Kitchen hacks
Learn English by audiobook or video with Cullen at eattmag.com
Release Date: 08/24/2022
Learn English by audiobook or video with Cullen at eattmag.com
Something like a rope passed him again. It was not tied to anything. It was floating. It moved slowly, back and forward, like seaweed. Pablo watched it for a moment. It did not feel dangerous. He reached out and pushed the rope away from his body. He pushed it to the side so he could start to go up. His breath was running out. His chest felt tight. He needed to go back to the surface. Then he saw more of it. Not all at once. At first, it was only a shape. A grey shape moving in the water. It did not look like a rope anymore. It looked like skin. That was when he understood. It was a shark. He...
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Pablo had only learned to swim recently. He was in his early twenties. It took him a long time. He worked full time. He also had a part-time job. That day, he swam out from the shore and dived down. He wanted to see the rocks he had heard about under the water. He did not know how deep the ocean was there. Even close to land, it could be very deep. He felt like he was about five meters down. He did not look up at the surface. Something touched the back of his leg. It frightened him, but he kept going. The seaweed was large. It felt thick, like kelp. It brushed past the tattoo on his leg. He...
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Perhaps he thought when he got home he could hang his wooden spoons up, although at the moment they were sitting in a great big blue jar—which seemed to be the right place, as then he could just grab them beside the air fryer, you know, that kind of thing, when he was cooking on the run. This was making him hungry now, thinking about all these wooden spoons and the boat made of wooden spoons. He was thinking about dinner. Maybe he could have some nice pasta with some garlic and some black pepper, vegetables, and maybe some olives. He might be able to put some tuna in there too, and he may...
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After his swim, Pablo decided that he was going to sit down and do some writing. And when he sat down, he suddenly remembered that he had a dream the other night about a boat, and the boat was made from wooden spoons. Why would a boat be made of wooden spoons? That was an interesting idea. They must have been all glued together because the boat was bobbing along quite well in the water, and there was a small crew of sailors sitting in the boat having a lively chat. What were they talking about? He wondered. He hadn't remembered that part of the dream. Was the discussion about coming to land or...
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Pablo was suddenly very tired. He was also feeling very thirsty. So he decided to go home and make himself a nice cup of coffee. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day. And though he was feeling hungry, he decided first he needed to get himself a nice drink. Normally, he wouldn't drink coffee after about 2:00 PM as he felt somehow made it more difficult for him to sleep. He was thinking about his favorite coffee cup when he suddenly realized that he had a series of habits that some people might have found a bit strange. The first habit he had was that in the morning first thing he would have a...
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Pablo sat down on the stool in the kitchen and closed his eyes to think back for a moment. He remembered a few weeks ago being in the park near his apartment, sitting on a bench in the sun and noticing a small blackbird. “It can’t be the same one,” he thought. Then he remembered that was the day it rained. He had gone for a walk, turned his phone on silent, and sat on a park bench. One of his teachers had told him years ago that he should improve his skills in observation. So, when it rained, he stayed on the bench with his rain hat and raincoat for a few minutes, observing the...
info_outlinePablo had a busy day and realized he was getting hungry when he was thinking about his pizza.
Um, he thought, what can he make quickly and easily?
Something crisp and crunchy
with some flavor.
He had some eggs in the fridge with a blue colored shell
they were a mix, the women had told him at the market
but he was in a rush and did not have time to ask what they were a mix of.
They always laughed and had a wry sense of humor.
But Pablo knew the shady ladies, as some people had called them, were always looking out for him and spoiled him in one way or another.
And he was sure it was just not because he sometimes took them some extra lemons to sell when he had been given too many.
Thinking of them, he opened the freezer and found a bag of hash browns. He took two out to defrost and then found the last remaining tomato in the fridge.
"That must have cost a pretty penny." he heard one of the ladies say, but it had also been given to him.
So, he just winked at her, and she laughed as he moved on through the market.
Pablo knew many of the stallholders now in the market at the old meat factory.
It smelt like garlic, coriander, and flowers, he had thought to himself that day.
He heated some oil in the pan and gently placed the hash browns in it when the oil was just below smoking hot to get them nice and crisp.
After a few minutes on each side, he placed them on the little hot plate to go into the griller.
Then sliced the tomato into four thick slices and tossed them in the pan for 2 minutes, a minute on each side.
Then added a knob of butter, freshly ground black pepper across the top, and a generous sprinkle of sea salt.
Grated some tasty cheese for melting and sliced some super thin slices of Parmesan the deli guy at the market had given him wrapped in wax paper, with a wink when his wife was not looking.
He heated the grill and placed a large spoon of pesto on top of the hash brown, spreading it slowly along the crunchy top.
Adding the slices of tomato on top, he could smell the greenery of the pesto, then added the thin Parmesan, followed by the grated cheese for melting on top of the stack.
Placing it under the grill for three minutes, he carefully watched as the hash brown crisped around the edges, the cheese melted, running down the sides, and the pesto bubbled away slowly. He felt a gurgle just looking at it.
Sliding them onto the plate, grabbing his tea, and waiting a few seconds for them to cool down, he cut the first one in half and lifted it to his lips, about to take his first bite.
..... then suddenly, there was a knock at the door