Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Sloane Square- Saturday Farmer’s Market

Posted by Captain Eela Dasca (Lt. Governor) in Sloane Square- Saturday Farmer’s Market

Posted by Lieutenant Sharah Fayth (Chief Star Fleet Medical Officer) in Sloane Square- Saturday Farmer’s Market

(snips)

Sharah shook her head as she took a sip of rich hot decadence. “Mmmm.” She moved away from the crowd waiting for their orders and toward the next nearest stall that had a huge assortment of fruit grown in green houses on the colony. “Actually, I am just learning. I…was never allowed to cook growing up. And at the Academy, who had time for it when you had replicators.”

Sharah

Dasca smiled. “Ahh, well you are now on a wonderful journey, I promise you. And a place like Oed? Endless inspiration,” she said as she see her latte down the edge of the table and began to inspect the options on the table.

“So I keep being told. My efforts are…mediocre at best, but Markus is very patient. I had a counselor once that tried teaching me how to bake bread. It was always either over or under kneaded.” Those classes had been fun, but exhausting. The purpose hadn’t been to make bread though, but to exercise her concentration and focus.

“It takes practice. You have to develop a feeling for it,” Eela said. “It’s not unlike learning medical procedures I would think. The more you practice, the more you develop an intuition for it.”

The stall owner moved over to greet her customers and looked momentarily surprised before smiling. “Lieutenant Governor Dasca, it’s nice to see you at the market.”

“Good morning,” Eela greeted warmly, her demeanour remaining relaxed and decidedly ‘off-duty’. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing what is here. Do you have any Triscan pears?” she asked as she picked up a large oblong red fruit that had green spots on it, eyeing it curiously.

“Not currently, though Amail might have some. They have a stand on the other side of the market. Carry all sorts of produce from that sector.”

Sharah found a Geocuri and Fade Marang that looked of good quality and purchased them, placing them in one of her bags and moving to the next stall. Picking up and sniffing, squeezing, and examining them. It reminded her of the time spent with her father or even Uncle Olly. She missed them both terribly.

“Perfect, thank you,” Dasca said before turning back to Sharah. “I know what you mean about replicators though. I am so grateful for them. But early in my career I found I was missing something, and it took me a bit to realize it was the weekly meal my family would cook. My parents were very much of the mind that regardless of how much advanced technology you had access to, you should be able to do things for yourself, including feed yourself. So once a week we cooked together. And after I got married, I resumed that tradition and we taught our children the same. I’ve not always been able to keep it up-“-she leaned in towards Fayth-“sometime I’ll tell you about the time we ‘cooked’ with rations during the war- and these last few years have been hard for that since I’ve been all over the place and not in a position to cook necessarily, but here? It might be the thing that keeps me sane.” It was one defining feature of her life, of her family roots, that could ground her in the chaos she had landed within.

~Eela Dasca. Lt. Gov.

“I know what you mean,” a fond smile appeared and warmth of a happy memory suffused her being. “We ate all our meals together. My father is an agricultural specialist. He helped rebuild the farms on Betazed after the Dominion War. We never had a replicator, always ate fresh foods and together as a family. I miss it.” Another seemingly random, chaotic event, that their first real interaction together, Markus had been cooking. It was the first real meal she had eaten with anyone since the Ark Angel. “Sharing a real meal together is such a moving emotional experience. Helping to prepare it, even in a small way, is an honor.” One she hadn’t been aware she was missing out on because of her mother’s strict precautions.

“I agree,” Dsasca said, her tone slightly more soft, reflective. The last few years had been lonely that way. She had been always away (her own choice) and there hadn’t been time for cooking that way. Her and Cory had tried, but the more they fought, the less they wanted to sit at a table together. The last eighteen months had been even worse and that had bene her own doing as well, as she had retreated a bit socially to regroup. At least she had had Caridee and Kian- they had been the subtle constant in her tumultuous life.

The next stall held more of a variety of produce, but the one past snagged Sharah’s attention. Tomatos! Bushels of them. Markus was always going on about making sauce from scratch. Sharah probably purchased more than he needed, but she could take the seeds and grow her own afterwards.

Sharah

Eela smiled as Sharah moved excitedly on. There was a rhythm to their progress through the market. Each stopped at stalls that intrigued them without worrying about being in lockstep with the other. Eela sipped on her latte as she gathered greens, root vegetables and herbs. She was definitely looking forward to having a kitchen garden on the patio and just being able to step out and grab a few things as needed.

Interspersed with the food stalls were arts and crafts and Eela had stopped at one that had an astonishing array of hand painted silk scarves and other accessories. Setting the coffee cup safely on the ground near the leg of a table (she didn’t want to accidentally spill that anywhere near the items), she let her eyes take in everything before she gently let a finger touch the delicate and soft material. It glided under her fingertip, the subtle silver flowers painted over a gradient beginning with indigo. “These are beautiful. Are they your own?” she asked a young man.

He smiled warmly. “Yes. I deal with the weaving and raw materials and my sister does the painting.”

“You are both very talented,” Dasca said. “Are you here often?”

He nodded. “Most weeks, yes.”

“I’ll definitely have to come back then,” she said with resolve, knowing that she’d want to come with the intention of purchasing one when her hands weren’t full of items that might damage or stain even a well wrapped object.

Moving on, she caught up with Fayth. “I don’t know that I’ll be able to come out here every weekend, but I suspect it’ll start being one of my rituals,” Eela said, a subtle joy infused her relaxed mood. After a terribly long and hard week, she was determined to make the most of this brief time and she suspected that times like this would sustain her during the harder days of being Lieutenant Governor.

~Eela Dasca, Lt. Gov.