Sidewalk Scenes January 2025

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Recipe development in full swing – Ingredient special on a little known winter green coming up in February – New ‘Salty & Cara’ story: Plant Light District 1 –

Here’s the Outlook:

  1. It has been a busy month. I have now outlined most of the recipes for this year. A third of them are already finished or in final testing. And they are delicious. I know you’d expect nothing less from me.
  2. Next month we will have an ingredient special on a humble plant that actually loves the cold of winter in the northern hemisphere. And it’s here to give us plenty of options for greening our February diets.
  3. Below you will find the first episode of the new story “Plant Light District” of the adventures of Salty & Cara. A juicy fable set in a world inhabited by fruits and vegetables. Love and crime, raw but served hot. Don’t know what’s cooking? Check out [Overview and Table of Contents]

By Mag M. Schaper

Salty & Cara – Plant Light District 1

Fourth story, first episode: Cara is a guest of her two colleagues Alpha and Beta in Turnip Town. The annual ‘Festival of Colors’ is in full swing. But then a sudden movement changes the perspective from below.

King of the Night

Cara and her two friends still followed the parade down into the underground streets and hallways of Turnip Town. The floaters all had their individual halos of music traveling with them. Some were marching bands of turnips dressed up in fantastic improvisations over all lifeforms carrying petals, leaves or even wings. Others just had big sound systems with automated clang and rhythm generators. And one had it all. A huge floater in black, dark velvet red and gold dominated the middle of the parade and now came into view next to the trio. On it were dancers and acrobats of all sizes. They seemed to come from another world. An epic sight of figures telling a story of glory, joy and power. At the top of the floater sat a young red beetroot on a throne-like seat. The construction on top was carefully tailored to the dimensions of the tunnel, and it was clearly the largest vehicle this passageway could hold. Somehow this did not seem to impress the beet. Majestically, he smiled down at the adoring crowd along the parade route and gently swayed to the music.

“Who is that?” Cara asked.

“Oh, that’s the King of the Night. Rocko Ourbeck. Like I was saying. They basically run this place. Don T and his family own all the buildings and the potatoes have a saying too because they make sure the tech and stuff works as planned, but this is Turnip Town royalty. I think Rocko got on that float for the …..”

“The third time,” Beta continued Alpha’s lecture, “and everyone likes him. He is a smart and progressive business beet. But he also treats the other residents of Turnip Town with respect.”

“He lives here? I thought this was basically living quarters for working vegetables and…” Cara glanced sideways at her colleagues and smiled, “…some extravagant fruits.”

“Yeah, but he sees himself as a worker, I think. Been talking about doing things a little differently down here. Improving the whole structure. And about giving Turnip Town more of a say in the valley.”

The floater with the nocturnal majesty of the parade had already passed them. Smaller floaters, beautifully decorated like the previous ones, were slowly gliding along. Far ahead, a bright opening came into view. Somehow it seemed to be getting higher and higher.

“Are we going deeper?”

“The passage basically consists of three parts. First, it slowly descents, then there is a short steep part, and finally there is a long tunnel with very little decline into the city. Normally no one walks down here. There is the tube train. It’s much more comfortable, and it has an elevator at the beginning, so you don’t really notice the differences in elevation. The parade will probably stop just before the drop. They have to maneuver each floater individually through that part.”

They walked on, discussing what they would do and see. Cara was glad now that she had accepted the invitation. It was really good to get her mind off the serious things.

Since most of the floaters had reached the steep part and were getting ready to pass, the whole procession had slowed down considerably. So Alpha, Beta and Cara once again passed the large party stage of this festival’s crowned leader. The floater had begun to move again. With a sideways glance, Cara suddenly realized that something was wrong. What could have taken only a few minutes in real time was now unfolding like a stop-motion drama right in front of her. As the floater changed the degree of descent, there was a sickly, strange sound, like the breaking of a giant’s bones. Then the backing of the platform on which Rocko Ourbeck’s chair was mounted collapsed. The chair fell over and down behind the set. The crowd gasped. Some began to scream. A screeching sound followed as the large block that had previously supported the raised stage with the chair instantly began to follow the skip of the underground, closing the gap behind it.

It could have been just a terrible accident, but somehow she knew immediately: this was murder. And whoever wanted Rocko Ourbeck dead had made sure there was no way out. What was left of the young beetroot dandy was now reduced to a woody slice wedged between the large block and the background of the decoration. All around, his juice had splattered, turning the scene into a speckled snapshot of horror.

“… everyone likes him. He is a smart and progressive business beet. But he also treats the other residents of Turnip Town with respect.”

“He lives here? I thought this was basically living quarters for working vegetables and…” Cara glanced sideways at her colleagues and smiled, “…some extravagant fruits.”

All rights reserved. Copyright ‘Salty & Cara’ by Mag M. Schaper 2023-2025

Side Notes:

Needless to say, the stories about Salty and Cara are pure figments of my imagination. No resemblance to any person or place – present or past – is intended. But I am sure you have already figured that out 😉