Pesto and Baklava

This was a story I wrote a few years back as part of an assignment where we created our own myth. It's all about food. (note: Candpes is pronounced canned peas).

Pesto and Baklava were the twin children of the god of spices, Basil, and the goddess of sweets, Cacao. Pesto, the male twin, was renowned for his strength and exceptional sense of smell. He generally wore off-white tunics flecked with spots of green and carried a large knife, or sometimes a sword. Baklava was the female twin and was well known for her sweet, loving demeanor. Baklava wore many layers of clothing and often smelled of honey as she constantly was attending to beehives. Pesto and Baklava both were known for their astounding cooking ability and their extravagant adventures to find new ingredients.

The best-known adventure of Pesto and Baklava was their quest for the goat of Feta, known for the marvelous cheeses made from its milk. Pesto and Baklava wished to retrieve this goat as a gift for their cousin Spanikopita's birthday. However, this was no simple task. The goat was atop a distant mountain guarded by a dragon known as Broilur. The route to this mountain was also treacherous; Pesto and Baklava would have to fight the dreaded Candpes, a horrible, slimy, green monster and cross the river Ouzo, which constantly gave off intoxicating fumes. Early one spring morning, Pesto and Baklava set out for Feta, with Pesto clad in armor forged for his father by Hephaestus, and Baklava with a bow and arrow given to Cacao by Spanikopita's mother in their youth. Well prepared and well defended, their first challenge was to cross the river Ouzo. The intoxicatingly sweet fumes given off by the river were well known to entice men and women into jumping in; however, the river flowed so quickly that they were carried away instantly, never to be seen again. Pesto, knowing Baklava's love for all things sweet, warned her only to take shallow breaths and to hold each breath as long as possible. Baklava gladly accepted her brother's advice, and both twins inhaled as few of the fumes as possible. However, Baklava began taking deep breaths again before they were far enough from the river and would have jumped in had it not been for Pesto's quick thinking. He brought out honey Baklava had collected from the best beehive in all of Greece, and slowly drew her away from the river.

Pesto and Baklava, having passed the first challenge, set out again towards Feta, and every day grew closer to the dreaded Candpes. The Candpes, a disgusting, slimy, green blob instantly recovered from any blow dealt to it and so far, the dreaded monster had thwarted every adventurer seeking the goat of Feta. Pesto and Baklava, however, had formulated a brilliant plan; Pesto would attack the monster head on, and before the Candpes could recover, Baklava would shoot it from afar. However, when Pesto grew near the monster, the awful smell overcame him. Fortunately, he recovered quickly from this initial shock and quickly set their plan into action, allowing a speedy defeat of the Candpes. Shortly thereafter, Pesto and Baklava discovered the monster's treasure hoard, and were overjoyed to find large amounts of unknown spices. Pesto and Baklava each took enough treasure to supply the rest of their journey and left the remainder for later adventurers.

The final challenge Pesto and Baklava faced was the dragon Broilur. This dragon's fire was hotter than any other and was said to be able to melt any normal armor or weapon. Basil had foreseen this problem before Pesto and Baklava's departure, and asked Hephaestus to forge fireproof armor for him. The armor he gave to Pesto was just this armor, and Pesto had found a sword blackened by soot but not incinerated near the dragon's lair. Pesto and Baklava again devised a brilliant plan; Baklava would search for weak points from afar and send arrows to these points on the dragon to indicate where Pesto should attack. With Pesto's fireproof armor and sword and their ingenious strategy, Broilur was quickly defeated. Pesto and Baklava quickly retrieved the goat of Feta and returned home.

Pesto and Baklava arrived home a mere week before their cousin's birthday. They used this week to create fabulous new dishes using the spices they had found int he lair of Candpes. Pesto created a pasta dish with a strong herb he named basil in honor of his father, and Baklava created a dessert sweetened with honey and flavored with a spice she named cinnamon in honor of her best friend. Every guest at the banquet for Spanikopita adored the dishes, but Pesto and Baklava had neglected to name their creations. Eventually, the dishes became known as pesto and baklava in honor of their creators.