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Darcy couldn't seem to resist the scent of cloves so it was no wonder the jar was on the counter as she started baking. October had arrived and it seemed the perfect excuse for using some of the classic spices of the season. She wasn't always sure what it was that brought up the homey vibe in her, maybe it was the new but probably old rug that Tony had laid out in the lounge that reminded her of one her grandmother had. Not that homey was the vibe she would have associated with her grandmother, she wasn't that kind of grandmother. Whatever it was, though, it had her itching for days to get the smell of Autumn happening in the building. When the weekend finally arrived she woke ready to turn the place warm, homey, and full of food.
She had figured on likely ending up alone cooking while other inhabitants of the Compound wandered through, possibly asked questions and tasted things. As it turned out, more people than she expected seemed interested in assisting. Wanda was the only one she wasn't actively surprised about joining in. But Natasha, Scott, and Sam jumping in to help out, was.
"Okay, I have the wet ingredients and dry ingredients from the recipe ready, you said you add spices not listed." Despite having said she'd never baked or cooked anything that was more complicated than pasta with a jarred sauce, Natasha had moved and acted with all the confidence Darcy had come to expect and associate with the super spy.
"Oh, yes, I don't really even measure it out, but I add some cinnamon, a bit of nutmeg, and some clove into the batter at this point. Makes the snickerdoodles a bit spiced." Darcy shifted around shaking in some cinnamon and clove and grating some nutmeg into the batter and giving it a stir before handing the spoon back to Natasha. "Okay, now the dry stuff can be mixed in bit by bit."
Darcy had plans for a couple of sweets and some soup, Wanda had seemed good to go with the soup idea, and Sam was helping her make some pumpkin and butternut squash soup while Scott was chopping up apples for Darcy's other sweet, an apple cranberry crumble that would also receive some ample spicing. Things were getting to the point that the scent seemed to start carrying and the likes of Clint and Peter had turned up following their noses in hopes of being fed.
"That's why it smells so good in here. Anything ready to eat yet? And do we get to eat when it is done?" Peter hopped up on the counter seating stool and looked around at everything going on.
"Did you finish your homework?" Sam smirked, he actually liked the kid, but that only meant that he absolutely ribbed the kid every chance he got.
Peter rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yes!"
"Whose idea was this? And why isn't it done yet?" Clint flopped himself down on the stool next to Peter.
"My idea, and because it takes time to make yummy things. But yes, everyone is welcome to it once it's done. I'm making army sized batches of everything. If you want it done faster, I'd suggest lending some extra hands to the effort." Darcy smiled.
"Okay, what should I do? I'm not a great cook, but I can help. May has me chop and stir things sometimes while she's cooking." Peter popped back to his feet ready to help.
Darcy laughed and smiled at the enthusiasm displayed by the teenage. Something she knew she didn't have at that age. "Wanda, do you need any more help with the soup, or should I have him help Scott with the apples?"
"I think Sam and I have this covered." Wanda was pulling some of the roasted squash out of the oven as she spoke, not missing a beat as Sam was stirring some onion they were getting sauteing on the stove.
Darcy was jumping between things, being extra hands for everything, and managing the timing of things. The lounge did have some very nice equipment, professional-grade everything, extra-large stove, two stacked double ovens, plus the one large oven beneath the stove. But everything they were making was going to require some oven use and in the quantities they were making, multiple large batches at that. "Okay, apples it is."
Peter washed his hands while they decided where to use him and he clapped and rubbed his hands together before jumping in next to Scott to help with the apples. "Do they need to be peeled?"
"Nope, we're doing rustic style, skins on, plus it's easier." Scott grinned, he'd been smiling the whole time. Possibly because he was planning for his daughter's holiday visits, or maybe just because it seemed like he smiled most of the time.
"So, what prompted this kind of drive into the kitchen?" Clint hadn't offered himself up to help, only settled in at the counter and watched.
"I don't know, I just have been getting that inclination to ring in the season with some warm Autumn feelings. Maybe it's cause it's getting cooler outside now that it's October. Something just kind of got me going I guess, and I was lucky to find others willing to help out, because alone this may have been an eyes bigger than my stomach kind of situation." Darcy moved from finishing prepping the baking trays for the cookies to starting to mix up the crumble part of the apple crumble.
Clint shrugged and his bottom lip thrust out in a momentarily thoughtful expression. "Sounds good, I'm definitely not complaining. I just don't know where you all find the energy."
"I'm driven by a need to feel the season. Maybe because this is the first time in a while I've felt like I'm settled in one place for more than a few months and don't anticipate having to pick up and travel at any moment." The notion had just appeared in her mind as Darcy was working the crumble mixture with her hands and then pressing half of it into the bottom of a large glass pan.
"That makes sense. I've never really thought of it that way. I haven't been very settled for long in my life." He shrugged a bit. "Is there anything I can do to help that would also let me keep sitting?"
"Yeah, you can help me roll these cookies." Natasha slid the bowl and two baking sheets over, along with dishes for rolling the dough in cinnamon sugar. "Wash your hands first and no eating the dough."
Clint's hand reached for the dough as soon as it neared him then recoiled in time with Nat's words. "Okay, I can manage that." Once his hands were washed, he watched Nat show him how to roll the dough for the cookies a couple of times before trying it himself.