Master invited another one of his many friends, and a cook named Pomponius came along too. Pomponius proceeded to cook some sea urchins that his master had ordered him to bring to my master's house. He taught me how to cook it:
Take a new earthen pot, a little oil, broth, sweet wine, ground pepper, and set it to heat; when boiling put the urchins in singly. Shake them well, let them stew, and when done sprinkle with pepper and serve.
Pomponius's master gracefully rewarded us with some leftovers for our hard work. I was quite excited for I have never tasted these strange looking creatures of the sea. When Pomponius saw how confused I looked as I tried to figure out how to eat the beasts, he cracked a few wise jokes on me, which became rather annoying after his 8th joke. I now realized exactly how my master's guests must have felt when my master made similar jokes to them regarding exotic food. To my delight, Romanus stuffed one entirely with pepper and encouraged it into Pomponius's bowl. Pomponius could not see me heartily patting Romanus on the back for his vision was obscured with tears as he was half-choking.
A good night overall, I must say.
