signature stew / inn soup!

“We’re here!” Shoreline commented, as Amethyst pushed the massive wooden door of their room open. 

They had recently stumbled upon one of Norden’s traditional inns. Naturally, since they were on the lookout for inspiration to create their own roost out of, Pixie had suggested they give this inn a shot, to study the unique architecture.

And oh, it was a marvel to behold as well! The room was massive, with cushions and soft rugs littered across the floor. Huge, fluffy blankets draped themselves across several armchairs next to the balcony, and a gigantic chandelier hung from the ceiling, glowing a soft golden. 

What piqued Amethyst’s interest the most, though, was how there was simply an open fireplace in the very center of the room, next to some shelves stacked to the brim with cooking utensils and a pantry overflowing with ingredients that could create some of Faia’s most prized delicacies. 

The others had all but gone over to their own separate corners of the room, each scrutinizing some aspect that had intrigued them as much as Amethyst had been intrigued by the open fireplace design. Wouldn’t the entire inn burn down if we were to make a single mistake with the fireplace? 

Just as the thought entered her head, she heard an adorable squeak from Duffy, their resident smorkip. She looked up. Duffy had grabbed an ancient tome from an adjacent shelf with his beak, and soon tossed it over to Amethyst, his eyes gleaming. 

Amethyst picked it up in curiosity. Sure, when she flicked through the pages of the book, she was utterly surprised that it was full of recipes - recipes of signature stews all across Faia. On the very last page, it read, “Signature Stew of Norden Inn”. 

The recipe seemed extravagant yet simple, thankfully following only the traditional Faian method of “throw everything into a pot, add water and keep it simmering”. Amethyst gathered the ingredients from the various cupboards, and eventually brought the cauldron out from one of the storage cabinets, and placed it upon the mass of logs and other incendiary materials, which would soon become an open fire. 

She lit the fire with the flames on her tail, and the logs sprung aflame. Stepping outside once again, she shoveled fresh, fluffy snow into the pot and watched as the crumbling flakes of snow slowly melted into smooth, round blobs of ice and disintegrated into the smooth water, before frothing up into many bubbles that indicated the water was boiling. 

She dropped the coral mycelium into the pot, as indicated by the recipe. The broth sizzled and turned a bright purple, indicating the poison dissolving. Soon after, the steam turned a faint shade of violet, showing that the poison had been entirely evaporated. One by one, Amethyst meticulously dropped the various ingredients listed in the recipe into the cauldron, watching each ingredient add their own swatch of hue and flavor into the mixture, until finally, the simmering pot settled on a bright, crimson color, with various herbs and vegetables floating idly at the surface. 

Soon, it would be time to serve the soup! Amethyst ladled out several bowls’ worth of this new signature stew, and called out to her friends. She couldn’t wait to try out this signature recipe for herself.