zelda (hylianruler) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-06-23 19:48:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, samwise gamgee, zelda |
Has anyone else been helping you or have you been doing it all on your own?
Who: Zelda and Sam
When: After this conversation
Where: Zelda’s home
What: Caprese Salad!
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Zelda had the gate open for when Sam arrived, since he was coming right away. She was in her front garden with a wide-rimmed hat on, some gardening gloves, and a boom box playing Owl City and Carly Ray Jepsen’s It’s Always A Good Time loud enough to be heard across the garden.
She was picking the tomatoes very carefully when Sam pulled up the drive.
While Sam was still processing his dreams and the talk he's had with Frodo and Merrill, it helped that he was running into old friends, like Padme, and visiting new ones like Zelda. He was very anxious to see how her garden and the tomatoes were coming a long. He heard the music practically the moment he drive through the gate and was sure that Zelda didn't hear the truck so he decided to be a little bit evil and after putting the car in park, he leaned on the horn.
Zelda hadn’t heard the car at all on the drive. She was humming along to the music and looking at the tomato plants very closely when he came in. She had cherry tomatoes and romas, and some big, beefcake type ones. They were all flourishing (as opposed to her zucchinis, the poor things) so she had a lot to choose from.
The sound of the horn, though, made her yelp and spring to her feet, startled at the loud, sudden noise. She spun around and saw it was Sam, then burst into embarrassed laughter. “Sam!! Don’t do that!!”
Sam couldn’t help but laugh a little as he got out of the truck, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.” He closed the door and pocketed the keys, “Will you forgive me?” He asked, feigning a pout. Really it had just been far too easy. No one would blame him for doing it.
Zelda wiped her hands on her shorts, shaking her head and still chuckling softly. “Of course I will! That’s what friends do, right? So long as you promise not to make fun of me for that ridiculous yelp I just let out.”
Sam smiled and nodded, "I promise. And test me, it wasn't as girly as this one guy I know if my dreams." Sam was pretty sure everyone in The Shire had heard Pippin shriek when that firework went off during Bilbo's party. "So, how're the tomatoes coming along?" He was really interested to see how they had come out.
"Oh yeah? That's reassuring." Zelda gave him a bright grin when he asked about the tomatoes. "Come and see! I think they're amazing!" She waved him over and motioned for him to look. The poor zucchini plants hadn't faired so well, but the tomatoes were going crazy.
“Wow. Those look amazing. You’ve obviously been doing a good job.” Sam glanced over at Zelda, smiling, “Has anyone else been helping you or have you been doing it all on your own?” He crouched down to take a closer look at the tomatoes. “I can probably help you with the zucchini, if you want.” He really was impressed at how well her tomatoes were coming along.
“All on my own, but I have no idea what I’ve been doing!” Zelda said, but she was beaming. “Though, I think they like the music!” She pulled a remote from her pocket and pointed it in the general direction of the house, and the music quieted somewhat. “I’d love your help with the zucchini! Really, I don’t know what I did to them, either. Maybe they don’t like Owl City?”
Sam smiled up at her and nodded, “It could be, but I don’t think that’s it. So, have you tried the tomatoes yet?” They looked to be ripe enough to eat and he was wondering if she’d been waiting for him or if she’d tried them already. He was still crouched down, examining the zucchinis now. “Have you been using the same fertilizer all around?”
Zelda nodded. "Just the cherry ones. I couldn't help myself, they looked soooooo good!" she grinned. "Yeah, same fertilizer throughout the whole garden. Is that wrong?"
Sam shook his head, “No, that’s good. Don’t know why they’re not growing like the tomatoes. They should be bigger than this. I’ll take another look before I leave though. I’m pretty sure you promised me some Caprese Salad when the tomatoes were ripe.” He smirked as he stood up, wiping any dirt off his hands.
"Yes! That's right!" Zelda said, standing as well. She turned to lead the way into the house, picking up a basket of beautiful, ripe tomatoes along the way. "I picked the basil from my herb garden, too!"
Sam followed Zelda, glancing around at their surroundings as they entered the house. “Your house is really nice.” Being in the field that he was in, he’d seen many nice houses over the years, seeing as how most of their clientele were rather wealthy members of the communities. They were just that good. “And I’d love to see your herb garden too.”
“Sure! The herb garden is in pots in the back.” Zelda said, giving him a bright grin. She led the way into the house--it was huge. She was very well off, and it showed. Though, the place had a few more personal touches than it’d had only several weeks ago. Zelda had a roommate now, Jack, her bodyguard. And she was letting herself accumulate cool things, like a video game system and the like.
She moved into the kitchen to wash and cut the tomatoes. “The cheese is in the fridge. Do you want to grab it?”
“Sure.” Sam went to the fridge and located the cheese then brought it over to where Zelda was washing and cutting the tomatoes, “Have you made this before or did you decide to do it because you were growing your own tomatoes?” Sam had never had homemade Caprese Salad, so he was really looking forward to this.
“I’ve had it before. Never made it on my own before. We never grew tomatoes. Have you never had Caprese Salad?” She asked, slicing the tomatoes kinda chunky thick, but still edible. Then she accepted the cheese and started to slice that, too. “I figure I’ll just give us each our own, and stick a third in the fridge for whenever Jack appears.”
“I have, but I’ve never made it. Any time I’ve had it, was at italian restaurants.” Sam said as he turned to lean against the counter while he watched Zelda, “But it doesn’t seem too hard to make. Maybe I’ll make my own sometime, you know, if you grow me some tomatoes.” He smirked, teasing the blond just a little, “Who’s Jack?” Last time he’d been at Zelda’s she hadn’t mentioned living with anyone else and he wondered if perhaps she had a live-in boyfriend.
“Well, here we go! First time for everything!” Zelda said, happily. “Oooh, I can grow you tomatoes!” She added, bumping her shoulder into his. “Apparently, they’re my specialty!” She finished cutting up the cheese, and moved to grab a couple of plates. “Jack? Oh, he’s my bodyguard. And he’s living here with me now.” She wasn’t sure if it was temporary or what. “I’m sure he’d love some of this salad!”
“That’d be great. Well, I have to taste test them first to make sure they taste as good as they look.” Sam teased, smirking at Zelda, “That’s cool. I bet it makes you feel a lot safer in this huge house, having him around.” Sam wouldn’t have been able to live in a house that size by himself.
“I bet they will?” Zelda said, hopefully. She started to arrange the slices of tomato with the slices of cheese and some big, basil leaves onto three plates. Then she gave a tiny drizzle of olive oil, a splash of balsamic (the uber expensive kind, aged for decades and thick like maple syrup) and just a twist of salt and pepper. She handed one plate over to him, and took the second. “Let’s go sit outside. You can see my backyard garden!”
Sam watched as Zelda arranged the cheese and tomatoes and everything then took the plate that was offered to him, “This looks amazing.” He said, following the blond outside to the back garden. “Are there any other vegetables you want to branch out to after we save the zucchini?”
“I dunno. What’s coming up? Pumpkin season?” She asked, grinning, as she settled them into the patio furniture with plates, forks and knives. “The herb garden is over there,” she added. It was all in planters. She had basil, mint, oregano, parsley, a handful of others. Of course, she was still learning how to cook with all these different herbs, so a lot of them were for practice and for show for now.
“You could do pumpkins. Make your own jack-o-lanterns at Halloween with them. Or pumpkin pies.” If there was one thing Sam enjoyed more than most things, it was homemade pumpkin pie, which is mother had shown him how to make when he was younger. He glanced out towards where she indicated the herb garden then back to Zelda, “Fresh herbs are always better than the store bought ones.” At least in his opinion.
"Hmm. I've never made home made pumpkin pie." Zelda said, grinning, then started in on her salad. It was so much tastier when the ingredients were home grown.
“I can show you how to make it. My mother showed me a long time ago,” Sam said before starting in on his salad, “Wow. You did a really good job.” He gave Zelda a smile then went back to eating.
Zelda was tickled pink. She couldn’t wait to show Link her tomato plants, couldn’t wait for Jack to try his salad. And with a few hints and some help from her new friend, Sam, she could grow even more vegetables! Today was turning into a wonderful day.