Nabe (Hotpot) Day
One day.
As evening approached, I thought for a moment, then said.
“…Yosh, let’s have a nabe today instead!”
“Nabe today? A lot of meat, hot and tasty nabe!”
“Hot and tasty nabe!”
“…what kind of nabe?”
“Yes! Sukiyaki is good, sukiyaki! It’s full of meat!”
“Shii want Chige-nabe! Chige-nabe!”
“…Motsu nabe. Chewy and tasty, motsu is delicious.”
“Ummm…sukiyaki and chige nabe are good, but motsu nabe…Enne, I’ll prepare motsu as an extra ingredient… wouldn’t that be better?”
“…Nn. No problem at all.”
Enne, reluctant to make a choice, nodded her head.
Good, because I like motsu too, but there are different likes and dislikes with it.
By the way, when we have a nabe at home, we usually prepare two.
Because there are so many of us, one pot is emptied too soon, so we prepare two pots with different contents.
Even after all this time, I still can’t thank Layla enough for taking care of all the cooking, even though we help out too.
She cooks breakfast, lunch, and dinner for all of us every day, and there is no doubt that she is the one who works the hardest in our house.
I hope everyone in the world will also pay respect to those who cook meals for them.
Those of you who are on your own, hang in there.
“Hmm, how about you guys?”
I asked the adult group next to the group of young girls.
“I want meatballs, meatballs. That’s all I want.”
“I’d like to eat some daikon radish, carrots, and Chinese cabbage that have been soaked in flavor. Of course, I’d like some meat, too.
“Yes! We want enoki mushrooms and fried tofu, so anything with those is fine with us!”
You guys, that’s not nabe, that’s nabe ingredients.
…Well, I guess the young women’s group took priority over me, huh?
And I turned to Layla, who was just listening to everyone’s opinions, “Hmmm, I can prepare everything for that side of things”.
“Layla, sometimes it’s okay to put what you want to eat first, okay? You’ve always accommodated everyone.”
“Huh? Well, when you say it like that, I’m a little troubled. Besides, if you’re going to say that, why not Yuki-san pick, as well?”
“I made the decision to have nabe. I am an exception because I exercised my selfishness in deciding the menu. So, Layla, tell me what you want to eat!”
With a slightly troubled smile, Layla replied.
“Hmmm…after all, I’m only satisfied if everyone eats well…so really, anything is fine…”
“C’mon, Layla! I love that about you, Layla, but you have to pick!”
“You’re so cute, Layla! She’s too sweet and kind!”
“Kaka, you’re right. Layla is a really nice girl. You can’t find someone like her anywhere else!”
“Don’t make fun of me, please!”
Layla was so cute, blushing with embarrassment and putting her hands on her cheeks as the girls fussed over her.
I chuckled at how well the girls were getting along, then speak to switch gears.
“Well, then, let’s have sukiyaki and chige nabe today! The adults can help with the preparations. The young girls should go take a bath while you still can.”
“Yes! Bath, bath, bath!”
“Enjoy the bath, everyone!”
“…cleanse the body with hot water, warm the body and soul, and eat nabe in a good mood. This is the etiquette of nabe.”
“Eh~, is that so~?”
“Oh, really~?”
“…Hmmm. I said it at random.”
“I see! But it’s delicious when you eat nabe in a good mood, isn’t it!”
“Yes! But, what is the similarity between a bath and a nabe?”
“…The hotness.”
“Correct! I’ll give Enne-chan one Correct point!”
“What happens when I have enough points?”
“Well, well… we’ll see when that accumulated!”
While the young girls cheerfully left the room, preparing a change of clothes and talking on and on about such things, the adult group moved to the kitchen.
“Well, let’s do this. Okay, the vegetable chopping group?”
“Yes, me and Lyuu will do it!”
“I’ll do it!”
“Okay, I’ll do it! As for the meat…let’s start with the meatballs, as requested by Lefi. If we’re going to use them for the hot pot, we should use chicken dumplings, right?”
“Yes! I want them. I’ll make them myself.”
“Well, I’ll help you with that, too.”
“Okay, I’ll do the soup and the meat, except for the chicken meatballs.”
“Oh, this is good, nabe! We can all eat together.”
“We don’t get to share the same pot outside, do we? I also think it’s good to eat together like that.”
“If they don’t know about nabe, they are missing out! When it gets cold, nabe is the way to go! Nabe is full of nutrients, and you can eat what you want! Nabe is wonderful…”
“Yuki, which do you like better, bar-bee-kyu or hot pot?”
“…It bothers me, but I’ll take the barbecue six to four! Because I prefer summer to winter!”
“You are doing barbecue in winter, though.”
“I enjoy cooking here because there are delicious foods in every season, and we can use a variety of ingredients.”
“I also want to become a good cook to the point where I can say that I enjoy using various ingredients…”
“Let’s work together, Lyuu!”
“Don’t worry, no matter what you cook, I’ll eat it all up!”
“You’re the food taster.”
We talked about these things as we went about our respective tasks.
I like this kind of time…very much.
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