14 - Winter Prep!

“Ooh, slow cooking overnight really does the job… Amazing how this wood burns for so long. Now separate the liquids from the solids… I’ll eat those later. Let it cool and wait for the fat to rise-”

…

“Now, what did the video say to do again…? Scoop up all the oils, and strain the rest in this woolskin sack… reduce it in the fire again-”

…

“Ooh! It really turned into gelatin! Ouch, hot-”

…

“And now, leave it outside to dry. The pre-winter winds should do wonders.”

It was a laborious process, but the results should make for solid emergency winter rations.

“Solid soup, huh? Thank you Mister B… Now, on to the main event!”

“Meh!”

I huddled against Woolie near the open campfire, an iron pan in hand with a huge cut of meat ready to cook. I didn’t have any oils or butter, so I simply used some of the leftover fat from the solid soup as a substitute; no ingredients shall go to waste in this household. While waiting for the pan to heat up, I used my blade to cut up a serving of meat for Woolie and I.

Now that I had spare blades, I was free to experiment with the others, producing one with a serrated edge. I’d also fashioned wooden sheathes; two shapely pieces of wood custom-made to fit my blades, tied together to keep everything intact; I didn’t want to cut myself or Woolie by accident with those sharp edges.

After heating up the pan, I dropped in the meat, watching it sizzle.

“Ooh! I… I’m cooking meat!”

When was the last time I even got a taste? Back on Earth I’d mostly survived on those dreaded drips, and even when I had the opportunity to savor real food, I only got to eat vegetable soups.

“Uhh…”

I stared at the meat, watching as it slowly browned whilst drooling onto the yellowed grass beneath.

“Muu…”

“Come to think of it, I’ve never seen you consume meat, Woolie. Are you an omnivore?”

I took the drool leaking from his anticipating open mouth as a ‘yes’.

Following what I saw in the ‘Cozy Outdoor Camp Cooking by Lakeside– No Commentary’ video, I followed the instructional captions and flipped over the slab of meat, revealing the brown sear leaking juices as little bubbles popped on the surface.

If this were beef, I’d have stopped here. But with pork it was better to properly cook the whole thing, so I spent a lot more time carefully making sure I got a nice, even cook. And after a while-

“Umm…”

It wasn’t even at all. I’d somehow managed to char a third of it, and the cut was splattered with dark splotches showing how inconsistent of a job I did. But even then-

“It’s ready, Woolie!”

“Muuuu!”

After sprinkling some powdered mushrooms and seasoning with chopped herbs, I sliced the meat in half and gave Woolie the non-charred portion, gobbling it up with glee.

“Let’s have a taste…”

Flavors.

Amazing.

I can no longer go back to berries. I shall now dedicate my training and hone my entire skillset to hunting wild boars-

“Ah! It’s already gone…”

One moment I was taking my first bite, and in the next my meal had completely vanished.

“… Let me cook up some more.”

*

“I can’t eat another bite…”

“Beh…”

I lay against Woolie beside the smoldering pile of charcoal, resting from the obscene amount of meat we just consumed. The amazing thing was, the boar was so large we still had plenty of it leftover, likely to spoil before we could finish it.

“Internal organs spoil the fastest, right? Have to eat those first… I’ll have to learn how to properly butcher boars… and make as much solid soup as I can for winter… ugh, that can wait.”

“Muu…”

“Come on Woolie, don’t sleep out here in the open. Let’s get you… omph- back to your Woolie-house-!”

“Meh…”

Overcoming my meat-lethargy with great difficulty, I rolled the lazy Woolie into his shack and dragged myself off to bed, too full to bother retreating to my mind palace for the day.

“Is this what they call a food coma? It’s still light out and I’m already spent… Oh, maybe I should prepare some meat for the little cub… and Mister B too…” I yawned. “I’ll do that tomorrow.”

Satisfied from my first good meal since awakening in this world, I took my first afternoon nap since arriving here.

*

“Hooty, nuudle ‘how to tan leather medieval’ for me, please.”

“Hooty, are there detailed videos of animal butchering on Nuutube? Or do I have to scour through the internet-”

“Hooty, I need-”

“Hooty-”

“Filtering lake water is easy! Simply attach this filtration tube from the apparatus to your water bottle-”

“Where am I supposed to get something like that?! Wait a minute, I’m supposed to be learning how to butcher- I’m spiraling into the Nuutube rabbit hole again!”

It was a busy next morning. I skipped morning practice and spent most of my time diving in and out of my mind palace, irritating Hooty with question after question. It took a while, but I was finally able to separate out the edible organs from the ones to throw out.

My preservation endeavors were already producing results too. I squished the now solidified soup stock with two fingers, enough resistance to be firm but not yet hardened enough to cause a concussion when thrown at someone’s head.

I boiled a pot of water and dropped in the solid soup, watching as the preserved broth gradually ooze out and return to its original form.

“Sprinkle in mushroom powder for a bit of light seasoning, some crushed spicy seeds…”

“Meh…”

Woolie trudged up to me, awaking from his meat coma at long last. The aroma from the boiling pot must have attracted the fluffy beast as he sniffed at it, drooling heavily.

“Mmm…”

A quick taste confirmed this was indeed pork broth, albeit with all the fat removed leaving a light, translucent soup. It was easy on the stomach, perfect for a quick breakfast. However after my experience yesterday, it wasn’t enough. And so-

“Add in the chunks from yesterday!”

I threw in the meat portions separated from the broth I prepared, having saved it for this moment. After the preparations were done, Woolie and I had a bowl of steaming meat stew, wolfed down in minutes.

“Is this what living a fulfilled life feels like?” I sighed. “Proper legs, good food and plenty of energy.”

If something I cooked up myself out in the wild tasted this good, I wonder what a meal would be like in the city? Maybe they have taverns like in the movies I watched, with comically large slabs of meat-on-a-bone.

I still haven’t had a peep of what civilization looked like in this world; for all I know, this might be a post-apocalyptic planet and I’m the only person left.

“… I want to see what’s beyond that hill.”

“Muu!”

“You wanna come along, Woolie? Let’s have a go before winter. Just in case, we’ll prepare some provisions to take with us. But for now-”

With a confident smile on my face, I retrieved my fishing rod, now complete with bait wrapped up in colorful feathers.

“Muumuu…” Woolie sighed.

“I’m confident this time! Look, it’s feathers from those screeching birds, this’ll get them swimmers’ attention. I learned some new techniques in my mi- meditating. Besides, I got a delivery to make too. Come on Woolie, let’s try the Tranquil Forest!”