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“Yeah, this was a mistake.” Kate surveyed the mess on her counters and fingers, actively forcing herself to not cross her arms in frustration.
“Not a mistake,” Buck reassured her. “Just a challenging learning curve.”
“This is my fifth try and my learning is curving down instead of up,” Kate said, despairing. Lucky whined and nosed at her, but she didn’t have a clean hand to pet him with. He leaned against her anyway.
She’d wanted to welcome Yelena to LA with West Coast food, and also shut her up about the state of her old New York kitchen. At least there she could make the mac and cheese she always stocked—although now she did have silverware for six people. That was an improvement.
“We can fix this,” Buck said. He sounded confident, but Kate wasn’t so sure about it.
She glanced at Tommy, who nodded encouragingly at her. “He can fix most cooking related problems,” he said.
Buck spread his arms wide. “See? So walk me through what you’ve done.”
“Fine,” Kate sighed. She sucked the sauce off her fingers. “I bought salmon and tuna from a well reviewed sushi guy by the beach.”
Buck pressed down on some uncut pieces and nodded. “Good, it’s fresh, looks clean.”
“And I made some rice.” She pointed to the pot on her stove, which was, admittedly, her second try. Microwave rice had come out kind of wonky, but the stove had actually been easier than she thought.
Buck grabbed a fork and tasted a bit. “Okay, first thing,” he said. “Can I see your recipe?”
“I don’t exactly have one?” Kate said.
Buck made a very judgy face until Tommy nudged his shoulder and he smoothed it out.
“I read a bunch of websites and took notes,” she said, a little defensively. “Because, like, there’s a lot of combinations to try? And why be limited?”
“Okay,” Buck said. “Right. There are. But next time, pick a recipe and take notes on other combinations, especially when you’re trying something new. Because jasmine rice is great, but you need short grain rice or it won’t be sticky.”
“Oh,” Kate said. She vaguely remembered reading that, and she glanced down at her notes. “I guess that’s what SGR means.” She’d doodled Cap’s shield next to it, and forgotten entirely what she had meant by it.
Tommy had taken the fork from Buck and tasted the rice. “Also, you can flavor your rice for some punch.”
Kate glanced at her meager collection of spices, most of which had been left behind by Kamala or Buck, and made a face.
“Yeah, not those,” Buck agreed. “We have some good vinegar at home. What else do you have?”
She took him through her other ingredients and rolls.
“Okay. A little less filling, some practice, and a better knife will make them look more presentable. And less…smushed.” Buck poked at a roll that fell apart at his touch, revealing unevenly cut fish with soft, messy edges.
“Ugh,” Kate groaned, covering her face. “This is hopeless.”
Tommy hummed, but not negatively, and she peeked out to see him popping some of the unrolled sushi pieces into his mouth. “Actually, it’s not bad,” he said. Kate couldn’t blame him for sounding surprised.
Buck tasted some, too, and nodded. “Yeah, he’s right,” he said. “You did pick some good fillings here.”
“What if, instead of sushi rolls, you made sushi bowls?” Tommy suggested. “You’ve got the ingredients you need, you won’t need sticky rice, and we can all make our own.”
“That’s an actual thing?” she asked, dropping her hands.
“Yes!” Buck said, lighting up. “Brilliant idea, baby,” he said, bumping Tommy’s hip with his. “You guys clean up, I’ll run home for supplies, and we’ll have everything ready before your girl gets here.”
“She’s not my girl,” Kate tried to grouch, but she could feel her cheeks warming. Ugh.
“Of course not,” Tommy said. “I know you cook for everyone. All the time. Your Kraft macaroni is legendary.”
“Shut up,” Kate said, sticking her tongue out at him.
He shrugged unrepentantly, kissed Buck goodbye, and tossed her a rag. “Let’s get ready for not your girl.”
Despite herself, Kate couldn’t help ducking her head and grinning. It really was going to be good to see Yelena again. She had so much to show her.