Culinary Research into Birds

Ione stared as the punk envy bun pushed them out of the door and they sighed as the door got slammed in their face. Well it looked like they were on their own in doing some research into...whatever birds were and what that feather was about. Ione sighed as they headed toward Church of Sulfur.

On their way to the room full of books, they passed the confessional booth where they could hear moaning and some thudding coming from. With a grimace at the lewd occurrence, Ione rushed past.

"Ah Ione what brings you here?" Mercy smiled serenely as they spotted the brown bun who looked up at the nun doll.
"Books?" was the simple answer and Mercy pointed them in the needed direction.

The library was filled to the brim with books and Ione went looking for the needed books. Somehow. They got severely distracted and found five books that was somewhat related to the topic at hand. Oh how severely distracted the cafe owner was about to be.

Ione plopped down on floor somewhere and with a grunt; yanked the first thick book into their lap.
"Oof......Okay let's see...." they murmured as Ione scanned the title.
'Seven-Five Hues of Ducks'
"......What's this?" Ione's nose wrinkled and their tail swished around as they cracked it open.

According to the index, this was a recipe book. This piqued Ione's curiosity and they flipped through the pages.

Roast Duck with Chestnut Stuffing
Autumn Duck Confit Salad
Duck Adobo
Duck with Honey, Soy, and Ginger

Ione paused on the page with the title:
Rice with Duck and Apricots

The picture was of lovely yellow-orange rice with apricots and duck pieces all over. Ione salivated at the picture, it looked so delicious. They scanned the ingredients.

extra-virgin olive oil
onion
tomato
garlic
sweet paprika
saffron
arborio rice
chicken broth
duck pieces
chorizo
kalamata olives
apricots
salt and pepper

Ione knew that most of those were not readily available in Burrowgatory but they still pressed on, now curious and very much in cafe owner mode. This could be good to try and reproduce for their cafe; Daily Grind.

From their reading, it looked like the duck needed to be prepared beforehand and shredded. The vegetables needed to be chopped up. There were several steps to produce this delectable dish. Sautee onions and garlic in oil, add tomatoes then add saffron and paprika once tomatoes are softened. Cook rice and add broth; simmer. Toss in the remaining ingredients. Add broth and bring to boil then toss into the oven.

Ione took mental notes of the interesting recipes they came across as the book was flipped through. Soon it was set aside and another book pulled up.
'Twenty-Five Shadows of Chicken'

Ione opened it up and it was another recipe book much to the brown and cream bun's surprise. Still they flipped through it.

Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Balsamic Chicken and Brussels Sprouts
Turmeric Chicken and Rice Casserole
Southwest Chicken Salad

However they stopped on the page for 'Cheesy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake'
That would be fantastic small dish to sell for lunch!

olive oil
chicken breasts
salt & pepper to taste
garlic
chicken broth
heavy cream
penne pasta
parmesan cheese
mozzarella cheese
parsley

The recipe was different in that it required a pot. Ione would have to cube the chicken breasts and season them. It would have to be browned with garlic then have broth, heavy cream and pasta added in. Once it was cooked, parmesan would be stirred in then a half added to pan with mozzarella between the two layers. The picture looks appetizing and Ione knew it would be a hit with their patrons. There would have to be adjustments to the ingredients of course.

"Sounds like wherever those came from had really excellent taste in cooking" Ione mused as they flipped through the book before replacing with a book titled
'Two Hundred Tones of Turkey'

"Another recipe book? I hope so" Ione murmured as they browsed the book

Turkey Chops with Mushroom Gravy
Turkey Salad
Turkey Sandwich with Raspberry-Mustard Spread
Turkey Chilli

The gluttony bun landed on the page with recipe for 'Turkey Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers'

ground turkey
onions
garlic
black beans
yellow corn
salsa
cumin
oregano
paprika
salt & black pepper
bell peppers
guacamole

Well! It already sounded like few of they stuffed recipes they liked to make when having friends over only with some changes in ingredients. Hollow out peppers, cook the ground turkey with the vegetables and seasoning; stuff the peppers and bake. What was guacamole? Ione would have to look into that but that recipe sounded tasty.

When Jackal returned to check in on Ione, they had just pulled the last book into their lap. Jackal went over to peer over only to raise brows at the title

"'One Hundred and Forty Tints of Quails'? What's this about?" Jackal inquired and Ione glanced up "Most likely another recipe book"
"The fuck?" Jackal stared and the gluttony bun nodded at other books they had been reading. The standoffish envy bun plopped down to flicker through those as Ione opened the last book to scroll through.

Oven Roasted Quail with Balsamic Glaze
Bacon Wrapped Quail with a Butter-Pesto Sauce
Honey and Lemon Grilled Quail
Quail Stuffed with Fresh Figs and Prosciutto

Jackal grumbled to herself as she glanced at Ione's book to see that the gluttony bun had landed on the page detailing recipe for 'Goat Cheese and Quail Egg Canapés'

"That looks good but why the fuck are you looking at recipes?" Ione shrugged at her question
"Was looking for books on birds and I found those" they answered as they continued to read the recipe book much to Jackal's frustration. The book was forcefully yanked out of their hands much to loud protests and Ione was roughly dragged away out of the library.
At least Ione had memorized those recipes and would be discussing with Limon whom they knew would surely be delighted to find out about such existence of books.