Baking Lessons, Friday

[a_phale]

Despite her rather odd behavior at the pizza party the night before, Aziraphale was still expecting Annette to join him at the house for her first baking lesson. He and Wilson had set up the kitchen, the young doctor seeming a bit bemused over the whole arrangement, and teasing the angel about starting a cooking class. Then Aziraphale had summarily

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[misshargrove]

Annette was not even the tiniest bit visible under the heavy raincoat and hood, rainboots, and very large black umbrella. She knocked on the door to Mr. Phale and Dr. Wilson's residence and stood back, bouncing in the rain puddles.

Re: (NFB)

[misshargrove]

Her mouth fell open, then she grinned wide, "I am so impressed. You'll have to teach me that trick sometime." Yeah, she knew she wouldn't ever learn it for obvious reasons, but Annette sometimes just thinks so everyone else can hear her.

"An food expert thrower? I'll have to meet them Mr. Phale, cause that is just close to amazing to me." She grinned and looked down at her bowl again. "What does cream together mean?" It might be a really long morning.

[a_phale]

"I'm afraid that's one of those things I can't teach, my dear," Aziraphale replied with a warm smile. "I couldn't even begin to explain how I do it."

He cocked his head toward the next room, where Wilson was working on his laptop. "James. He's an awful sneak, and an expert at waiting until I least expect it and then putting flour in my hair or spraying me with water. Really, it's a good thing he's not in here trying to help."

That last might have been spoken loudly enough to be heard by others in the house. Which it was, if the snort that came from the living room was any indication.

The angel raised an eyebrow at Annette's question, but smiled and took the bowl and a spoon. "Creaming something just means you're mixing a wet ingredient like butter with a dry ingredient, and stirring it together until it's creamy and there are no dry lumps. You see?" he asked, demonstrating.

[ooc: Wilson modded with permission.]

[misshargrove]

"An angel-y thing." She said with a grin and little nod of her head. "Do you know what my mother would say if I told her I baked with an angel today, and he made butter just vanish?" Annette asked sheepishly. "She would ask me what in the heck they put in my milk at lunch. And that would be her nice way of telling me I better not be drinking or smoking."

Giggling, she looked over where Mr. Phale indicated. "He's that sneaky? I never would have thought!" She laughed further when she heard the snort from the other room.

Looking over into the bowl, she watched him with raised brows, "Ohh, I get it. That's pretty simple and basic, isn't it?"

[a_phale]

"Well, I have heard some stories about the cafeteria food..." Aziraphale said, with a little grin. "But I think you could just tell your mother that you're baking with your advisor, and leave it at that."

He caught her glance toward the kitchen door, and laughed softly. "Oh yes, he's far sneakier than you'd think. That innocent expression hides a devious mind." Watching Annette as she turned back to the ingredients and took her turn at stirring, he nodded encouragingly. "Yes, that's very good, my dear. Now, measure out and add the molasses and egg to what you just finished creaming, and mix it in well."

[misshargrove]

"Dr. Wilson sneaky and devious. Am totally going to have to remember that." She teased. She absolutely loved a good prank and if she could get her teacher? Oh, wow, that would deem her the Queen of Pranksters!

Chewing over her bottom lip, Annette measured out the molasses, "Ewww, this stuff is thick." And she added it to the creamed mixture. Next she cracked the egg by banging it against the counter and she hurriedly tried to get all the leaking ickyness into the bowl as quick as possible.

Turning her back to Mr. Phale just slightly, Annette brought the bowl into her chest a little and sort of hunkered over it. And she began to pick out the tiny pieces of shell that accidentally got in it.

"Dumb egg." She muttered to herself.

(ooc: apparently I am having to leave earlier than I would have liked, so I am going to be AFK in just a few minutes. SP is love?)

[a_phale]

"Oh, it's always a good bit of information to keep in mind," Aziraphale agreed. He smiled to himself as Annette picked out the bits of shell, but let her manage it herself. This wasn't about making perfect food, it was about learning, so if the gingersnaps ended up with eggshell in them, then they'd just make a second batch.

"Once that's all mixed up, you'll want to add the dry ingredient mixture, a bit at a time. Just shake some of it out of the bowl, and stir it until it's all moist, and then add some more."

[ooc: No worries, SP is always love!]

[misshargrove]

Annette peered down into the bowl and made sure all the eggshells were out, then she did as he said and added the dry mixture just a little at a time.

"Hey, Mr. Phale, I think this is starting to look like something."

[a_phale]

"Hopefully, what it's starting to look like is biscuit dough," the angel chuckled, looking over Annette's shoulder. "Quite, my dear. You're doing very well. Just finish mixing in the dry ingredients, while I get the baking sheets ready."

As Annette worked, Aziraphale set out several cookie sheets, and then preheated the oven. "I'm setting the oven to the temperature on the recipe," he pointed out. "And we'll let it heat while we put the dough on the baking sheets."

[misshargrove]

Nodding, she said, "Okay." And she did this diligently until all the dry incredient were blended with the creamed ingredients and she didn't at all try to sneak a piece of the dough. Not at all. Nope. But the telltale little buldge in her cheek might be a good indication that she did just that.

"I'm all for that." And she turned the bowl upside down on one of the baking sheets. And it sat there, just kind of like a big dough-glob. "So we just cut it into circles or something after it's cooked?"

[a_phale]

If Aziraphale were the facepalming type, that's exactly what he would have done. Instead, he stared at the glob of dough for a moment, and then gave a little cough.

"Er...let's just try that again, shall we?" With a wave of his hand, the dough returned to the bowl, and then he handed Annette a spoon. "You drop the biscuits individually onto the sheet, at intervals."

Picking up another spoon for himself, he demonstrated, filling one of the cookie sheets with little blobs of dough.

[ooc: So sorry for the super-SP. RL ate me. :/]

[misshargrove]

"Oh. I see." And Annette did facepalm because she should have realized that a whole glob of dough could not have been cooked like that. Like the way she just dumped it.

"I'll get this right, one day Mr. Phale. I promise." Then she sort of bent her head over her cookie sheet and started to spoon little cookie dough spoonfuls onto the sheet.

(ooc: it's okay hun! I was sucked up in rl too and have hardly been around these past two days. Woe. Going to try and change that today if I can. ;-))

[a_phale]

With an approving nod, Aziraphale lightly patted Annette's shoulder. "That's it, my dear. Now, when you're finished with that, we'll just pop these first two sheets into the oven and fill up the other two. And while we keep an eye on the biscuits, we can try our hands at a batch of brownies. What do you think we ought to put in them."