The Great Linguan Bake-Off

Life at Meadowbrooke Nursery always started early in the morning. The field crops needed watering before the produce stand could open for business, at which the Paralogos not manning the stand could tend to the delicate plants and seedlings in the greenhouse. The plants may grow slowly, but the farm was always buzzing with activity.

Ruta, a bright yellow Paralogos that carried a citrus scent, was watering some of the outdoor plants when one of her friends approached her.

“Ruta, look at this!”

She turned to see her friend Relle, a white Paralogos with dripping paint splotches decorating her body, holding a pamphlet. Setting the watering can on the ground beside her, Ruta took the pamphlet to read the advertisement.

Local Annual Baking Contest!

Next Saturday 10am at the Community Center.

Show off your pastry skills for a chance to win 500 ink!

All sales proceeds go to charity.

“You should enter!” encouraged Relle.

“There’s no way I’d win… but it could be fun,” Ruta mused. She gave the pamphlet back to the Watercolor Paralogos. “I’m going to need to make something real colorful to grab people’s attention. You’re good at painting, Relle. Will you help me?”

“I’d love to!” She trilled. “I’ve never tried painting with food color.”

That evening, after all the farm chores were completed and the produce stand packed up, the pair set to work planning their entry. They were seated at the dining table with a writing tablet and jars of flour, sugar, and other ingredients.

“It should definitely be lemon-flavored,” Relle decided. “That’s your signature style. We need to play to your strengths.”

“Alright,” Ruta nodded along. “Archer’s favorite are lemon scones - how about we do those? I already know the recipe, so we can focus on perfecting the taste and presentation.”

Relle grinned. “We’re going to need a lot of lemons.”

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For the next several nights, the pair set to work on baking test batches and getting feedback from their caretaker. Ruta took care of most of the dough work, mixing with care and making sure to add exact ingredient amounts. She experimented with the amount of salt, butter, baking powder, and baking soda needed to create the perfect texture. Did cold or softened butter work better? What kind of sugar did she need to use?

Relle aided with whatever her lemon-scented Paralogos friend told her to do, in addition to playing around with design ideas. She experimented with the food coloring, trying out different ratios and combinations of the 4 base colors (red, yellow, green, and blue) to get the exact hue she wanted. Should they brush the scones with food coloring before baking, which would change the color? Or add it to the icing to pipe on after the baked goods cooled down? They made several batches trying out various different techniques and noted which batches contained which tests.

Paralogos don’t eat physical food and the two wanted to keep their submission a secret until contest day, so their only tester was their own caretaker, Archer. The quiet man was delighted to eat one of his favorite pastries at first, but soon became overwhelmed with the amount of baked goods he had to taste.

“No more,” he refused, a hand placed on his stomach as he pushed the plate away from him. The two Paralogos had sat him in the dining room at the table full of dishes, each labeled with a number. “I’ll give myself a stomach ache if I eat any more.”

“How long until you can try another?” Relle asked.

Archer laughed. “I think it will be about a week before I’m hungry again. You really went all out with these.”

“Well,” Ruta sighed. “The contest is tomorrow, so there’s no time to try the rest. Which scone did you like the most?”

Archer pointed at the plate number corresponding to his favorite. “That’s a winner,” he said. “I’m sure of it.”

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Ruta and Relle rose early the next morning as usual, but instead of heading outside to the farming equipment, they stayed in the kitchen to bake the final, perfect batch. A few hours later, three dozen neatly decorated scones were packed up and ready to go. The two Paralogos bid their family farewell and left for the community center.

Set up at a table next to other entrants, Ruta and Relle proudly displayed their craft. Light yellow scones sat neatly in picnic baskets. They were adorned in bright yellow icing piped in neat lines, and some grass-green icing was expertly piped at one corner to resemble leaves. The resulting pastry was crumbly and light in flavor, the icing giving it a burst of lemon flavor. Regardless of the contest outcome, they were very proud of what they accomplished.

Two scones were set aside for judging, leaving the rest to sell. It quickly became apparent that theirs was a fan favorite. The event was mostly attended by families on a weekend outing, and their children kept coming back to Ruta and Relle’s table for more. Ruta especially was thrilled. While she was confident in her baking skills, she had no idea her pastries would be among the most popular out of all the bakers at the community center. They sold out of their goods within an hour.

“We should make and sell these at the nursery stand,” Relle suggested.

“If Archer doesn’t eat them all first!” Ruta chuckled.

Finally, it was time for judging. Each entrant was required to provide two samples: one for tasting, and one for display at the final results. All the display pieces were set on the judging table - all three dozen or so entries.

Ruta and Relle waited with baited breath as the top five winners were announced. Fifth, fourth, third, and second were all called out with applause in between. Then…

“And first place, the winner of this year’s Baking Contest, goes to… Paralogos Ruta and Relle, from Meadowbrooke Nursery!”

The crowd applauded and cheered as a dazed Ruta and grinning Relle approached the judge’s table to receive their prize.

“You did it, Ruta! You won! I knew you could do it,” the multicolored Paralogos cheered. “Your baking really is the best.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you, Relle,” the yellow Paralogos smiled. “We won together. You are the best baking partner.”

“Same time next year?”

Ruta laughed. “Count on it!”