How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi sat back down on the counter while he stirred. It always irritated Dark a bit, except for when he set her there, because he didn't like things being knocked over. "Did you have fun at the skate park? I heard Alec had a go."
 
"Yeah," Xander said. "I like watching them, especially the really skilled ones like Toby and half his friends. Not something I wanna do ever, but it's cool. Toby talked Alec into giving it a try, and he did alright. Fell a bunch, but did manage to stay up, too."
 
"Nope. I think the idea came up briefly, but his legs are too long for their boards. I think, anyway," Xander told her. "I think he had fun. Or as much fun as he has at places like that."
 
"I hope so. I know it's not exactly his scene." Xander gave it another stir and lifted his spoon. "It's a lot thicker now. I think the water's all gone. What do you think?"
 
"No, but most things are not." Daizi pointed out, hoping elegantly off the counter and coming to his side, taking spoon from him and giving it a good stir, "That feels about right. Take out some mason jars from the pantry, we have to boil them for fifteen minutes so they're sanitized. Otherwise the jam will spoil."
 
"Okay," Xander agreed. He fetched out the jars and put them on the counter until he could get the water boiling. Putting the jars in the water was an interesting experience, and taking them out was even more of an event. "Shouldn't we have done this before or while cooking the jam?" he asked as he put the hot jars on a towel to dry.
 
"No, because we can't let them sit," Daizi said, "and the jam can cool slightly while we boil them." Setting down a towel, she got a spoon, "Help me spoon this into these. I don't want to spill this everywhere. And we don't want to introduce bacteria."
 
"Why can't we let them sit?" Xander asked, confused, but quickly moved to help her. It was sticky work, but he figured out the best angle and soon managed to get a fair bit spooned in without spreading it all over the counters.
 
"Well, if the jars cool off too much, then the heat of the jam, because it's still pretty hot even though it's sat for a bit, can cause damage to the glass. This is really the tricky bit," Daizi said, getting some jam on hands but doing okay as she spooned it, "Because if we don't get this right, it won't be shelf stable."
 
"Oh," Xander said and quieted to focus. He wanted to get this exactly right. He worried the jam was hot enough to burn Daizi, but she didn't seem bothered, so he kept on until they got it all in the jars. "Okay, that's it!" he said, scraping out the last bit. "Now what?"
 
"Well that's it, really. We might want to pop them in the fridge to cool off more quickly, but other than that," She shrugged, going to the sink to wash her hands, "We just need to wait until they're cool enough to eat."
 
Xander carefully picked up one of the jars and held it up to the light. It looked like jewels. "Sweet!" he marvoled. He placed it in the window with great care, just wanting to admire it for a bit. "This is a cool skill to have. We should totally make more."
 
"I'd be glad to. I like to experiment with it, instead of just doing a single berry. I once, somehow, managed to make one that tasted almost like fruit loops. I don't remember how, anymore, I was just adding fruit and seasonings at will because I was bored. Cooger misses it, he said it helped him eat better. He's got an atrocious diet," Daizi laughed, letting her hair down now that it wasn't in danger of getting jam in it. As it fell down around her shoulders and down her back she reminded Xander, "I always enjoy spending time with you."
 
"I guess you must. Otherwise, you'd have gotten rid of us by now," Xander said cheerfully. "We should totally try to figure out that fruit loop taste, though."

Alec came in and sidled up closer to Diaizi. "Do you know how to make an angel food cake?"
 
"I think it likely included a lot of sugar," Daizi chuckled, "We'll figure it out, even if it takes years."

With everything going on, Daizi hadn't heard Alec come in, so when he spoke she jumped in surprise. It had always been fairly easy to startle her, if someone was quiet, due to her blindness, but the way she had startled seemed a bit more intense than usual. Quickly, she settled herself, and said, "Oh, I'm not sure. I can't recall if I have before. It's meringue based, isn't it? I'm fairly decent at meringue, I think Dark is a bit better at it, because he can keep an eye on the peaks, but I've done it before. I just need help separating the yolks from the whites."
 
Xander noticed the jump and looked away, pain stabbing his heart. He had a good idea why she'd startled so badly.

Alec didn't notice beyond the fact that he'd surprised her. "Imagine an angel food cake with strawberries and strawberry jam! It would be so delicious qnd so summery!"
 
"That sounds lovely!" Daizi agreed, "You should see if you can find a recipe for it. I'm pretty sure it requires a lot of egg whites, and I'm not sure if we have enough, but the jam probably won't be ready until tomorrow anyway, so we can bake it then. If we get heavy whipping cream, I can also make whipped cream."
 
Alex grinned and held up his phone even if she couldn't see it. "Found one! Found a lot, actually. I just have to figure out which one it is!"

Xander raised his brows at his brother. "You're going to make an angel food cake?"

"Hey, I have exactly as much experience making them as you. Which is none," Alec said and stuck out his tongue.

"At least I have some successful baking experience," Xander retorted.
 
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