everyone fooled. Either option seemed alright to Xailah. Having heard that her fellow prefect would be hosting an errand centered around foreign snacks, Xailah knew that she simply had to attend. Usually she was assisting Griseldis with errands- she had done so several times, though the ones she had helped with were always of the cleaning variety. So this food themed errand was going to be a real treat for the fourth year. Or a struggle. Her cooking skills were about as strong as she was physically- so, not very strong. Xailah couldn't make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to save her life. Good thing she enjoyed a challenge. If she couldn't successfully make something edible, then she could at least learn a bit more about Griseldis' culture.
Matcha Tea seemed like a very beginner-friendly thing to make. All you had to do was add a tea bag and some water, right? Wrong. There was much more to matcha than just hot water, and a steeping bag. As Xailah would later find out. The elder Gryffindor would arrive at the errand a tiny bit late, resulting in her missing the first part of Griseldis' instruction. Being behind time hadn't been her intention, but she had been feeling particularly sluggish as of late. Spring often had that effect on her. She never understood the bubbly stigma that surrounded spring. To her, spring meant that hotter temperatures were lurking around the corner. Considering her milk-like complexion, the rise in heat was very undesirable. The flowers that spring brought were nice though. The insects were significantly more interesting around this time too. April showers didn't always bring May flowers, but they certainly brought lots of bees and ladybugs.
Xailah had made sure to dress appropriately, with the current condition of the weather- which was presently quite pleasant- in mind. Looped around cloaked fingers, was the wooden handle of a parasol. Skin protection was very important. Just because the climate was merciful, didn't mean the sun would be. And of course, Schrödinger was far more willing to take a long walk while in shade. The lioness and her cat stood unmoving, as she listen to Griseldis finish her instruction. Heh. Xailah stood still- as still as she could. Schrödinger was champing at the bit to investigate all the wonderful scents. He tried his best to slink towards the sources, but always found himself back where he started- at his ladys side. How frustrating. Once Griseldis was through with showing everyone what to do, Xailah collected all the materials that she and Schrödinger were going to need. Yes, the cat was in on it too. This was a group learning experience. So what if he lacked thumbs? At least he could supervise- not that supervision was needed. All Xailah had to do was add hot water to powder. How hard could it possibly be?
Reducio
543/1000 words
Attempt number one, of making Matcha Tea.
Please owl or DM me first, if you're looking to interact.
Before me, you rightly tremble. But, fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe....
Stamina: 12 ~ Evasion: 17 ~ Strength: 2 ~ Wisdom: 16 ~ Arcane Power: 4 ~ Accuracy: 17
Student Account: Martyr Daeva-Lazarus
16 Apr 2021, 15:55
Dangos & Matcha
Open to Interactions - preferably one other tea group member and two dango group members!
Reducio
The Outfit, Minus the bag
Spring had officially begun. Birds were chirping, bees were buzzing, and the sun was finally shining down brightly upon the school. Not just that, but the few cherry blossoms that were on the campus had bloomed as well, bringing a vibrant pink color to the scenery.
Today was also the day that one of the Gryffindor Prefect's had set up a tea making session, along with two dango making sessions. Being that her parent's were not the most adventurous when it came to food (perhaps the most being tex-mex or chinese), Starlee had never even heard of dangos before. Tea, on the other hand, now that one made sense. This was why she immediately signed up for tea, and not the dangos. She had no idea what the little circular treats could be when she saw them, and decided that, of course, she would certainly try them, but make them? Probably not. And so, she quickly signed her name up on the tea making sheet, figuring, how hard could making tea really be? Plus, cooking was kinda like potions, and with her shiny O in the class, there was no way she could get this wrong.
And so, she dressed up in her semi-casual springy attire and made her way down to the grounds. She sat down on the grass and listened intently to the prefects explanation on how to make the tea. So it wasn't just 'put the teabag in for so and so amount of time... remove it... and voila!' There was also whisking involved... as well as precise measurements. Honestly, this seemed like a cakewalk compared to her normal potions lesson... which involved grinding and squeezing and stirring all sorts of crazy stuff.
When the prefect was done, she found a place that was suitable for her and called the house elves over. They promptly gave her a blanket and a tea set, to which she quickly laid out on the ground, perhaps a bit inelegantly, but it still got the job done. She then began to lay out her tea set, preparing to finally start making her tea.
She separated all the tools out in a row in front of her, in the order she was to use them. Measuring cup... teaspoons... whisk... and then one of the four bowls that came in her tea set in the center. She had the boiling water next to her, and she quickly ran through the steps again in her head one more time before she started.
And with that, she was on a roll. Her potion making skills were proving to be quite useful indeed, as she delicately measured out each item and poured some into the bowl. She picked up the bamboo whisk and began to stir the mixture, and it began to froth up just as the prefect had described. And finally, it was time to add in the water from the measuring cup into the mixture, and she began whisking it again, until it was smooth. She set her tools down and picked up the bowl, sipping carefully in case it was still too hot.
But it wasn't. It was simply perfect - just divine - it was smooth, yet still had a hint of bitterness to it as she would expect from a tea. She set her bowl down and laid back in the grass for a moment, enjoying both the weather and the aroma of tea that was now wafting throughout their area of the grounds.
After her brief lapse of relaxation, she sat back up, wondering when the other students would be done with their dango's so she could have a taste of the two together, to see if they had any sort of harmony. And so, she began to make tea for the other three spots on her blanket, stopping if another tea member were to join her.
WC: 647/1000
"And the more hurt she gets, the more venomous she grows." - Emily Brontë
Abilities: Healing Sage | Comprehend Language (Parseltongue) | Advanced Casting
Hex: #408000
Abilities: Healing Sage | Comprehend Language (Parseltongue) | Advanced Casting
Hex: #408000
19 Apr 2021, 14:17
Dangos & Matcha
Rose wasn't aware of many other kinds of cultures, and mostly fit in with the cultural norm. Her parents didn't make cool foreign dishes that tasted like home. Most of her family, excluding her aunt Davina, looked so very Caucasian. She had never made Matcha Green Tea before. She had never even tried it before. And she definitely hadn't ever heard of a Dango. Rose was just absolutely boring.
That was part of the reason that she had jumped to sign up for the lesson at the end of March. It sounded like an educational and fun thing to sign up for. She definitely wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this to learn about others' culture. Culture fascinated her. The way people lived, especially if it was in contrast to the way she lived, interested Rose in a big way. Because that was the way they always lived where they came from. That was their first reaction and behavior. It being different to her was always so interesting to learn about. She always wanted to know more. Know the why. The history. Everything behind it. It was just amazing the way the world worked in those terms. This was definitely gong to be fun, learning about other cultures.
The redhead approached the place on the grounds where all of this was going on. The prefect that had organized this was still talking to a different group. She guessed by the equipment near them that the group the prefect was still talking to would be making one of the versions of Dangos. She hung loosely around the people there. Rose saw somebody wearing what looked like Japanese clothes to Rose. Little did she know, however, that it wasn't Japanese- it was Chinese. It was Elisabeth Erner, one of her brief acquaintances. Rose wondered if she should have worn something like that, even though she didn't even own anything like that. Some people could just whip the perfect outfit out of their wardrobe, while Rose was stuck wearing most of the same clothes over and over again.
When the prefect came over and addressed them as the "Matcha Tea Group," Rose knew she was in the right place. The prefect went through the motions of showing them how to make a cup of Matcha Green Tea. Rose noted it all down in her head, hoping that she would remember how to do it. The prefect set them loose, and Rose went over to get a tea set and a picnic blanket from one of the House Elves that had come to help with the Errand. She spread out the picnic blanket on a patch of earth that looked considerably even, and placed the tea set down on it. She then sat down, crossing her legs. Now, to make Matcha Green Tea. It couldn't be that hard, right?
Rose picked up the Matcha powder, and smelled it. It smelled... different. Not like anything Rose had really ever smelled before. It smelled very... green. She picked up the bamboo scoop, and measured out just one little scoop of green powder into the bowl. It spread out as it hit the bottom of the bowl. Rose paused to recall the next step that had been explained to her, and picked up the bamboo teaspoon again. She measured out a little bit of water as well. It was about equal parts with the Matcha Green powder that she had put in earlier. She took the whisk, which was an interesting shape, and mixed the two together. Mostly. There was some powder crawling up the sides of the bowl, but she figured she could mix that in later. Rose was very careful with the hot water as she picked it up. She tilted the container it was in, cautious with her measuring of it. She didn't want to put in not enough and have the flavor be super overpowering. But she also didn't want to put in too much and have it spill when she tried to mix it.
This was what the prefect had called "the fun part." Rose could definitely see what she meant. She took the whisk in one hand and stirred with that while using the other hand to rotate the bowl. At first, it was hard to find her rhythm. She spilled unequally mixed and very hot Matcha on her hand a couple of times, but she was okay. This took coordination and focus, while the rest had just been doing the right steps. This part took a little thinking on Rose's part- a little strategy to get it just right. She decided to start off slow, mixing it as thoroughly as she could. After she got a rhythm on that, she steadily sped up, turning the bowl a little faster and whisking a little quicker. And then she was doing it- she was doing it! She was stirring in the Matcha, and she was actually doing a decent job of it. Once Rose felt like the Matcha Green Tea was stirred in enough, she stirred it a little more, just for good measure, and to make sure there wasn't any powder lurking in the bottom or the corners, or on the sides. When Rose was sure that it was mixed enough, she took the whisk out and tapped it lightly against the bowl to shake off any of the extra liquid that was still lingering on the whisk. She picked up the bowl, and tilted it to take a sip. It was good! It was a lot different than Rose had expected it to be, or than she had really even ever drank before. It was quite interesting, actually. It was only just a little warmer than she would like for it to be for drinking temperature. Rose took another sip of it.
She was going to make another cup of Matcha Green Tea, but doing the same thing over and over again, no matter how fun making this was, was bound to get boring eventually. Rose gathered up her tea set and her tea, as well as her blanket, and looked around. Who would she talk to?
There. Elisabeth Erner. Rose had met her once before, and had suggested for her to meet her cousin Drew, and his best friend, as they had still been looking for dates to the Fall Ball then. Rose's conversation with Elisabeth had been pleasant but quite awkward, the two girls randomly meeting in the Owlrey. Maybe they could have another conversation and it could be a little less awkward. She went to approach the girl. "Hi. It's Elisabeth, right? Do you mind if I sit by you?" Rose asked.
If Elisabeth gave the okay for her to join her, Rose would set herself up across from Elisabeth, laying down the picnic blanket and then setting down her tea set and her cup of already-made tea down in front of her. She made sure to give the both of them plenty room to work in between them, with a space just right between too close and too far apart. She did not want to intrude on Elisabeth's personal space. "I like your dress," she said as a compliment to the girl. She didn't know its real name, but maybe Elisabeth would tell her a little about it? "I don't have any clothes nearly as pretty as that in my trunk. Where did you get that?"
22 Apr 2021, 19:02
Dangos & Matcha
@Xailah AlptraumReducioPiérre had always considered the early spring months one of the prettiest times of the year. Tiny little green blossoms would poke themseleves bravely through the frost, careful to avoid the three signature sudden winter snaps before they could grow in relative peace. During springtime in the Mediterranean, cold ocean breezes would travel inwards, the inland would be slightly more temperate; mostly sweater or long sleeved weather, especially for Piérre, who seemed to always be a little bit too chilly for his taste.Rolled d4 to Determine House Color for the Day:
1- Hufflepuff
2- Ravenclaw
3- Gryffindor
4- Slytherin
Number Rolled: 4
Slytherin
That had not changed even after six years in Britain. Even in sixty degree weather, Piérre found his teeth chattering, and he was often bundled up in a scarf and rather thick pink fuzzy sweater. But it seemed this year was being kinder. It was cool, yes, but cool enough that Piérre had managed to bring himself to not become the second Boris Karloff mummy and instead had dressed conserved. The only sign of his chilliness was in a silver and green striped Slytherin scarf and a special little green shirt which had been made on accident during his first detention his first year with a certain Koko Riddle. It was the notorious green shirt with the silver trophy polish, though it didn’t actually have trophy polish on it anymore. Instead, Piérre had taken it home over winter break, gotten out some of Romeo’s painting supplies (seriously, what on earth is a giant like Romeo doing with a tiny paintset?) and had flicked silver paint all over the green shirt, turning it into a slightly sloppy, yet classy collared top.
Pinks and light colors were in the air, and the smell of flowers which always seemed to follow such a crisp day. It was the beginning of life, having come fully from death, and Piérre always loved watching the world slowly wake up, rousing itself from a winter’s slumber. He walked with a spring in his step, a giddiness which while to some may have been familiar and even normal for the usually energetic boy, but yet in a slightly different way that he usually did. He was being slightly more careful than usual, avoiding the delicate stems and new buds which were still young and greening.
Today he was going to be making tea. Something he had not really done much, despite being a current dweller in the notorious UK. It was a fresh afternoon, a little bit after high noon, or maybe because of the current acceleration towards summer, maybe it was currently high noon. Piérre never really gave much thought to those kinds of things. Regardless, the boy was humming to himself as he kept an eye out for anything which caught his eye; a small sparkle of sunlight off of the Great Lake, a couple of pink petals which fluttered from their places in the trees... just anything really.
For once, Piérre seemed to have managed to arrive on time, long enough to hear Gryffindor’s first string Prefect Beater start giving instructions on how to brew the special Japanese tea. Now, Piérre wasn’t from the East (obviously...), but did it hurt to familiarize oneself with culture outside your native one? And hey, there was gonna be food. Food that Piérre was not even going to attempt to make, because he feared the consequences of trying to make something that someone else was going to eat. He’d much rather die to his own poison as opposed to accidentally giving it to another unwittingly.
...
This is just a nice way of saying that the lad was scared of cooking... and preparing food in general.
Well... maybe he could find help from another person? Someone who at least looked like they knew what they were doing? Figaro seemed entertained enough, prowling around in the taller grass and pretending to be some sort of big cat as he stalked up on some white moths. They would each flutter away, of course, the kitten still a bit too clumsy to be an effective danger to them, but that didn’t stop the Bengal from enjoying the thrill of attempting to leap a few feet in the air in a desperate attempt to snatch the moving wings in his little teeth.
After wandering for a little bit, having gathered the supplies he needed in order to make the tea, Piérre stood still, glancing around. It seemed that everyone already had a partner that had arrived already. It would be rude of him to join a couple which had already been formed and barge in on their conversations. Besides, he didn’t recognize anyone here. All of them looked strange to him, individuals he knew that he had seen somewhere, perhaps only in passing, but never spoken to directly. Well then, why didn’t he go over and talk to them anyways? They were potential friends, potential good people to get to know.
Are you scared?
“A little...” He murmured to himself, feeling his fingers tapping impatiently on the cup he held.
There was a little spot of black in the cleaning, a little pattern of black skirt and white long-sleeved top. A girl with strangely feline features, and a plump little grey mass nearby.
Wasn’t this the other Gryffindor prefect?
The girl who had grown antlers in the Hospital wing during the Incident? The one who had also found Victor ransacking the Caretaker’s Office? And then when he had been cleaning the library with her as well? Yeah, yeah! It was all coming back! This was the girl! Gosh, Piérre always thought that she was so cool. The kid really wanted to get to know her better.
Well what better excuse to sit down and talk to her was there than to ask if she wanted to make tea together?
Without giving it another thought, Piérre gently padded over to her, still holding his supplies close to himself. Figaro, sensing that his brother was moving, lingered a bit closer, still distracted by the little flying things all around. “Hi~” Piérre piped up behind her, not daring to touch the girl that he remembered to be a bit aloof and standoffish. “Um... you want to make tea together?” He rocked back and forth, smiling. “Its a really nice day, huh?”
He glanced around again. “My name’s Piérre. We’ve... we’ve met.” a small nod to affirm his words, though he didn’t share where. He wondered if she remembered him. “I like your outfit. It’s very classy.” Another smile. His nerves were beginning to fade, his calm, yet enthusiastic countenance beginning to return. Gosh, he hoped he hadn’t made himself too much of an idiot. The girl seemed to be one of a few people around here that Piérre felt a bit of a connection to, albeit a bit of a respectful connection complex.
Calming Presence in Effect1,100 words
Jesters do oft prove prophets. 𓀚
I am the brother account to Romeo Marchonné & Zyva Hel Fae Skógrwight
23 Apr 2021, 02:05
Dangos & Matcha
[font=PT Sans]He was, to say the least, slightly traumatized from the abandoned toilets. To sum up his prior experience, he is officially never going in there ever again. Except to visit the Secret Chamber. But he was this close to spending up his entire youth to see if there was another way to enter the Chamber without risking his life and sanity going through the Abandoned Toilets again. With every small uncomfortable step he made, the more he was aware of the kimono he was forced to wear by his oh-so-beloved-torture- I mean club members of the Asian Society Club. If he knew he was going to be ambushed in such a way he would’ve thought more about if he should’ve joined or not. The green cloth on his body felt wrong to wear. Like his own soul was slammed into an unfamiliar vessel that he could sense was not his from the second he wore it. Then there was that undeniable sad feeling in his gut that this was his first time wearing such a thing when it should’ve been one of the pride and joy of his ethnicity. Yet, here he was feeling like it didn’t belong to him. Then again he was literally kidnapped to wear it so he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what made this experience of wearing a kimono so bad. The whole feeling of it being the first time he wore a kimono or the process on how he was made to wear it. They all seem to give him the same agitation.
On the way to the grounds where an errand he signed up for was taking, he concluded after taking at least another 20 minutes to get there from his difficulty in walking around with this attire, that he was going to quit. He was going to find whoever was in charge and say he was too mentally exhausted to continue on. While he continued to tumble occasionally, he did quite a good job at avoiding other participants. That was until his foot hit something and a small splash was heard. “ Oh great” he mumbled, not taking his eyes off his large sleeves “ I’m here having a hard time just walking and you decided to- Rod?”
His eyes blinked at the owner of the cup he just kicked over with surprise. It was Adlai Rod, a.k.a the one he tries to avoid at all cost. Hanako looked at the kicked-over cup then back to Rod, then back to the fallen cup. Oh dear. Flustered at his mistake, he looked away from the girl and used his overly large sleeves to cover up his red face. Who knew they’d actually be useful in this situation. It was easy for Hanako to be rude, but Adlai was an exception given their history. Specifically, the history between her and his forged identity. Nevertheless, even as Hanako, he couldn’t bring himself to act as rudely to her as he did a few minutes ago. “ I’ll uh… I’ll make you a new one..or something.” he said, looking anywhere but her eyes.
[/font]
Interacting with: @Adlai Rod
Mentioned : His torturer-I mean @Kazuo Shimada @Akari Kaito
Slight God-modding of Adlai's matcha cup has been given permission to proceed and attack
Previously, on Hana's Mentally Exhausting Day: Episode 1
Andrew Vance
23 Apr 2021, 02:58
Dangos & Matcha
1 | 2
Interactions (open): @Starlee Kennedy
Not too far away, he spotted a familiar blonde, recognizing one of his Housemates. One of the girls he had played Monopoly with in the Common Room, a few months back. What was her name again? Oh yeah, Starlee! The name sounded as friendly and cheery as she did, from what he recalled, which made it easier for Andrew to approach her this time. He hadn't spoken to Starlee in a while, and now seemed as good of an opportunity as any for him to get to know the first year better. Or if anything keep her company, since everyone else seemed to be grouping up.
"Hey, Starlee!" He greeted. "Mind if I join you?"
He'd gather his things and place his blanket beside Starlee's, to make one big blanket seating area for the both of them (and others who joined them).
"Well, I think I did mine right." He held a teacup of matcha in one hand, taking a sip of his finished product. "How's yours?" He asked Starlee. "Have you ever had matcha before? I don't really know much about Asian culture, so this is new." He glanced around, referring to the whole matcha and dango setup.
"Actually, I've never been a big tea fan," he admitted with a chuckle. "I just chose this because I can't cook, so I figured tea would be easiest. Just like making hot cocoa - that's my kind'a drink. I usually take tea if I'm sick. Honey lemon ginger, or peppermint, usually." He took another sip, and tried not to make his scrunched up face look too obvious as he swallowed it down quickly. "This one's a bit strong, for me. Maybe in other desserts, it's not so bad?" As a tea, matcha didn't impress him, though to give it a fair chance, he'd try out some matcha-flavored desserts sometime to see how the flavor compared. Maybe some sugar would make it more palatable?
Word Count: 928+ 322 = 1250/1000 (complete)
Reducio
Outfit: pink long-sleeved shirt • green jeans • yellow sneakers
@Starlee Kennedy Don't mind if I do.
Andy could have arrived/grouped up with Starlee early on -- if you'd like him and Starlee to make tea together (Andy would've had Starlee try out a cup of his tea when he was finished, to see if it tasted right) -- or he could have arrived later, after Starlee finished with her tea, and brought his things over with him. I left it open for you to interpret. Either way, Andy's just helping himself to conversation.
@Starlee Kennedy Don't mind if I do.
Andy could have arrived/grouped up with Starlee early on -- if you'd like him and Starlee to make tea together (Andy would've had Starlee try out a cup of his tea when he was finished, to see if it tasted right) -- or he could have arrived later, after Starlee finished with her tea, and brought his things over with him. I left it open for you to interpret. Either way, Andy's just helping himself to conversation.