Prompt | Fall Food

Ninjago OC's

My fall food is pumpkin pie!

🥧 - 🍁 - 🥧

I am certainly not a baker. Anything that has to do with the kitchen whether it be cooking, cleaning, or fixing is Zane's forte. How I managed to pull the tap out of the counter with my weak nerd arms I will never know.

What is my forte you ask?

Good question.

I'm still trying to figure it out so if you find the answer then please tell me.

This thanksgiving I wanted to prove to my brother I was not a mooch but rather an amazing girlfriend who could also cook and didn't need her boyfriend to do anything for her. That proved to be trickier than I anticipated as I didn't understand what evaporated milk was. Wouldn't that just make a fluffy milk cloud?

I asked a worker at the grocery store this and they gave me a funny look, passing the product over and leaving as fast as they could. I turned the can over in my hands and shrugged, throwing it carelessly in the cart and moving on to the next ingredient on my list.

I'm not really a shopper, Zane seems to think I get distracted too easily and usually tries to go by himself. I began to agree with him after looking down at my cart and finding three fruit-shaped bowls I didn't need, ice moulds in the shapes of cats, four packs of gummy worms, and no flour.

"Hm.." I tapped my chin thoughtfully as I wandered to the next aisle. "Maybe that's why people make lists. So they are forced to stick to it." I looked at my own list. "I guess I'll have to try that next time."

When I finally got home I was exhausted. But I had kicked Zane out for the entire day and I couldn't afford to waste time binge-watching videos on my phone all day. Unfortunately, I have no willpower and spent at least two hours laughing at people doing stupid things before a questioning text from Zane reminded me of my task.

"Alright," I said out loud. Just so you know, I'm talking to my cat not to myself like some crazy person. "I guess I should start!" There was silence as I just stood and stared at the ingredients on the counter blankly. Cotton glared at me pointedly, his scolding gaze causing me to scowl and hastily put on an apron.

"Alright, alright," I grumbled. "Judgy cat."

My fingers fumbled with the knot and I couldn't find the measuring spoons for the longest time (they were in the top drawer like they should be) but at last I began to work, squinting at the recipe on my phone as I blindly dumped one thing after another into the mixing bowl.

Pumpkin purée is an odd, orange, mixture. I couldn't help but notice how it resembled baby food as I shoved it in and turned on the mixer. Some cinnamon got in my nose and I narrowing avoided sneezing all over the pie crust, thankfully I was able to grab Cotton. One would say using a cat as a Kleenex isn't the best idea but hey! To each their own, right? 

When the pie part was I done I shoved it into my warm cooking box and hummed along as I started the timer. A warm aroma filled the kitchen and I squatted anxiously in front of the stove, blankly  watching the pie cook with wide, unwavering eyes until the oven finally dinged.

"Yay!" I jumped up, grabbing my pink oven mitts and opening the door. Heat erupted in my face, making my cheeks warm and my face tingle deliciously with a warning, it was one of those feeling that was both unpleasant and satisfying. I screwed my eyes into slits and leaned forward awkwardly, taking the pie pan out and shutting the oven with my hip. 

"What do you think, Cotton?" I wrung my hands nervously as I stared down at it. "Did it turn out okay?"

Cotton couldn't care less about food that wasn't for him and turned his bum on me, strutting out sassily with his tail flicking back and force. I scowled and leaned forward, inspecting the dessert carefully. It looked alright. The crust was a little messy and the top was darker than I would've liked but all and all things could've gone much worse.

I cheered, excited that I had a delicious pie to show off to Zane proudly, and moved to pick it back up so I could put it on the cooling rack.

Of course, I should've known when something turned out well then irony would come along and nip me in the nose.

The pan slipped from my mittened hands and I fumbled for the pie but it was too late. The loud clatter of metal against tile made me yell and I squeezed my eyes shut, hating the disappointment that grew like a boa constrictor tightening around my lungs. I slowly opened one eye, my body still tense and frozen in place as I reluctantly looked down at the dropped pie smushed facedown on my black and white checkered floor.

"Well," I said with a smack of my lips. "I guess I'll just buy a pie."

There was a beat.

"Along with some more gummy worms of course."