Pedagogy in the Kitchen

For twelve days now my left hand has been out of commission. Although I’ve graduated from a cast to a splint, I still can’t do any cooking. Dennis, who enjoys good food, has been a willing but inexperienced cook. He asks that I perch on a kitchen stool to guide him. He often became frustrated by my instructions, which I was giving piecemeal, one step at a time.

Yesterday it finally dawned on me that  my approach to cooking lessons was wrong. Instead of giving one step at a time, I should review the entire process before he starts cooking. Then he will know the order of steps, ingredients, and techniques.

I had been hungry for fresh chopped tomatoes in pasta and had worked out in my mind how to make such a dish, so I put the new teaching method to the test. I described the process and then we reviewed the whole thing again.

It went off without a hitch or a moment's frustration.

Summer’s End Pasta

Peel and dice 6 garden ripened Roma tomatoes.

Peel and mince 2 cloves garlic.

Place the tomatoes and garlic in a non-reactive bowl and add at least ¼ cup of first-cold-pressed olive oil. Stir and leave to marinate. If we had used salt a1nd pepper we would have added those ingredients to the marinade.

Dennis likes Italian sausage, so we cut 2 sweet Italian sausage links into bite size slices and put them into a skillet on medium-low heat. (The sausage really isn’t necessary. Leave it out if you prefer.)

Next, the pasta. Put on a pot of salted water to boil. Measure 1 ½ cups whole wheat penne and add it to the boiling water. When the water returns to the boil, set a timer for 10-14 minutes, depending on how soft you want the pasta to be. During this process, remember to stir the sausages occasionally. When the sausage bits are browned, put them in a paper towel bowl to drain.

When the pasta is done, drain the water and immediately pour the pasta into the marinating tomatoes. Add the sausages and stir everything together. 

Next, snip fresh basil leaves over the pasta mix, sprinkle on some parmesan cheese. Toss everything together. Add more basil or parmesan to adjust the balance.

It’s a pretty dish and tastes divine. The cooking lesson was a success and we’re going to use this method of instruction again. Dennis seems excited about becoming a good cook.

 There's a bowl of leftovers, too.

Copyright 2014 by Shirley Domer