I tried a new dish the other day, I took fresh cherries tomatoes, fresh basil, parmesan, some onion and garlic and seasonings. I put all of this in a pot with some chicken and stock and let it simmer. When it was almost done I added some pasta, but not the long noodles. It came out so beautifully. The flavors reminded me of spaghetti, but it had chicken instead of meatballs. It was amazing, and I made everything in one pot! I will most definitely be making more of these types of dishes in the future, not only are the flavors allowed to marry, but they make it so amazingly easy to make a quick dinner with a little amount of fuss!
Speaking of fuss, midterms are coming up this week and honestly there is only one class that I have a real midterm in, but it is certainly a killer. My introduction to baking and pastry class has a new instructor and I believe that she is trying to prove herself to the other instructors and the administration. The only problem is she gives the class a LOT of busy work that frankly, most of us don’t have time to finish. There are vocabulary words, journals, recipe cards, and something she calls NTR cards. The NTR cards are a great idea and I totally support the idea and will be following through with this idea later in my career, and I can understand the need to start them now, but honestly those on top of everything else is very stressful. I just can’t find the time with all of the other classes that require homework as well as the other things that require my attention with Husband being deployed and Daughter needing my time. Some of the stress will be alleviated soon though as Daughter goes back to school, but will start right back up again next quarter as I will have to be in class five days a week. This is going to be so tiring but it is the last leg of my culinary school journey, so I am extremely excited. I may go back to finish my bachelors, but not for a little while. I want to work in a kitchen for a while first.
Now for emotions… There is something that I have been keeping close to my heart and I suddenly feel the need to get it off my chest. My counselor told me that I should write about it so here I am. I’m sorry that I’m doing it in such a public way, but this is where I can write without fear of backlash, mostly because no one knows who I am, and I could care less what strangers think of me, so here it goes…
The strongest woman I have ever known, the one who showed me what it was to be strong for one’s family, my Gramma, is dying. As I write this I know that it could possibly be only hours until she has flown from this world to be with her Daddy. I have started to think of time lost and stories I’ve never heard. Foods that I have never made for her, or recipes we’ve never discussed. I’m happy to remember the times that we sat and talked about her adventures across the country with her Daddy and the adventures that she had with cooking and family. I go through her recipes and wonder when or why she would have made this or that and I cry, realizing that she won’t be around when I make them, telling me what I could have done right or wrong to make them better, or giving me her cooking secrets, ways she cut corners just a little to stretch her ingredients so that there would be enough for everyone. She will soon be on her way to her next adventure, but she will be sorely missed by those of us still learning in this one. I love you Gramma, you are already missed. May your adventures continue in another time and place. Thank you for being a part of my life, and reminding me that life is more short than long, and that I should take every chance I get to spend time with my Daughter and teach her all I can.
NO ONE WHO COOKS, COOKS ALONE. EVEN AT HER MOST SOLITARY, A COOK IN THE KITCHEN IS SURROUNDED BY GENERATIONS OF COOKS PAST, AND ADVICE AND MENUS OF COOKS PRESENT
—Laurie Colwin
Culinary Chick at Play 