Nothing makes a stronger romantic impression, perhaps, than offering up a home-cooked meal. But that cooking has to be taken up a notch to worthy of a scene in a novel. It has to be ‘elevated’, as Chef Ramsay says on his shows.
How about...Can you imagine being able to smell chocolate with 100 percent more intensity than you can now? Peter Kane, the hero in my latest SciFi release, Project W.Olf, can. He’s volunteered for a research project that’s imbued him with the wolf’s olfactory abilities.
That could definitely be a plus in the kitchen. Sniffing out all those spices and herbs. A quick inhale to tell if the steak is rare, or medium. Is the casserole done?
“Oh, shit!” Although it was good he was learning to ignore olfactory input in favor of mental concentration, it was definitely not good the house was full of smoke. He’d forgotten to reset the timer for his casserole.
The chime rang again and he scurried toward the door, turning off the oven on his way past. Now that he was aware of it, the smoke was burning his throat and eyes and clogging his lungs. He flung open the door and sucked in a breath of cold evening air. “Marie,” he managed, between coughs. He stepped out on the stoop with her, hacking and wiping his eyes.
“Do we need 911?” she asked after a moment.
“No,” he gasped. “It’s just supper. I burned supper.” He wiped his eyes and nose with his sleeve. “Come in…”
Marie is a forgiving creature though, and…well I’ll let her tell you how she eventually got the evening back on track:
“I’m not sure what to do for supper, he says.” He has the rich mahogany dining table set with earthy ceramic dishes that I swear were hand-painted and locally kilned. “Would you like me to see if I can make reservations somewhere?”
“What is it you were planning to serve? It looks like you went to a lot of trouble.”
“It was just a chicken casserole.”
“If you have the ingredients, let’s make another one. I’ll help. It won’t take long and then we can pretend none of the smoky shit hap—we can pretend you didn’t burn supper and the evening was perfect.”
“I actually do have enough left to make another. I didn’t know you liked cooking. Are you sure?”
“I’m very sure. I’m best at slicing and dicing—the spicing I’m sometimes not so good at.”
He is so pleased I like cooking and together we prepare the most scrumptious meal I can remember.
Ah, yes. #Sigh. Food and romance. ‘Elevated’ or not, is there any combination better than that?
Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Eileen!
Thank you for hosting me! I enjoy talking about my books and my beloved characters.
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