Posted by Lieutenant Kiama Naim (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?

Posted by Lieutenant Faye Calloway (Mission Specialist) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?

Posted by Lieutenant Kiama Naim (Chief Science Officer) in Side Sim: Friends and good food -what else does one need?
Posted by… suppressed (2) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Toss me something else to chop,” Faye said, happy to work and chat at the same time.

“The garlic needs to be finely minced and we need a little more finely chopped cilantro for the curry,” Kiama replied as she pushed the cilantro and four cloves of garlic towards Faye.

“Yes, ma’am,” she said with an easy grin, immediately working to peel the cloves.

Kiama couldn’t help but laugh softly.

“I love swimming too. I used to do running and all kinds of kick boxing and stuff, but in recent years I have gone for calmer exercise. Though if I’m really angry, It’s always better for me to take it out on a punch bag than a person- so says experience.” She grinned, but it was also a lesson that had take a long time and tender mercies of the Romulans to work out.

“I can imagine,” Kiama chuckled and sniffled slightly at the same time. Onions really were a horrible thing to cut! Trying not to touch her eye, she brushed a tear away that had started to run down her cheek. “I gave boxing or martial arts a try. I mean, I have done the basic self-defence training and I make a point of brushing up on that in regular intervals, but that’s it,” she mused.

“What sorts of art stuff did you try?” Faye asked curiously.

~Faye Calloway

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Kiama pondered for a moment as she reached for the ginger and grated some of it. “I’ve tried a few kinds of needle work things like that. But not only am I not good at it, I do not enjoy that at all. I also tried painting, both oil and acrylic, and drawing. I tried Origami and calligraphy. I even tried my hand at photography, though not the modern one, but with a mid-twentieth century camera with a film and everything. I think I liked that best of all the arts and craft things I’ve tried. Though I have feeling I’m forgetting a few things I tried,” she replied with a soft laugh. “Have you tried any arts and crafts things?”

~Lt. Naim, CSO

Faye chewed on her lower lip for a moment but shook her head. “No, I mean nothing that would be considered arts and crafts per say.” Why was this embarrassing? It shouldn’t be and yet.. Faye exhaled. “Well, I do a lot of reading of all kinds, but I especially love poetry, and now and again I try my hand it in hopes that maybe I too can sum up an experience or feeling so succinctly and eloquently.”

~Faye Calloway

With a wide smile playing across her dark features, Kiama turned towards Faye. “That’s awesome!” she exclaimed excitedly and sincerely. “I don’t know if you’d feel comfortable doing so, but if you do: I’d like to read your poems. And it’s also perfectly fine if you’d rather not. It’s something very personal and I want you to feel comfortable,” she continued much more gently softly. Wanting to give Faye some space to think, Kiama turned back and after putting the ginger aside, reached for the lime, cut it in half and then pressed the juice out of it into a small bowl.

~Lt. Naim, CSO

Faye smiled a bit as she finished mincing the garlic and slid it to one side of her cutting board, the simple action giving time to think through an answer. “Yeah, maybe. I don’t know. I just assume they are terrible so maybe an outside opinion would be good.” She had thought about showing Alex, but given his mom was a poet herself it made her more nervous about it.

Kiama simply nodded and smiled warmly and encouragingly at Faye. She could that the thought made her feel nervous and she didn’t want to put any pressure on her.

“Okay, prep is done, I think we’re ready to start cooking, yes?” Faye asked, already eager for dinner.

~Faye Calloway

After stealing a glance towards the PaDD next to her to check the recipe, Kiama nodded. “Now we need a large pot. I think Chef Harv said they are in the cupboard next to you,” she said with a hint of doubt in her voice.

“Alright,” Faye said, crouching in front of the lower cupboard and pulled out a medium sized pot. Harv’s stuff was all professional scale so they really didn’t need anything too big. ” Faye stood in a fluid motion and set it down for Kiama.

Once the pot was found and on the stove, Kiama poured some vegetable oil into it and turned the stove on, setting it to medium. As she waited for it heat up, she suddenly exclaimed, “I forgot the rice! We should probably start cooking that as well, I guess?” Kiama felt her cheeks burn as blood rushed to her face again. How could she forget about the rice?

~Lt. Naim, CSO

Calloway snapped her finger and pointed at Kiama with a light laugh. “Yes we did, but it takes no time at all. “So why don’t you work on the curry. I got the rice,” she said, hunting for a smaller sized pot to cook enough rice for the two of them. They didn’t have time to soak it, but a good rinse would so the trick too.

Measuring out the right amount of water, Faye moved down and peeked around Kiama, snagging the bag of rice with a grin and set about measuring out what she needed. “So, you’re clearly handy in the kitchen. Where did you learn?”

~Faye Calloway