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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2016 0:17:08 GMT
October 3, 2004 / Location: Outside the walls both in the open and in the woods
"These bushes are loaded with Huckleberries," he explained to Bridget in his soft accented voice. Even though he was born an American he still retained a slight Mexican accent to his voice that he had acquired from his parents. He pointed out the small berries that hung on the green leafed bushes. "It'll take more fruit to make like a pie but maybe someone could make small turnovers or even muffins. I like blueberry muffins," he smirked with a grin. Luis had noticed the bushes that sat in the open yard outside of the Alexandria's walls and figured they were still producing fruit from the number of birds that were feeding on. Even though it was getting late in the season he figured the bushes were still producing their fruit and he was right. Borrowing some plastic buckets from the kitchen he handed one to Bridget. "There's no thorns plus they're easy to pick." Reaching out he began harvesting the small Huckleberries, dropping them into the basket. Bridge Delacroix
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Nov 12, 2016 2:40:34 GMT
Bridge nodded lightly at the marble sized berries that were sparse and clumped amidst the mass of glossy leaves. The cool months were upon them and this was probably one of the last times of the year they were going to get fresh berries.
"These bushes are loaded with Huckleberries," Luis Diego said while Bridge eyeballed the large plant in front of them. She let go of the handle of the small basket in her hand and let it slide into the crook of her arm.
It was really an old Halloween pail left over from ages ago that someone had scrounged up to be 'festive.' As if the world wasn't grotesque enough. It was on the verge of poor-taste, but at least it wasn't a jack-o-lantern. It was an old McDonalds pail of a purple mummy all wrapped up in bandages. The colouring was spotty and flaked off. But it only added to the appeal. Leave it to Bridget to go trick-or-treating... Halloween came early this year.
"I hate to admit this," she said with a light chuckle and pulled one of the berries off the plant. "But uh..." The woman examined it closely. The berry looked just like a blueberry. In her entire twenty-six years of life, "I dunno if I've ever had one of these before..."
It was a little embarrassing to admit. She could feel herself begin to blush. The blonde popped the huckleberry into her mouth, let it rest on her tongue and shrugged casually before she began to chew it.
"...well, not fresh anyways. " again. No biggie.
Surely at some point she must have had some in one of her designer vegetarian organic chia drinks from the 'olden' days. Maybe...
The berry was tart, but sweet. Not as much as a blueberry but just nearly the same in taste and the flesh was almost identical. She liked that, but the after taste was probably her favorite.
"Nice." She said casually and grabbed one of the shiny berries from the overgrown shrub. The leaves on its thin branches brushed against each other. She ate another and put a couple in her basket.
While she chewed the sweet berry, here eyes scanned the area. The blonde took note of the line of huckleberries and a few scattered just before the beginnings of the forests . Those were noticeably thinner and less leaves that were sparse and damaged. Many of the bushes also lacked the dotted blue specks of colour that were the edible part of the plant. Something was eating it.
"So..." The woman took another berry for herself and put another in the basket. She swallowed the berry and glanced at the dark haired man. "How much do we need?"
"It'll take more fruit to make like a pie..."
Well, she knew that. Bridge felt herself begin to blush and stared ahead at the plant. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear as a light smirk appeared on her face. The woman glanced down at her blouse. The airy blue fabric of the lightblue cotton teeshirt had picked up the light breeze and it had begun to flutter as of slight.
Her eyes rose when he continued to speak. "...but maybe someone could make small turnovers or even muffins. I like blueberry muffins. " That sounded like a great idea. Blueberry bran muffins were her favorite!!!
"Ohh," Her eyes fluttered up to Luis' and she smirked. "I like muffins too." She grinned and her voice perked. "Tres Bien!"
"...and..." The woman smiled and plucked one from the stem with her fingers. She slid it into her palm and continued to do so until her hand was too full to hold any more. "If we're feeling ambitious," and her idea was ambitious considering the amount of berries she'd spotted so far. "...I think we should make a little jam, too."
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2016 19:04:15 GMT
"Hey, don't eat all the berries," he teased with a grin. "That's possible," he agreed with her comment about making jam. "With the right ingredients we can make anything we want." Several minutes later both of them had a fair amount of Huckleberries in their bucket when something caught Luis' eye. "Have you ever eaten wild onions?" he asked her as he moved away from the Huckleberry bush and out into the open area to where he saw long, thin green shoots growing out of the ground. Carefully pulling one of the shoots out of the ground he smelled it. "There's several kinds of tubers that look like wild onions but only onions smell like onions. So when you dig them up always smell them first. Same with wild garlic. And always pick the larger shoots. We can always come back for the smaller shoots later. Also, if they're flowering leave them alone. The seeds from the flowers will make more plants. But when the snows come don't worry if you haven't picked all of them. They'll come back in the spring." Holding the bulb out to her still attached to the slender shoots. "Smell it. Tell me if it smells like an onion or not." Bridge Delacroix How to harvest wild onions
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Nov 13, 2016 1:26:05 GMT
"With the right ingredients we can make anything we want."
Her lips tightened and she smiled revealing small dimples that rarely appeared. Her eyes were bright when she agreed with a quick nod and set to work gathering berries. The small blue balls came varied in size more than the woman would have expected. Some were small like a pea and others as swollen as a glass marble. She knew to avoid the ones that were too firm, but she wasn't terribly careful about the softer berries, nor was she being very gentle with her basket...
She swung it as she walked, picking two entire plants clean before the tip of her finger felt a wet ooze as it accidently slid through a berry that rested atop of the pile in her basket.
The woman glanced down and noted many of them were noticeably soft and oozed because of the newly broken skin from her careless handling.
"Hmm..." She wondered if the berries were still good. Surely...right? They were going to be put in food. Either they would be mashed and baked or boiled and turned into jam...so...by her logic, she was really expediting the process by goo-ing them up now...that way they could skip a step later...right?
Yeah, that's how it works. She decided it didn't matter either way.
So she carried on like this for a few moments longer before she settled on one shabby looking plant with a beautiful spider web netted between two naked branches.
A massive brown and black spider was wrapping up a small bug. From under the white strands that spooled around it, she could see part of a sheer lace wing sticking through the string made coffin. It was lined with black veins.
In size, the mummified flying insect paled in comparison to the spider. It was enormous. She would have guessed the fly to be a fruit fly and the spider to be something similar to the ones she was used to in Washington. Maybe a Brown Recluse that was doing pretty well for itself...Big. Fat. Hairy and Poison. This one had a certain charm. They were brighter; vibrant even. It was pretty, which made it creepy.
She wondered if Luis would know what it was. He was pretty knowledgeable about the flora; perhaps fauna too was one of his strong-points.
Her fingers found a small berry and she pulled it from its branch. Watching the web sway, the spider held on as if there was no quaking of its delicate home and she was just about to call Luis over when she noticed he his attention had turned from the Huckleberries to something a little farther off. His eyes were downcast, focused on the ground.
"Have you ever eaten wild onions?" Luis called back to the girl.
Bridge rose to full height and looked back at Luis. She began to walk over.
"Does the Saturday Market count?" She chuckled and swung her bucket slowly as she veered slightly to the right and at a few stray feathers that were stuck in the damp dirt.
"Yeah," She said as her smile faded and a hint of seriousness rose in her voice. "More than I was before the...end of the world" She paused and sighed. "...yeah. I've had 'em."
The blonde sighed and looked at the plant he referred to, but her mind was on old times. God what she wouldn't have given for those good old days when she could just go to the store and buy something if she wanted it...not go forage for it. She pushed the thought from her head; it just made her sad.
"They look like onions." She said sounding uncharacteristically chipper, even for her. Then she blushed further at her awkward attempt to cover her previous comment; she was so bad at things like this, but she appreciated that he took it for what it was and didn't mention it. That was nice of him and she appreciated the information he had to offer. It would come in handy.
"There's several kinds of tubers that look like wild onions...They'll come back in the spring."
He reached out to her holding the green thin stemmed plant with the dirty bulb at the bottom. Bridge took it and noted all of the scraggly roots that stuck out of the round vegetable.
It was speckled with dirt and some was stuck to the white outer skin in clumps that with the consistency of wetted clay mixed with a bit of sand that was packed too tightly and had begun to crumble as it dried.
Her head was still downcast, but her eyes trailed upward and met his when he told her to "Smell it." Her thumb slid over the skin, pressing hard and she looked down at the white arch that was now visible from where her thumb had slid across the skin.
"Tell me if it smells like an onion or not.""
She shifted the plant in her hand and brought it up to her face. The blonde inhaled deeply and kept the air in her lungs while she continued to fiddle with the onion.
She didn't smell anything initially, but the second time she smelled it, she felt it in the highest part of her sinuses. There was a sudden tingling in her nose, followed by a stinging and her eyes started to burn.
Bridge smelled it once again slowly and twice again in rapid succession before she pulled it away from her face and looked back to Luis as a victorious smile "...I think it's an onion!" She crooned and smelled it again, while her eyes began to water.
"Smell it," she chirped and grinned. Without minding their proximity, the blonde thrust the onion into Luis' face with a little more enthusiasm that she had intended. Thank god she wasn't too close, but the man surely did get a good whiff of that onion!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2016 2:01:30 GMT
Luis chuckled when she repeated his actions. He was trying to teach her something but then she seemed to flirt a bit with him. Or was he misinterpreting her actions? Either way he was enjoying her interaction. She was curious and seemed to really want to know about wild vegetables. Man's manipulation of these plants produced larger and larger specimens to be sold on the market but the wild versions, although smaller, were the same and sometimes even better than the manipulated ones. "It's an onion," he confirmed. "These are called ramps. They are actually a kind of wild green onion. You will find similar plants but if the root bulb doesn't smell like an onion it's poisonous. Also, ramps will be slight pinkish in the area between the bulb and the green leaf part. And you can eat the green part, too. Just like the green onion," he grinned at her. "By the way, the wild garlic is the same way. The wild garlic is smaller than its mass produced cousin but, like the ramp smells like an onion, the wild garlic will smell like garlic. Now, all of a sudden, I'm hungry for Italian food," he softly laughed. The sunlight behind her created a halo effect around her blonde hair which made her look very pretty. "The other day when I was taking my turn in the tower I remember seeing some blackberry bushes in the woods. They make some excellent jams. Maybe after we get some more onions and garlic we might have time to pick some of them. You just have to be careful of the thorns." Bridge Delacroix
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Nov 14, 2016 1:23:11 GMT
"These are called ramps." Bridge looked at the green onions. "Ramps?" She nodded lightly and examined the plant closer while Luis spoke about it. "They are actually a kind of wild green onion. You will find similar plants but if the root bulb doesn't smell like an onion it's poisonous." She looked at him for a moment before her eyes settled again on the onion. "Also, ramps will be slight pinkish in the area between the bulb and the green leaf part." Her thumb slid over the ribbon of dark pink color that was around the base of the shoot. It was a very deep shade that faded into the typical type of green one would expect from an onion shoot. Bridge thought it enticing to look at. It made her hungry, specifically for her mother Anouks Ratatouille. "I wonder if it would be any good in soup?" Of course it would! Her eyes were bright when she mumbled the question. Her mother used to cook with these...she was pretty sure. "And you can eat the green part, too. Just like the green onion," "Yeah?" she said and glanced up at him again. She grinned and her smile widened and she listened as he spoke about wild garlic. Luis Diego said it was "... smaller than its mass produced cousin but, like the ramp smells like an onion, the wild garlic will smell like garlic. " Garlic...forget about the onions! The blond always had a thing for garlic. Now she was thinking of garlic bread with a rich creamy alfredo sauce. "...Now, all of a sudden, I'm hungry for Italian food." "You read my mind." She said, rolling her eyes for emphasis on the last word before smiling. Now it was the garlic bread and dipping sauce she was craving. She wanted the Olive Garden, is what she really wanted (me too). Bridge always got the Fettuccini Alfredo with extra Alfredo sauce...now that sounded even better. "I'm hungry." She mumbled and held out the onion for Luis to take. She smiled with lips that just barely touched "We should make some..." God knows they had enough pasta to last a generation or two and she would have been more than happy to settle for one of those jars of fake sauce...even if she couldn't pronounce half the ingredients, it sounded amazing! Before, she wouldn't have dared put something like that into her body. And now... she didn't even care if a jar of that goodness had exceeded its shelf life by a year or two...or five. To have Fettuccini Alfredo, she would have risked getting sick. It was a far cry from home made sauce, but it was what they had. Or did they? She wondered if they could scrounge up enough of what they needed to make a cream base. Even a bland alfredo sauce would have hit the sauce. It wasn't as difficult to make as people hyped it up to be. Bridge had never had a problem with it, but that was in a time where ingredients were easily accessible and any given time. Things weren't like that now. But...making the sauce from scratch in itself wasn't difficult. It was just a matter of constant supervision so the dairy wouldn't burn while it heated. It was tiresome, but it wasn't hard. Perhaps the ingredients would prove problematic, but the lack of cheese varieties perhaps could be balanced out with their fresh herbs and some spices. There was the matter of the cream base which was usually the most difficult part of the entire process. That too, wouldn't be terribly difficult. Alexandria was well set up and they did have access to livestock...which meant dairy products. "I want Fettuccini Alfredo", she commented in the same manner as she had when suggesting they make jam and now, for a second time, when Italian food was brought up. It was her subtle way of 'telling' people her next course of action. She was 'thinking' her decision outloud. In this case, she was telling Luis that she was going to find a way, come zombie apocalypse hell or high water, to make an Alfredo sauce from scratch. Perhaps not today. Perhaps not tomorrow, but sometime in the near future, Fettuccini Alfredo would be on the menu.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 17, 2016 3:34:01 GMT
"I'm hungry."Bridget made Luis chuckled as she held the onion out to him. It was quite clear she was flirting with him, whether she realized it or not. She was very sweet but, although he liked women, he knew that at the moment he needed to contain any reciprocating feelings. Their purpose was to Forage for eatable foods that everyone could share. But if she came to his place of her own free will he wouldn't turn her down. But that was not his initial purpose. "Yes, that's an onion. You've got a good nose," he grinned at her. "I want Fettuccini Alfredo""That sounds really good," he shared in her goodhearted enthusiasm. "But that would take cheese and milk. Maybe, if we're lucky, we'll find a cow or a goat somewhere. We are surrounded by farms. I think there might be a dairy farm somewhere. But you never know what you'll come across," he told her. "Unless we can find any dried milk. It's good for cooking. Hey, look over there!" he pointed to a bush in the shade of the pine trees. "I think I see some blackberries. They make really good jam. Just be careful of the thorns. If we find any maple tree we might be able to catch some sap and make our own syrup. Want to go look with me?" Bridge Delacroix
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Nov 22, 2016 14:58:02 GMT
"That sounds really good," The woman scrunched up her nose and nodded as her eyes turned toward him. Bridge appreciated his enthusiasm, but her face took on a small pout when he mentioned the need for dairy. Getting that would be the hardest part. "...Maybe, if we're lucky..." Her ears perked and she listened to him while he continued. By the time he had mentioned the "... dried milk." Bridge was grinning. "It's good for cooking." "And I know," she said pointing at Luis before continuing. "We have some." She shrugged. "Well...we did last night. The doc and I made brownies. " Bridge smiled. A few times a week, Bridget assisted the 'doctor' over at the infirmary. Denise was one of originals at Alexandria, a doctor of the mind forced into medicine of the physical sort; people said she wasn't successful in the beginning. But they also said she'd come a long way. She carried herself as would a woman of confidence and she spoke with the earnestness of a person who had grown comfortable in her own skin. Be it so or not, there was an ever growing curiosity the blonde felt that she was having a difficult time ignoring. "...Hey look over there!" Her eyes followed his and narrowed. He was pointing at a mass of briar bushes that she didn't even recognize to be his point of interest. The blonde looked right past it, into the small barren spots at the base where small animals frequently traveled. There was nothing to see...unless he meant the tuft of fur stuck to a grounded vine. Immediately following, he stated the obvious. He was looking at "...some blackberries." Her eyes lit up and her smile returned while glancing up at him. "They make really good jam." "Yeah, no..." she paused at hearing the rise in pitch of her voice. The woman blushed and wondered how old she was. She must have been hanging out with Ella too much. That hyper-active little squirt had become her little sis' and their common interest was Bridgets favorite past time. Parkour. "The jam's on my to do list." There. She said it outright and with an affirmative nod, she placed her hands on her hips and looked up at Luis. That sounded like a green light to her. "I'll be right back." She called over her shoulder. It was only a few strides later that she heard his warning to "...be careful of the thorns." She could feel a sudden rush and blushed. The blonde smiled over her shoulder as she slowed from the jog to a walk. Bridget stopped in front of the brambles. Only moments later, she returned with a smile and her hands perched back up on her hips. She looked chipper as ever with that smile and little arms forming 'wings.' "Oh my god...there's so many." "If we find any maple tree we might be able to catch some sap and make our own syrup."The womans approval was a mere nod that was followed by a small smile. His idea was a pleasant surprise. She hadn't had breakfast in a while. Her smile grew at the thought of a big pile of pancakes smothered in maple syrup...and maybe some bacon and eggs. Her smile grew. When she was a child, every Wednesday they had 'Breakfast for Dinner.' They had pancakes, bacon and eggs, hash browns, biscuits and gravy...The whole she-bang. It was upon her fathers insistence; Anouk was more tradition in her approach to 'breakfast.' Aside from coffee and the occasional croissant, she wasn't big on breakfast, especially heavy ones like the kind her husband and Bridge liked. If Bridget could have had Breakfast for Dinner, she would have eaten meat again. Hand's down in a heartbeat...but maple syrup had to be involved. Want to go look with me?""Yeah." She said with a smirk that quickly grew into a wide grin. "Is it that obvious?" She asked and looked around. "C'mon." The blonde glanced up at Luis Diego and nodded toward the way of the maples.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 28, 2016 0:02:54 GMT
Bridget was certainly excited about the possibilities of harvesting the various wild foods that surrounded them, and so should she be. Late summer fruits were at their ripest. "Oh my god...there's so many."With a grin he quickly finished pulling any wild onions he could find and moved over to where she was standing in front of various blackberry bushes. "If you get scratched by the thorns all it will do is hurt, but that's pretty much all. Pick as many as you can. We only got a few more weeks before they're gone til spring. Just do me a favor. Before you eat any please wash them off with water just to be safe." Picking several plump blackberries he opened his water canteen and, holding the berried in his hand, poured water over them. When he was satisfied they were washed clean he held them out for her to snack on and then popped a few into his own mouth. They were sweet on his tongue as he enjoyed them. "Mmmm, very good. I haven't eaten a fresh berry for quite some time now." Bridge Delacroix
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Dec 1, 2016 14:40:24 GMT
A small smile was on Bridges face as she watched Luis Diego pull a final wild onion. Her eyes followed him when he came over to her and the mass off thorny bushes that now stood in front of them both. Finally, she looked at the brambles nearest to them.
They reminded her of nature made razor-wire that bore fruit. Her nose scrunched as she reached for the plant. She thought it a strange, yet appropriate comparison while she squeezed her hand through some of the larger thorns.
"If you get scratched by the thorns all it will do is hurt, but that's pretty much all..." Luis told her she should pick as many as she could.
The blond pulled one off the vine. Immediately after her skin had cleared the sharp vines of the berry bush, she went to put the berry in her mouth. However, she caught herself at Luis' warning and blushed.
"...Before you eat any please wash them off with water just to be safe."
The blonde put a berry into her left hand and picked another with her right. One by one, she slowly began to fill up her hand. She watched Luis rinse off a few berries and offer them to her. She smiled and told him "Thanks!"
Bridge took a few berries from the dark haired man, smiling at their sweetness when they hit her tongue. They were so sweet! It was almost a shame to chew them; they practically melted in her mouth...and Luis seemed to be enjoying them too.
"Mmmm, very good. I haven't eaten a fresh berry for quite some time now."
The woman nodded at his comment. This was the first time for her since arriving in Alexandria; she had been incapacitated for most of her stay thus far. It was only quite recently she'd been given permission to leave the medical center.
"Me neither." This was quite the treat. "Not since I've gotten here." She looked at Luis and smiled.
"Thanks for showing me this place. " Bridge glanced down at the handful of berries she was still holding and wrestled with the idea of gobbling those all down to. She bit her lip and began to blush. It wasn't hard to tell what she was leaning toward...decision made.
Not even a split second later her eyes were set on his canteen and she was all but drooling."Could I borrow your water?" she mumbled as she stared on.
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