The Magical Food God of Hogwarts

Chapter 23 Medicinal Cuisine

Lucas wiped his hands and ran to open the door. Professor Sprout was standing in the doorway; she was wearing a travel cloak today, but still had that pointed hat on her head.

"Good morning, Lucas," she said cheerfully. "Ready? Oh... your eyes are a little red, didn't you sleep well?"

"Good morning, Professor." Lucas stepped aside. "I'm so excited about going to Diagon Alley today. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Professor Sprout smiled and shook his head: "No, we need to hurry. Shall we leave now?"

Before she could finish speaking, she suddenly sniffed lightly, her eyes lighting up: "Merlin's beard, what's that smell? Herbal and complex nutty aroma... Are you brewing medicine? But why does it have such a peculiar scent..."

"No, Professor," Lucas said, "I'm making a simple medicinal soup, Angelica, Longan, Red Date, Lotus Seed, and Tremella Soup."

The long, unfamiliar string of names made Professor Sprout raise her eyebrows, and she simply asked for the first word she didn't understand.

"Uh, what is 'angelica'?"

Lucas smiled: "It's a Muggle herb from the East, with effects such as nourishing blood and qi, and moisturizing the intestines. Come, Professor, if you're interested, take a look."

Professor Sprout followed Lucas to the back of the house, where there was a small, meticulously tended garden enclosed by a low stone wall, which looked out of place with the vast, rugged farmland outside.

Professor Sprout's eyes lit up immediately.

Neat rows of mud mounds and distinct nursery plots are filled with a variety of plants growing lushly. Professor Sprout recognized some of them at a glance, such as mint, rosemary, and thyme. In the more moist soil in the corners, tall and dense nettles are also growing, while a large patch of marigolds is burning brightly in the central flower bed.

But there were some... she examined them closely.

One patch of plants was hidden in the shade near the stone wall. It spread out large, pinnate compound leaves and bloomed with long, umbel-shaped white flowers, emitting a unique, rich aroma similar to celery. Another nursery was filled with broad, heart-shaped leaves and thick petioles as red as fresh blood.

As a herbalist with knowledge of all magical and non-magical plants, Professor Sprout was certain he had seen these plants in an atlas somewhere, but he needed to think carefully to make sure they were not native to Britain.

That's right, I remember now, these are Muggle herbs from the Far East!

Lucas pointed to the plants with blooming white flowers: "Professor, this is angelica. Its roots and stems are harvested, processed, and used in medicine. Muggles in the East love to use it to make medicinal dishes, such as angelica and ginger stewed mutton, angelica and astragalus chicken soup, and so on."

His finger traced the entire garden: "Actually, these are all medicinal herbs."

Professor Sprout's gaze fell on the wooden shelf next to the marigolds, where some thick, velvety fresh petals were drying. She took a deep breath, inhaling the mingled herbal scents in the air.

Indeed, all the plants in this garden can be considered herbs, even the fragrant herbs, which have medicinal value.

Professor Sprout's eyes widened in surprise: "Lucas, did you grow all of these?"

Lucas nodded: "Grandpa isn't interested in these things; I'm the one who trained them."

He then pointed to a sage plant that looked wilted: "It's a bit dehydrated from the sun, I'll transplant it to a shady spot tonight."

"Merlin!" Professor Sprout exclaimed, his eyes shining with delight.

Lucas's judgment was absolutely correct; he was extremely knowledgeable about plants. And at only eleven years old, he could manage this entire herb garden—even though these were just Muggle herbs—proving he had a remarkable talent for herbalism!

I dare say that even third or fourth-year students at Hogwarts couldn't do that!

Lucas McGregor...

Professor Sprout adjusted his pointed hat and looked at Lucas with fervent and loving eyes.

You can become an excellent herbalist in the future!

Back in the kitchen, the strange, sweet aroma wafting from the pot returned, and recalling Lucas's repeated mentions of "medicinal cuisine," Professor Sprout couldn't help but exclaim, "So this is medicinal cuisine! Cooking ingredients with herbs. I've only ever read about it in books. It's a Muggle method from the East—how imaginative! I've never seen anything like it before… Wait a minute!"

She suddenly realized: "Could it be that all the medicinal herbs you planted in that garden were for making medicinal cuisine?"

"Yes, Professor," Lucas smiled, "to me, they are not only medicine, but also food."

He straightened his chest, his eyes gleaming: "Have you forgotten? I am a cook, a cook who is about to become a wizard."

"Would you like to try a bowl after it's cooked?"

"What an incredible idea! How did these Muggles come up with that?" Professor Sprout murmured, then laughed. "I'd love to try it, but time is limited. We have to get going now. Where's your grandfather?"

Lucas then realized that Finley seemed to be deliberately avoiding him and was no longer on the farm. He turned the fire down to almost nothing, leaving only a tiny flame for the soup to simmer slowly. Then he left a note for his grandfather on the table and followed Professor Sprout out of the house.

"Professor, where is Diagon Alley? How do we get there?"

“For young wizards from Muggle families, we usually travel in the Muggle way,” Professor Sprout winked at Lucas, “like by train or bus, which helps them adapt better. But this place is too far from London; it takes several days to get there. Perhaps we should try a magical way of traveling.”

"Another Apparition?" Lucas prepared himself.

"No, I need to teach you how to get into Diagon Alley from the Muggle world. So this time, we'll use Floo Powder." Professor Sprout pulled out a yellowed map and checked the directions. "I checked, there's a fireplace nearby that connects to the Floo Network, and the Ministry of Magic forgot to abandon it."

Although it was said to be nearby, the two actually walked for more than half an hour. Along the way, Lucas took the opportunity to continue learning about the magical world and Hogwarts, and Professor Sprout answered all his questions.

As they chatted, the conversation turned to Lucas's biggest concern: the food in the magical world.

"Professor, you seemed a little surprised by my simple medicinal dish earlier. Doesn't the magical world have similar practices? For example, using magical herbs as ingredients in cooking?"

Professor Sprout shook his head: "Unfortunately, we don't do that. Herbs in the magical world are used to make potions, not food."

Lucas was very surprised: "Why not?"

Professor Sprout was even more astonished: "Why would it work? Those are magical herbs with complex magical effects and toxicological reactions! I've studied herbalism my whole life, and I've never heard of any herb that can be put in bread to make a sandwich..."

Does it possess complex magical effects and toxicological reactions? Is it because no one has studied it, or have all the studies failed?