Mauskin Culinary Arts

Cooking for the Mauskin

Baskets and pots of breads, cheeses, and honey are passed amongst all that gathered in the small house, no room for tables or chairs with the number of furry bodies here for their mid-morning snack. Chittering and squeaks ring out as all nibble and munch on the fresh bread and soft cheese that is quickly disappearing. This is a morning ritual, gathering for a quick meal before the day grows warm and little paws busy. For the Mauskin, food is its own reward, traditions that are coveted and passed down through the ages.
More than other races of the world, Mauskin view the creation of food as a time-honored tradition that is often considered a rite of passage for little ones. Recipes are never written, only shared through moments of teaching from the elders and practiced by the younglings that will someday take over the preparation of daily meals for the nest. All Mauskin will learn to prepare the coveted dishes of their people so that they may be considered grown and ready for the rest of the world.
The cuisine and cooking techniques developed by the Mauskin have been part of their traditions for centuries, but once they became part of the larger world, their culinary traditions were shared with others, including the Halflings that inhabited the Little Greenwood. For many, the foods of the Mauskin have become staples in daily life, serving as the perfect snack or teatime delicacies.

Cuisine

Geography and available flora and fauna heavily change what types of cuisines are prevalent in certain areas, this is especially true in the areas of the Little Greenwood that the Mauskin call home. Flowers are a central part of their culture and they have integrated flowers and other parts of nature heavily into their cuisine.
These furry people of the Little Greenwood take pride in the food they make with their own paws, utilizing techniques that have been passed down through generations by the elders. Little has changed about how they make things, but the foods the Mauskin make have evolved as each new generation completes the rite of passage and adds their own flavors to the well-developed mix.

Cheeses

Cheese can be relatively simple to make and has become the center of the diet of the Mauskin, along with bread and various fruits and berries. Starting with soft cheeses that were meant to serve fresh, these people quickly expanded to creating other types of cheeses, often using milk from the pygmy cows and goats that were found in the northern parts of the Little Greenwood.

Fresh Cheese

Adyghe cheese by Aleksey Melkomukov on Unsplash

Soft cheese are the first things that young Mauskin are taught to make as the cheese is often forgiving and is quick creation time allows the younglings almost instant gratification with a snack they made themselves.

Soft Cheeses

Soft cheeses, such as mozzarella and other simple cheeses, became an early staple for the Mauskin. These cheeses were often quick to make, utilizing simple utensils, and could be stored in baskets and pottery that these people were already using. Something like this could be made in an afternoon to be used as a snack with teatime or alongside the evening meal.
From gathering the milk through the entire creation process, soft cheeses are the first that young Mauskin learn to make. An elder may gather all the younglings in a nest and have a cheese-making party where the little ones can then snack on their creations alongside tea in the afternoon before napping. These parties would continue for a while as the younglings perfected their techniques.

Aged Cheeses

Aged Cheeses are often a bit more difficult to make and take far longer before they can be enjoyed, so the younglings are not taught to make this cheese until after they have perfected their soft cheese making. This process is much more involved and can take months or years to complete to create the perfect wheel of aged cheese and few of the Mauskin truly enjoy this process.
Some Mauskin strive to be cheese connoisseurs and spend their lives

attempting to make a magnificent wheel of cheese with the perfect rind and flavor combinations. While these cheeses are much more favorable and highly enjoyed, not many wish to invest the time that is needed to make aged cheese although all are taught how to.

Flowers & Teas

Flowers are a central part of the Mauskin Culture, and their food is no different. With practice, these people have learned to dry certain flowers and herbs to create flavorful additions to nearly any dish, but their favorite creations to make with these flowers are teas. Teatime is a time of sharing snacks and stories so tea making is something that all Mauskin must learn so they can share with the nest.

Dewdrop Tea

Dewdrop Tea is a specialty and a favorite of the Mauskin. Younglings are seen to have reached an age of maturity and responsibility when they are trusted to travel out in the morning and gather the dew of the Giant Camellia bushes to make the first tea of the day. This early teatime is often paired with soft cheeses and bread, a quick reprieve between breakfast and lunch for the nest.

Tea Flowers

Tea Flowers were a creation of the Mauskin so that they could take their much loved teatime with them on their travels. These items are dried flowers and herbs used to make a tea that is compacted and formed into flower-shaped balls that can be easily carried. Once added to hot water and steeped for a time, the flowers unfurl and create rich teas that can be easily shared with a number of people.
The younglings are often taught how to make Tea Flowers as their small paws are better suited to making one perfect sized to share with one or two people. Oftentimes, the younglings are taught how to make these items and then regaled with stories by those that travel and trade the Tea Flowers, giving the younglings a taste of the world outside of the nest.

Tea Flowers

Dried Petals by montatip lilitsanong on Unsplash

Tea Flowers were a creation of the Mauskin as they were something small that could be easily carried in a pocket. Other races have invested in trade for these items or have attempted to create their own with little success.

Primary Related Location

Little Greenwood

Related Ethnicities

• Mauskin Culture

Techniques

Many cooking techniques of the Mauskin came from other races but had to be modified to be used with their much smaller paws. Some of the techniques delevoped on their own and took the world by storm, giving the Mauskin another export to the world once they decided to come out of hiding.

Drying

Drying flowers and herbs is a key part of Mauskin cuisine. Many other races dry herbs and grasses, but the Mauskin were one of the first to dry flowers and use them in their daily meals. The Little Greenwood is teaming with various flora which allowed these people to create a wide variety of dried flowers and herbs to add to their food.
Drying flowers also brought about the invention of Tea Flowers, small compact balls of tea that could be kept in one's pocket until the need to steep a pot on the go. These tea balls became an important trade good for the Mauskin as many other races wanted the convience of traveling tea but often failed to create their own version of the Tea Flowers.

Dried Flowers

Herbs by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

Because of the availability of flowers and herbs in the Little Greenwood, dried herbs and flowers have become a staple of Mauskin Culinary Arts. These are a simple way to add flavor to a variety of dishes.

Meal Times

Mauskin are known for constantly eating, often partaking in a variety of small meals throughout the day. Tea is important, causing the nest to pause for teatime multiple times throughout the day. Many races wonder how these people complete any work with these constant pauses, but the Mauskin are known for working early in the morning or late at night with time during the day for tea and naps if wanted.

Meal Schedule

Breakfast
Teatime
Lunch
Teatime
Dinner
Supper

6am
9am
12pm
3pm
6pm
9pm