Monday, January 18, 2010

Broccoli Alfredo ... a multiple. step. process.

Ok, it's 8:28pm ... and I head to my kitchen with trepidation ... not knowing if my attempt and making Alfredo with Broccoli will turn out successful ...

Last week's attempt to make Basmatti rice in my hot water boiling pot di not end well. It ended with two large tupperware containers full of brown rice, partly mush, partly still crunchy ... that is still in my refrigerator ... untouched.

But i will persevere.

I will fight the good fight.

I will run the race, not giving up. And so all this is said ... and i'm still sitting on my couch, not moving towards the kitchen.

But now i will go!

8:49 pm .... alright, a few more minutes to wait ... and the noodles should be a ... success???!?! could it be? I guess its too early to get excited, but i'm getting excited....

Tweeted a minute ago, "Noodle status: boiling! Still looking good... Results still positive..." I set the timer, so i'm just keeping the ol' fingers crossed.

I think probably one of my biggest downfalls in cooking ... from my observations of myself .... is that i'm not the most patient person in the world... which is not exactly a strongpoint when it comes to cooking...

it takes a lot of patience to be a good cook! Speaking of ... i'm going to head back to the kitchen to watch, and wait ... for the noodles to cook/be done cooking .... ugh the suspense!?

8:54pm 3 minutes and 22 seconds remaining on the timer for the good noodles ...

hmmmmmm. I'm not even really hungry anymore. That pizza i ate earlier must have filled me up more than i thought. That's demotivating when you're cooking. I think i'd be a better cook if i was always hungry when i worked in the kitchen. Then i'd be super energized to make something tasty.... because i was so starved!

8:56pm Just stirred the noodles ... they're getting softer .... hurry up noodles, hurry!

8:57pm ... how do you know when the noodles are finished? the timer clearly is wrong in this case. So many variables in cooking that are out of my control! Maybe that is why i'm not "cookingly" inclined as well ... because i just wait at the mercy of that stovetop and those little shell-shaped noodles ... i heard once that if you throw the noodles against the wall and they stick, they're ready to eat? Does that work for Shells?

9pm ... i just determined tasting the noodles is a more trustworthy approach to checking the shells' 'doneness' than throwing them against the ceiling ... walls, floors and ceilings are too unsanitary for my tastes ... I just ran cold water over the shell and then ate it that way ... but i felt like it was still crunchy-ish ... oh gosh, this is where i get nervous. Do i keep boiling the poor little dears and risk burning or overcooking them? Or do I stop now and just hope they continue to soften? I vote stop now ...

We'll see! The verdict for my shell shaped noodles is definitely still out...

9:03 pm ... alright success! The shell i just tasted was ... perfectly soft and tender! SCORE one for me! Noodles =0. me-1.

Ok ... next step. Cooking has too many steps!
Alfredo sauce. well, that's easy. i bought a jar of it! *grin* I know thats cheating, but baby steps is the goal. I'll tackle that another day.
So, i dump the sauce on. The whole jar? Sure, why not? The more sauce the better in my opinion!

But lastly, the broccoli ... ahhh. I guess i'll steam it. I did this once with Jeff... But he was really good at it, I just watched. Now, i don't remember. I think you just put the broccoli's in the pot with a little water and olive oil, some spices, and then let it soften? Here goes ...

9:44 pm Ok, two phone calls... one from my little brother Alex, the other from Jeff, lots of laughter and several text messages later ... My Alfredo Broccoli or Broccoli Alfredo whichever you prefer ... is done! And delicious!

I just tryed it all together -- the broccoli is not too cooked - its still tough enough that i didn't cook all the vitamins and nutrients out of the vegetables, but soft enough that you can easily bite through. The noodles and veggies are thoroughly covered with sauce, delicious sauce, the noodles are super soft and delish...

This has been an extremely successful evening! IN the kitchen! Unheard of up to this point ... but now no longer ... I feel so much more comfortable in the kitchen just after this one night on my own, trying this "recipe" :)

All i need is confidence in the kitchen, which have a handle on now ... hooray.

mission accomplished.




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