[ It occurred to me you are in a later time zone than I am if you are UK... I might not be done until further into Thursday than I originally intended]
"You, do know it's Mrs. Hudson's birthday today, yes?"
"Mmm," came the response from behind a jumble of test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks in the kitchen.
"I thought not. Well, since there's no chance of making one with the kitchen is this state, I'll go grab one on the way home. Be nice to do something for her."
"Nonsense. I'll bake her one. She would appreciate something made by hand far more."
"You. Will bake a cake?"
"Was I unclear? Yes, John. I, Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective, will bake a birthday cake for our long-suffering landlady and non-housekeeper (though the lack of dust on my bookshelf most certainly would suggest otherwise), Mrs. Hudson."
"She will want to actually eat it, you realize. You know how to bake?"
Sherlock held up one flask. "This is luminol, or rather, it will be shortly...a chemical which you have, no doubt, seen at crime scenes where traces of blood might otherwise be undetectable. It can even, theoretically, detect blood on washed clothing. One major drawback is it will also create its characteristic blue glow when it makes contact with copper, and, unfortunately, bleach. So, if the criminal cleaned up after himself, or an overly enthusiastic housekeeper cleaned up for him, with bleach product, the whole room would react, and this particular chemical would be rendered useless. I am endeavoring to make it less reactive to that particular agent. One of luminol's chief ingredients is Na2CO3, sodium carbonate, better known as baking powder, close in composition to lye, and particularly good for pretzels, and known as jian when making especially slippery Chinese noodles. Replace a sodium with a hydrogen and you've got baking soda. These chemicals make cake rise because the heat of the oven decomposes the molecule to create sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide and water vapor. It's the carbon dioxide gas which makes the tiny bubbles that, in turn, make your cake fluffy and light. As opposed to a variation of a death frisbee. See. Chemistry!"
John stared for a moment, unsure how to react. "Measuring cups are in the bottom drawer to the left of the sink. Have at it. Don't blow anything up."
"Mmm." Sherlock returned to his solution of almost-luminol.
FILL: 1/? Many Happy Returns To Tesco
"You, do know it's Mrs. Hudson's birthday today, yes?"
"Mmm," came the response from behind a jumble of test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks in the kitchen.
"I thought not. Well, since there's no chance of making one with the kitchen is this state, I'll go grab one on the way home. Be nice to do something for her."
"Nonsense. I'll bake her one. She would appreciate something made by hand far more."
"You. Will bake a cake?"
"Was I unclear? Yes, John. I, Sherlock Holmes, the world's only consulting detective, will bake a birthday cake for our long-suffering landlady and non-housekeeper (though the lack of dust on my bookshelf most certainly would suggest otherwise), Mrs. Hudson."
"She will want to actually eat it, you realize. You know how to bake?"
Sherlock held up one flask. "This is luminol, or rather, it will be shortly...a chemical which you have, no doubt, seen at crime scenes where traces of blood might otherwise be undetectable. It can even, theoretically, detect blood on washed clothing. One major drawback is it will also create its characteristic blue glow when it makes contact with copper, and, unfortunately, bleach. So, if the criminal cleaned up after himself, or an overly enthusiastic housekeeper cleaned up for him, with bleach product, the whole room would react, and this particular chemical would be rendered useless. I am endeavoring to make it less reactive to that particular agent. One of luminol's chief ingredients is Na2CO3, sodium carbonate, better known as baking powder, close in composition to lye, and particularly good for pretzels, and known as jian when making especially slippery Chinese noodles. Replace a sodium with a hydrogen and you've got baking soda. These chemicals make cake rise because the heat of the oven decomposes the molecule to create sodium carbonate, carbon dioxide and water vapor. It's the carbon dioxide gas which makes the tiny bubbles that, in turn, make your cake fluffy and light. As opposed to a variation of a death frisbee. See. Chemistry!"
John stared for a moment, unsure how to react. "Measuring cups are in the bottom drawer to the left of the sink. Have at it. Don't blow anything up."
"Mmm." Sherlock returned to his solution of almost-luminol.