Chapter 985: The Food Tastes Sweet, Probably Because You’re Lazy
After everybody ran off, Luke got to work.
Picking up a few knives in the kitchen, he shook his head.
Only one kitchen knife was regularly used, while the rest of the knives were almost new.
But that was a J. A. Henckels set, and the high-end Zwilling Pro line to boot, which was worth more than a thousand dollars.
If Luke wasn’t a chef and didn’t like cooking, this kitchen knife would be proof of his wealth.
This sort of kitchen knife which was pretty much an ornament amply demonstrated how rich its owner was.
Luke gave up on the regularly used kitchen knife and switched to a barely used santoku knife.
This kind of knife was similar to a chef’s knife. As long as a person had good technique, it could be used for most things.
With Luke’s skills, using this knife was no different from using a chef’s knife.
First, he marinated the tenderloin with char siu sauce, then washed the celery, carrots, tomatoes, and onions before he cut them up. He then cleaned the brisket, steak, and pork.
Less than ten minutes later, a small head appeared at the kitchen door to observe his progress.
Without turning around, Luke asked, “Hungry?”
Mindy was curious. “You… didn’t go to culinary school, did you?”
Luke chuckled. “In any case, I’ve never been to New Oriental culinary school.”
Mindy asked, “Where?”
Luke said, “The legendary holy land of chefs. As long as you study there, you’ll have the kind of cooking skills that will make women cry to marry you.”
Mindy wouldn’t believe him. “I would believe you if you said it was a pharmaceutical business; I’ve never seen anyone cry while eating.”
Luke shrugged. “Just think of it as an ad.”
Mindy immediately got it. “It’s a good cooking school, then?”
Luke said, “Yes, more or less.”
After saying that, he finally turned around. “You’re hungry.”
This time, it was a statement.
That was because the little girl’s stomach was clearly growling, and she was swallowing her saliva.
Mindy finally felt a little embarra.s.sed. “Well… Dad left early in the morning to sketch, and I woke up late. I thought I might as well buy some groceries and have lunch.”
Luke wasn’t surprised.
When Mindy gave them drinks earlier, there wasn’t anything in the fridge at all, no bread, milk, vegetables, meat, or eggs. It was like the fridge of a bachelor, and one who had anorexia.
He stopped what he was doing for the time being and took out ingredients from a paper bag on the side. After cutting them up, he fried an egg in a frying pan and spread the vegetables and tomato on top. “There’s no pickles. That’s all I can do.”
He put the simple ham and egg sandwich on the table. “I don’t need to make you milk and cereal, do I?”
Mindy stared at him blankly. “You’re so good at this. Are you actually a chef?”
There was a clear difference in the actions of a person who had been cooking for a long time and a person who rarely cooked.
Mindy could be considered an old hand with a blade, and the smooth and skillful way in which Luke used the kitchen knife was especially clear; it was as if he was just playing with a b.u.t.terfly knife.
He was definitely a professional.
Luke went back to making lunch. “I should be good enough to open a mid-tier restaurant, the kind that costs about a hundred dollars per person.”
Mindy walked in, but didn’t pour herself any milk. She took a bite of the sandwich and said, “It tastes better than what I make. Why is that?”
Pondering for two seconds, Luke said, “Something you don’t have to make yourself always tastes sweeter. So, it’s probably because of laziness.”
Mindy said, “…Thanks.”
“The person who takes has nothing to say” – Mindy keenly experienced this saying for herself.
For the sake of her stomach, she chose to accept the “blame” for being lazy.
It was 12:05 pm when Damon finally returned home with a drawing board and carrying a few big and flat cardboard boxes.
This was the common lead character of American fast food takeaway: pizza.
But as soon as he opened the door, he smelled the faint and unfamiliar scent of food in the air. He couldn’t help but be stunned.
A hot Latin American beauty who was sitting on the couch in the living room turned around.
Seeing him, she smiled naturally and waved at him. “h.e.l.lo, Mr. McCreedy. I’m Selina, Luke’s friend.”
Relieved, Damon scanned the living room.
Selina seemed to know what he was thinking. “Mindy is in the kitchen. She’s probably tasting the dishes.”
Of course, Luke had heard the conversation from the kitchen. He patted the little girl’s head and said, “Your dad is back. Tell him to clean up before lunch.”
Mindy nodded and ran out. “Dad, you’re back. Go wash your hands. Lunch is ready. We were just waiting for you.”
Damon: “Huh?”
Five minutes later, the four of them sat down at the dining table. Damon stared blankly at the dishes on the table.
Luke said with a smile, “Mindy said that she hadn’t had breakfast yet and was on her way out to buy groceries, so I took the liberty of dropping by. I just cooked something simple, and the taste is so-so. Don’t get your hopes up.”
Damon: “…”
There was steak, char siu, tomato beef brisket, and a huge stew of celery, carrots, onions, and pork.
Apart from the steak which Damon was familiar with, everything else, be it the red and sweet char siu, the red and sour tomato beef brisket, or the green, white and red vegetable stew, made one drool.
Selina, on the other hand, consoled herself inwardly. Forget it. Since Luke was the one who made it, then this meal was just barely edible.
For her taste buds, which were quickly developing an intuition of their own, the shortcomings of these dishes were very obvious.
There hadn’t been enough time to marinate the char siu, so there wasn’t enough taste inside the meat.
The tomato beef brisket hadn’t been stewed long enough, so the beef wasn’t soft enough.
The pork in the vegetable stew was of average quality, which pulled down the freshness of the entire dish.
But there wasn’t any problem with Luke’s cooking itself. It was purely because he didn’t have enough time. The father and daughter couldn’t tell, in any case.
Compared with the father and daughter, who subconsciously sped up after a few mouthfuls, Selina ate like a normal person today, and involuntarily felt more superior.
It was as if they hadn’t eaten this kind of inferior food for several lifetimes. How pitiful! The foodie mocked the father and daughter in her heart, completely forgetting how she had eaten such “lazy” food with gusto at the very beginning.
Soon, all the dishes on the table were empty, and the pizza which Damon had bought back was long forgotten in the living room.
Mindy stayed in the dining room to clean up the tableware.
Damon and Luke sat in the living room and chatted over coffee.
They engaged in idle talk – “How are you doing? Very good? How am I doing?” – before Luke changed the topic.
“Damon, this might be a little rude, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to leave Mindy alone at home, or even let her go out to buy lunch ingredients,” said Luke.