Finding Femininity

"Its a vintage Hawaiian chocolate that Khaat likes. Hawaii doesn't make a lot of cocoa, but it does make a little bit, and its all done as artisanal chocolate. She has it imported here. Personally, I think she's onto something. She prefers it more than the top names in the European makers. Here. See what you think. I think you'll find its smoother, richer, creamier, and definitely without any grainy taste whatsoever. None at all. No bitter afternotes. Just rich and nutty and mellow. Here. Try it." He got out two more chocolate bars. One was a dark chocolate bar and the other was a milk chocolate bar. He opened them and broke off a couple pieces from each bar and gave her a piece of each, and he took a piece of each bar for himself.

Cassidy looked at the chocolate as soon as she placed it in her mouth she liked it adn smiled " mumm tastes delishiose, I think I prefer the milk to the dark,the darks too rich for my taste, but the milk , god its like silk in the mouth " she said and smiled then blushed realizing she was geting way too into the flavor " sorry, but its realy good " she said and chuckled " I can defilatly see why Khaat like this " she said licking her fingers where it had melted slightly on them " wouldn't want too much it would become sickly very quickly but one or two peices would satifiy " she said feeling the taste still lingering in her mouth.

"Now you're learning," Angus smiled. "When you have good quality ingredients, sometimes less is more. Now--lets see how good you are at something else. I know you don't drink much, but I just want you to taste." He drew out the common garden variety firewhiskey from the cabinet and the rare blend that Robert preferred and bought. He poured just a teaspoon's worth of each in two different glasses.

"You don't need to swallow if you dont' want. I just want you to taste the difference. One will taste more of just alcohol. The other, well, it has more of a smoky, nutty, deeper taste. You can taste the tanins in the wood that the firewhiskey was aged in, in the better stuff. In the cheaper stuff, its processed in a hurry, and is a poor clone of the better, vintage stuff. I'm not trying to get you to drink. But there is a bigger lesson in this. Just try it."

cassidy looked at him then at the glasses , caushiouly she picked one up smelling it it smelt strong and she coughed taking it it was ok but some what flat it warmed her mouth but nothing else , turning to the sink she spat it out. Picking up the second she expected it to be the same but she was plesantly suprised she felt it warm her throat it was smother and gave a richer flavor, she couldn't help her self and swollowed it caughing at how it hit the back of her throat. " wow " she finally managed to say " thats got to be the good stuff " she managed to say and she breathed in feeling a warmth threw her body " it was good the second was smother and had a richer flavor i'd say that was the more expencive one " she paused to take a second breath " hit you hard too" she said and chuckled.

"You're right. That is the better one. You can also tell by the color. The color is a darker, more carmelized color. This brand is not easy to find, but it is worth it. Generally, Robert gets it from Michael. I don't know how Michael gets it, but he does. And we get it from Robert. Khaat and Brian prefer this to the normal brand you buy in the pubs. Its more expensive, but if one is going to drink it, it might as well be worth your effort. I asked you to try these so you could learn that its always worth your effort to find better quality ingrdients. You dont' generally ever need as much of them, but the differences in flavor can make all the difference in the world. When we get a chance to go to Tuscany, you'll get a chance to shop some of the finest seafood markets and produce markets anywhere in the world. I want you to have a trained palate so you can pick out the best ingredients by sight, by feel, by smell, and, most importantly, by taste. I want you to be able to help with some of the marketing, and I won't ever buy anything to serve the Lupins but the very best. They've got the money to afford better, and buying just marginal produce just doesn't get it for me."

Cassidy listened to him and was intrested she wanted to know , not having had much in the way of a pallet befoe she found it intresting the diferances she ahd already experianced " good job i haven't come across anything i can't eat yet then isn't it " she said and smiled " I never knew there was so many diferances in things , the chocolate, the whisky " she coughed slightly as she mentioned that. She found she wanted to learn more she'd learned about fidting from Robert but she wanted to learn about cooking from Angus she ahd found he was a patiant teacher and she liked the way he was teaching with out teaching.

"Well, I need to go to the farm market in Hogsmeade later today to pick up some fresh fruit and vegetables. I will go after lunch if I can get someone to watch the girls. You can go with me if we find sitters for that long. The nice thing about buying there is that you can taste what you buy before you buy it. And sometimes even from the same farmer, one pint of berries might be drastically better than another. Or perhaps another day in the field might either make the difference between the berries being at their prime or past it. Besiees that, I'll have to take you to the places where Khaat and Brian buy their favoite things. Robert and Kate have taught them, partly by growing up on a farm, how to expect the freshest ingredients, but they have also taught them how to taste and experience different foods from all over the world because, well, Robert's work with the organization caused him to travel a lot. So they just learned. They know what they like. And you'll learn too.

"You might want to see if you can twist someone's arm into watching Abbey and Dakota for us. They really can be distracting for us to take. We can do that if we have to, but it does make things more difficult."

Cassidy listened she was alittle frihtened about going back to Hogsmead after Clay but she knew she had to she could not let him get the better of him.her mind wanted to scream no that she was scared to go back but her mouth spoke " sure I think steven might he needs the practice , if hes around " she said looking at him hoping he didn't see her fear in her eyes. She was stronger than clay and now had to prove it by returning if she saw him she would ignore him.

Angus had seen the look of anxiety in her face. "Forget about him. He's not worth it," he told her. "You're putting too much energy into a big git. Keep your mind on what I'm teaching you. Besides, when Khaat and Brian come home, whenever that is, I really do want a good meal for them to come home to. So, lets go see what the best of the farm market is and then arrange the menu from that. That's really the way its done. You find out what the best is, and then you do your best with that once you get it."

Angus's thoughts went to Khaat and Brian. He was concerned for Khaat, and he was doing his best to stay busy and to not let his thoughts wander off. He did his best to try to keep busy fixing the meal, but he paused, pouring himself a mug of coffee. "I hope they're okay," He said quietly.

Cassidy nodded and took a deep breath in she saw his look and spoke. " hey ,if i have to for get about the git so you have to relax about Brian and Khaat, I know that look so don't say your not, their fine they have each other " she said hoping it would make him realize he was helping her as well as himself to not worry about khaat and Brain. Shh realy neede him thinking about foode as she didn't want to think of anything but what he was teaching her and not teh fact she was about to return to the very alley she ahd met clay and heard about his hate and use of her but she wanted to think of it as a place of fun and discovery with some one equaly as intresting and fun to be with as it had been before clay came into her life.