A Chocolate Coated Cabbage?

     It was Valentine's Day tomorrow and he was determined that whatever creation he came up with today would have to be perfect so that he could take it out on his cart that afternoon and provide his neighbours with the perfect gifts for their favourite people. In his last year of business he had become renowned for his curious culinary creations - usually sweet and chocolatey and always a bit of a surprise.

     He headed down to the kitchen and reached the fridge, looking in with an immediate sense of dismay. A sudden realisation - he hadn’t stocked up this week… on… anything? He took in what actually sat on the shelves. Concerned, he thought, what concoction could he pull together from cabbages and chocolate?!

     Well, he resolved - some ingredients are better than nothing and he still had all his standard confectioners sugars in the cupboard too. He’d just have to try even harder this time and not rely on crowdpleasers. He hoped all the goodwill he’s built up in previous weeks would hold strong today.

     It was time to get to work. To transform some haphazard ideas into a masterpiece. He had a plan.

     First Inyo reached for his trusty apron, well one of them. He had quite a collection these days. Today’s was the Tuesday apron - don’t you have a Tuesday apron? It was an intricate white and blue pattern, like those fancy plates, but all the artwork was subtly kitchen-themed. Tying up the straps behind him he looked over his kitchen and saw his hastily formulated plan start to come into shape as he imagined each of the steps ahead.

     First, get the equipment. He would need a bain-marie for the chocolate so he plucked one of his deep pans from the shelf and set it in the sink, tap on, to fill up. Then he grabbed his biggest glass bowl to pop on top. With his pan full of water, he then set it on the stovetop to bring to the boil, with the bowl resting gently atop. While that was heating up he also grabbed a chopping board and a sharp knife for later.

     Second, melt the chocolate. It would be white chocolate today which he thought would be a better complementary colour for the small cabbages. He grabbed the bag of chocolate pieces that he needed and plopped them into his glass bowl which was now warming up. Ready to help melt the chocolate into a glossy and delightful puddle. He stirred it carefully until each piece merged into the middle and he had the perfect consistency of liquid chocolate. He turned off the heat so that by the time he’d finished the next step it would be ready for dipping.

     Third, trim the cabbages. Luckily, despite his lack of fruits and berries, he did have some miniature cabbages that his friend Colin had delivered a few days ago. Not sprouts though, just really tiny cabbages. He gave them all a wash, which took longer than he expected and then got on with trimming off the outer leaves to leave the most gorgeous little bundles of tightly overlapping greenery. Honestly, Inyo thought to himself, cabbages are truly the rose of the vegetable kingdom. Hopefully, others would think so too and that would endear them to his not-so-typical Valentine’s option. Cabbages and Roses, maybe there’s something I can do with that. He arranged his cabbages neatly on some tea towels on the side as he got some baking trays out and lined them with paper.

     Fourth, dipping. Inyo reached into one of his drawers for a bag of “lolly sticks” which he then carefully pushed into the base of each miniature cabbage. This allowed him to then carefully lower one at a time into his slightly cooled melted chocolate and then deposit them onto the baking paper-lined trays. A bit like a toffee apple he thought to himself as he slid his first tray into his rather barren fridge. You could make a bouquet of them if you so desired.

     Three such trays now filled his fridge.

     Wrapping up this first creation, Inyo realised he had plenty of extra time (while these first cabbages set) to explore something a little fancier. A little more artistic and inventive. Something that might be a bit of an illusion to accompany his real cabbage creations.

     He looked into his pantry and grabbed some icing sugar, marzipan, and food colouring. Working diligently he rolled and shaped and pinched and painted and smushed and layered until he had created over a hundred tiny perfect cabbages - made entirely of sweetness and almonds.

     He popped them over on the kitchen table too so that they weren't in the way while he cleaned up the kitchen sideboards. He needed his surfaces back so he could work on packaging.

     Actually, he needed to do a taste test before that, so he picked one of each, his very slightly wonky versions, to have a little nibble.

     Inyo breathed a sigh of relief. Just right. Unusual, sure, but not out of line with his usual standards and odd offerings.

     Off to his craft cupboard he went to get some of his boxes, labels and pens. Sitting down at his kitchen island Inyo started to write out in his very neatest font ‘Chocolate Coated Cabbage’ with the added description: ‘A fresh baby cabbage impaled on a stick and then dipped in white chocolate!’

     Then he grabbed another stack and wrote ‘NOT Rock Baby Cabbages’ - they might look suspiciously like a sprout but these sweet gems are a sugarwork recreation’.

     He really hoped that his customers would appreciate the variety - it might not be the usual Valentine's fare but surely the uniqueness would win over anyone curious enough to come over to his cart in the first place. Looking at the clock he realised he would have to get all his creations packaged up and into the cart fast if he was going to catch the afternoon audience he needed, those grabbing their last-minute gifts on the way home from their busy days in Neopia Central.

     Inyo took off his chocolate-splashed apron, (no matter how careful he was they always ended up messy) and grabbed his chocolate cart uniform instead. Checking his jaunty hat in the mirror he grinned to himself - the creation station was fun, sure, but he also really looked forward to chatting to his neighbours, customers and friends. This next bit might be the best part of today.

     Loading up the cart with all of his wares he started to hum a tune to himself - the weather in the month of Awakening could be hit and miss but today there was a crisp breeze and some new-year sun. Perfect for people to be out, browsing and willing to stop and admire, and hopefully purchase too.

     He made his way out of his yard, down the paths that would lead him to the Neopian Plaza. Hopefully, the crowds outside the Welcome Centre, those visiting the Wishing Well, and patrons of the Kadoatery would be willing to sample his wares. With a spring in his step, he continued humming his tune as the crowds started to gather.

     The End.