Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Ash
Time seemed to move ever so slowly that morning at A Helping Hand. Between food prep, serving, and cleanup, Ash thought the morning would never end. He was sure it was because he was just so excited to hang out with Ker and teach him some basic cooking skills.
When they finally climbed into Ash’s SUV, Ker said, “Is it me, or did this morning take forever?”
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing,” Ash replied. “Were you able to pick up everything on the list I sent you, or do we have to stop at the store before we go to your place?”
“I did have a couple of the things on the list and was able to get everything else last night after work. I don’t think I’ve ever bought so much food all at once!” Ker grinned widely. “It was kinda fun, actually.”
“Cool. I think we’re gonna have a good time today.”
When they arrived at Ker’s house, Ash grabbed a large plastic crate from the back of his vehicle and followed Ker inside.
“Nice place,” he said, setting the crate on the floor beside the island.
“Thanks. It was a bit of a fixer-upper when I bought it, but I’m happy with the place. I focused on the upstairs apartment first so I could rent it out. My tenant is a single mom and her three-year-old son. Eventually, I got around to working on my space. I finished up the kitchen about a year ago.”
“You did a great job. It feels very comfortable, and I like the way things are set up.” The living area was separated from the spacious eat-in kitchen by an island, giving the entire space a light, open feel. The decor was simple and uncluttered, with a large wall-mounted TV in the living room opposite a couch and a couple of comfortable-looking chairs. The modern kitchen featured stainless-steel appliances and solid-surface countertops with pale-green cabinets.
“Okay, ready to get to work?” Ash asked.
“I am. What do we do first?”
“First, I have a little gift for you.” Ash smiled and handed him a handled paper bag with a Cask & Larder logo on the front.
“Really?” Ker blushed, taking the bag and pulling out the contents. It was a gray-and-white striped chef’s apron with a matching hand towel and potholder.
“My brother Mitch owns the Cask & Larder in Hawthorne Bluff. It’s a gourmet food and wine shop, and he has a small selection of kitchen-related items as well. I thought this would be appropriate. I tend to get really enthusiastic when I cook, so I always wear an apron so I don’t end up wearing half of what I’m trying to make.”
“Thank you so much! This is perfect!” Ker donned the apron and tucked the towel into the ties once he’d secured it around his waist.
Ash pulled on his own apron after retrieving it from the crate and said, “Let’s organize everything on the island, then we can wash up and get started. I figured we’d make the red sauce first since that should simmer for a while.”
Ash showed Ker how to chop onions, garlic, celery, and carrots for the sauce, explaining that celery wasn’t always considered traditional in a lot of recipes, but Ash liked the flavor, so he always included it. “And carrots can be chopped fine or even shredded. It adds a subtle sweetness to the sauce, which helps if the tomatoes are a little too acidic,” he explained. “If you don’t have carrots, you can add a little sugar instead, but there are purists who don’t think adding sugar is right. Carrots are sort of my compromise.” Ash grinned.
After sautéing the vegetables and browning the ground beef, Ash explained how to deglaze the pan with a cup of beef stock. “You need to scrape up all the brown bits at the bottom. There’s tons of flavor there that we want in the sauce.”
“Oh, okay,” Ker said, working the wooden spoon to the edges of the pot. “I’d heard the term before, but I didn’t really understand what it meant.”
“A lot of recipes call for using red wine for the deglazing, but since you don’t drink, beef stock works just as well and helps reinforce the flavor of the ground beef.”
Next, they added cans of crushed tomatoes and some chopped fresh basil to the pot and set it to simmer on a back burner of the stove. “We’ll let this cook for an hour or two, stirring it every now and again. Now we can get started on my shortcut chicken soup.”
“I have to admit, I was surprised when you said to buy an already-cooked rotisserie chicken. I thought you started with raw chicken to make soup,” Ker told him.
“Ha. That’s my shortcut!” Ash laughed. “You can certainly start with raw, but this is faster. I use rotisserie chicken to make chicken salad, too, but that’s not what we’re doing today. First we’ll remove all the meat from the chicken and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Then the chicken bones and skin go into the pot with water, store-bought chicken stock, and some roughly chopped veg to cook for about thirty to forty-five minutes,” he explained. “Later, we’ll strain it, and that’ll be the soup base. While it cooks, we’ll chop up some carrots, celery, and onions to add to the soup base along with some rice. You can do noodles, too, but I think they get too mushy when you’re freezing the soup, so I started using rice instead. Once the rice and veggies are cooked, you just stir the chicken meat in, and the soup is done.”
“Brilliant! I’m not a fan of mushy noodles either,” Ker admitted. “But I have a question. Why put vegetables in with the bones and then toss them, only to add more veg later?”
“Great question! Those first veggies give all their flavor to the broth, so they’ve done their job. The later vegetables are the ones we want to eat as part of the soup,” Ash explained. “Oh, and if you really want noodles in your soup, you can skip the rice and freeze the soup as is,” Ash said. “Then when you want a serving, just cook up some noodles and add them to the reheated soup. But I’m lazy, so I just stick with the rice.” He walked over to the crate he’d brought over and lifted out some plastic containers.
“What are those?” Ker asked.
“I brought these for you to get started. These are the type of containers that most restaurants use for takeout when they’re doing soups and sauces. Mitch uses them at his shop, so I originally got some from him, but you can buy them online too. The most common sizes are a cup, a pint, and a quart. I think the pint ones are the perfect size for a single serving of soup, stew, or sauce. And the quart size comes in handy to freeze a larger batch for when you have company. Another option is to use Ziploc-type bags for the soup or sauce. You can prop them up in a mug or bowl to fill, and they take up less room in the freezer than the containers. Just remember to put a paper towel between each bag in the freezer so they don’t stick together when they freeze.”
“Thanks so much. I can’t believe how much I’ve learned already.” Ker’s voice bubbled over with excitement.
“I’m so happy I could help. Now let’s finish up this soup, then we can relax for a while.”
The chicken stock had been strained, and the rice and vegetables were quietly simmering in the pot. The meat sauce, or ragu as Ash had explained, was cooling a bit before they could package it up into single servings.
“I think we’ve earned a break,” Ash declared as he pulled a few bottles and a couple of limes from the crate. “Got some glasses and ice?” he asked.
“Sure.” Ker reached into a cupboard and retrieved two tall glasses, then filled them with ice.
“Raspberry syrup, fresh lime juice, and club soda,” Ash explained as he mixed their drinks. “It looks fancy and tastes great, and I definitely think we earned it.”
“Cool,” Ker agreed. “I’ve got some cheese and crackers that we can munch on too.”
Snacks assembled, they sat on the sofa in the living room, and Ash said, “After we’ve rested a bit, we can add the shredded chicken to the soup and divide it into the containers. We can also package the sauce into single-serve portions, but we’ll hold some of it aside to have over pasta for dinner tonight. After all, you should try what you just cooked.” He grinned at Ker.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this,” Ker said, raising his glass of sparkling pink liquid. “Cheers!”
“Cheers to you,” Ash said. “And let me just say that you were a great student.”
A blush colored Ker’s cheeks. “Well, I may have watched a video or two last night.”
“Really?” Ash grinned. “Why would you do that?”
“I was afraid I would look like a complete idiot today if I didn’t know anything at all. I just watched a couple of really basic things. Introductory lessons.”
“They seem to have helped because you did really well today.”
“Thanks,” Ker said, blushing once again. “The videos are okay, but I think I learned more from you. It was easier to stop and ask questions if I didn’t understand something. I hope we can do this again sometime.”
“Of course, we can. Plus, you can always call me if you decide to try something on your own and have any questions,” Ash said sincerely. No doubt about it, he really enjoyed spending time with Ker. “Now how ’bout we pack up all your food for the freezer, then boil some water and cook some pasta? It’s almost dinnertime.”