ELA Food Memoir

Karen Zhou #32 6.2

ELA- Food Memoir Final

6/8/16

 
Cooking isn’t always easy or fun. It usually depends on the kind of food you’re making. I’ve only cooked something by myself once. I had permission to cook pasta by myself, and pasta seemed easy enough to cook.

        That time was my first time cooking in the kitchen by myself. I was actually excited to cook on my own. I glanced around the brightly lit kitchen, and I spotted a black and white colored clock against the white painted walls. It read 5:45. I had decided to use the clock to keep track of time, although timers would’ve been more useful in that situation.

        I looked at the stove. A silver pot rested on the stove. I picked it up. I walked over the white tiles of the kitchen to the sink and rinsed the pot. Then, I filled the pot (a little less than halfway) with water that was almost as cold as the water from a melted ice cube. After turning the faucet off, the pot (about halfway filled with water) became heavier, and I had to use both of my hands to carry the pot back to the stove. Then, I turned the heat on and watched as a small fire came alive. I placed the lid on the pot so I could leave the cold water to boil. The time was 5:55. In about 8 minutes, I would check on the pot to see if the water had boiled. I strode out of the kitchen and went to the living room to wait. The living room was also brightly lit and a few green plants were lined up near the windows. There was also a digital clock resting near the TV. I took a book off of a small table and sat on a chair to read.

        It was hard to concentrate on reading the book, because in every minute or two, I would check the time to see how much time has passed, and how much waiting time I had left. Eventually, I had trudged back to the kitchen and stayed there until I saw some bubbles forming and floating to the surface of the water. Finally! 10 minutes have gone since I left the kitchen to wait. Soon enough, I figured that cooking pasta wasn’t as exciting as it had seemed in the first place. It was easy, though. I added a pinch of salt (which was optional, but I decided to try it out) and added about half of the box of yellow colored pasta to the salt and water mixture. I stirred the pasta around, watching the solid pieces float around in the water. I put the lid on the pot. After that, I would leave the pasta sitting in the boiling, hot water for about 12 minutes.

        Once again, I walked back to the living room. I decided to use the timer this time, so I could finally read my book in peace. I had set the timer to 12 minutes and started reading. I read and I was reading the last chapter of the book. I didn’t hear the timer at all. I finished the book and looked at the time. 14 minutes had passed! I rushed back to the kitchen and lifted the lid off the pot. Ouch! I almost dropped the lid as I set it aside. I forgot how hot the lid would be.

My fingers were burning, and I washed my hands with cold water. I went back to the stove, turned the heat off, and peered into the pot. I hope the pasta is not overcooked I thought to myself. I drained the hot water from the pot and put the pot aside. Then, I grabbed a small plate and a spoon, and I took a few pieces of pasta out of the pot. Then, I waited for it to cool down. Eventually, I tried it and it had the perfect texture. It wasn’t too hard or soggy. It was bland, too. That reminded me of something. I had to add flavor to the pasta! While I pondered over what I should add to the pasta, my mouth started watering at the very thought of trying the pasta. Mmmmm. I started adding cheese into the plain pasta, and soon, the cheese melted like ice cream would on a hot summer day.

I stirred the combination together, and I piled the pasta on my plate. I could finally eat one of my favorite foods (except this time, I had cooked it). All I could taste was the cheese, and I thought the pasta would’ve been better with sauce. But that was the first time I’d ever cooked something by myself before. Cooking is like an experiment though, right?

Recipe

Ingredients

Pasta (the number of boxes you need depend on how much pasta you want to make)

Salt (optional)

Other ingredients like sauce, cheese, etc. (also optional)

Materials

A Pot and a Lid

Something to stir with

Plates

Kitchen Utensils

A Stove

Instructions

1: Fill a pot with cold water. (If you want to speed up the process, use warmer water.)

2: Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat on.

3: Wait until the water boils. (The time usually depends on your stove. Usually starts to boil at around 8-10 minutes.)

4(optional): After the water boils, add some salt.

5: Pour in as much pasta as you want.

6: Wait for the pasta to soften.

7: When the pasta is ready, drain the water from the pot.

8: Add any other ingredients you want.

9: You can start to eat your pasta!