Inside Scoop page 1

THE FED DATASPACE TRAVEL GUIDE: RECIPE, FOOD SYSTEM

by Trilleth

Apparently the mermaids have been eating all the food on Siryn, because I woke up STARVING one morning and there was nothing to eat. I didn't really want to go eat Ox at Orrin's and I was a little low on groats, so I loaded up my ship and jumped to Recipe, in the Food system. If I couldn't fill up here, I was in serious trouble.

When I first landed, I was worried. The strawberry margarita in The Love Shack Bar and Grill looked great, but I didn't have the groats for liquor. I needed something inexpensive. One of the perky waitresses pointed me south, toward the Hall of Food. At worst, I figured I could drool and imagine. At best, maybe there'd be free samples.

East started out with soups. Creamy Reuben, Beef Taco, Chicken Noodle... it didn't take long for me to realize that the food was only holograms and I could look, but not touch. I continued through Spinach Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, and Ham Salad (which made me briefly nostalgic), then had to walk back through all the displays to head in the other direction.

West was side dishes. Homemade Mac n Cheese, Potato Casserole, Green Chile Potatoes, Potatoes Grandmere, Grilled Cheese Bread, Spanish Potato Hash, Party Time Nachos, and Bean and Cheese Burritos (which is considered a banned main dish on Siryn). I made a note to invest in potatoes on the way home, then went back to check out the main dishes.

Choices, choices! There were beef dishes, chicken dishes, seafood, pork, and desserts. I've never heard of dessert as a main course before, but I liked that way of thinking.

I went down the Chicken road first, with Chicken Biscuit Stew, Chicken Noodle Bake, Peanut Noodles and Chicken, Chicken Parmesan, Crispy Ranch Chicken, Tarragon Chicken, Golden Dijon Chicken, Herb Roast Chicken, Chicken Chile Casserole, and Chicken Caesar Pizza. I started noticing that some things went together well, like the Chicken Caesar salad and Chicken Caesar Pizza or the Green Chile Potatoes and the Chicken Chile Casserole. Then I dabbed at my mouth with a very damp napkin and went the other direction.

The Beef side featured Beef and Broccoli, Beef and Vegetable Skillet, Creamy Beef Stroganoff, Salisbury Steaks with Onions, Spicy Beef Diablo, Sirloin and Mushrooms, and (the most unusual) Thai Steak Pizza. I was so busy staring at the pizza that I knocked over the holo tray of food and hightailed it out of there before I was exiled from the system. I still had research to do!

This little piggy went to market... and I visited the Pork row to find out what to do with him. Gingered Pork Medallions, Orange Pork Medallions, Pork Fried Rice, Shepherd's Pie, Saucy Ham and Asparagus, Ham and Two-Onion Linguine, and Italian Sausage Spaghetti Sauce were all lined up to tempt me. I found an old breath mint in my pocket and sucked on it to ease the hunger pangs. I still had seafood and desserts to visit. I needed to be strong.

Oven Crisp Fish and Chips made me think of Hazed (who only eats fish and chips about twice a year, but is stuck associated with them in my head anyway), Jamaican Shrimp, Lemon Flounder, Maryland Crab Cakes, Pan-Seared Scallops, Scallops with Chili Cream, Salmon with Dill Sauce, Maple Grilled Salmon, and Shrimp Bites all provided ideas for what to feed the mermaids in the future. After all, raw fish can only get you so far!

A sympathetic passerby gave me the rest of their bag of chips, which I ate for fortitude. I needed to survive Desserts, then go grocery shipping. Bread Pudding, Blueberry Cheesecake, Fruit Crisp... it wasn't until I hit the Chocolate Jello Cream Cheese Pie that I started trying to eat the holos, in spite of the stares. Chocolate Almond Torte and Streusal Topped Apple Pie were just too much for me and I ran out of there, all the way back to my ship, and started hauling until I could afford a good meal. Satiated, I happily returned to Siryn with groceries and a post-it note to return to Recipe for more ideas in the future.

I couldn't do the regular ratings system for Recipe. There are plenty of recipes to try out; some are longer than a screen, but most are about a screen long. A few require more expensive items or extra preparations, while others use inexpensive ingredients and time-savers (like canned biscuits or frozen veggies). Go on a full stomach or get your keyboard a moisture barrier. You will be drooling.

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