The woman gave her a nod as Italy’s kitchen lit up and floated into the arena.
“Here comes Giuseppe Gasparini,” declared the announcer. “Will his torta setteveli be enough to win the grand prize? Let’s find out!”
Sylvie nudged Georgia and Flora. “I think I know how to get LeGrande’s attention and press pause on Josephine’s plan.”
Georgia raised a brow. “You do?”
“Yes.” Sylvie fished the cookbook out of her backpack and pointed toward the empty staircase. “Follow me.”
“You’re not thinking of cooking up another forbidden spell?” asked Georgia.
“No … just a peculiar one,” said Sylvie, ducking under elbows and stepping over feet.
“How?” asked Flora. “We don’t have any ingredients.”
Sylvie sat down on the staircase and started flicking through the book. Her mother’s voice echoed in her head:Cooking is an art that requires creativity, skill, and time to be perfected. You can still make good food without all three, but you’ll never create a masterpiece.
Sylvie just hoped she didn’t need a masterpiece …just something good enough to delay the competition and get LeGrande’s attention.
Georgia peered over her shoulder and pointed to a strawberry buckle. “This one says it’sperfectfor body-binding spells.”
Sylvie flicked past it. “It takes nearly an hour to bake. Plus, Josephine would have to eat it. We need something quick … something we can use indirectly.”
“What about an arctic roll?” Flora suggested. “We could release a blizzard, freeze everything in the arena.”
“Including us,” said Sylvie. “No thank you.”
Sylvie flicked ahead and stopped. “This is what we need.”
Flora and Georgia peered down at the recipe:Simple No-Bake Dragon Treats.
“Please tell me your plan doesn’t include dousing us in BBQ sauce and sticking us on a platter,” said Georgia.
“No,” said Sylvie. “I want to use this recipe to lure Zotter’s dragon out of its cwtch. Then LeGrande will be forced to pause the competition.”
“How hard is it to make?” asked Georgia.
“That’s the best part. It’s easy.” Sylvie pointed to the instructions.
Simply stir together one-part peanut butter, two packets untamed honey, and a dash of Miliard’s Milk Powder. Roll into balls. They’re so delicious, no dragon will be able to resist.
“It’s risky,” said Flora. “But this could actually work.”
“But where do we find the ingredients?” asked Georgia.
Sylvie dug around in her backpack. Buried next to a misshapen stick of chewing gum was the paper sack from Julia. She pulled it out. “I’ve got the honey and peanut butter. For the milk powder, we’ll have to improvise.”
“Improvise a spell?” Georgia asked inquisitively.
Sylvie nodded. “As the great Julia Child once said, ‘in cooking you’ve got to have a what-the-heck attitude.’”
How Many Treats Can a Dragon Eat?
SYLVIE LOOKED AROUND, TRYING TO COME UP WITH SOMETHINGto use in place of the milk powder. All she had were some crumbs from a granola bar and an old stick of chewing gum.
Georgia pointed to a cup resting on a nearby waste bin. “Maybe it still has some soda inside … might work in a pinch.”
Sylvie shook her head. “A splash of backwash? No thanks! There’s gotta be something better.”
