I’m officially half-way into the culinary course and I feel like I have a routine. I didn’t think a month would be enough time to feel settled but I’ve worn all of my clothes at least once and don’t have an urge to buy new things or leave the country just yet.
Class has been a little bit weird lately. I think everyone has gotten to know each other well enough to understand quirks and character traits of one another, like who’s more extroverted and different senses of humor and such. Sub-groups have formed within the main group, and lately my days have been filled with a lot more than just food. There’s love in the villa! A few of my friends have started seeing each other, some others have taken external approaches to date, and it’s funny to watch. I feel like I’m realizing I’m a lot less of an introvert than I thought. I can’t stand being cooped up in my room for more than a couple of hours, and if I’m not speaking out loud I’m overthinking, so being around people and seeing new places and learning new things helps. I wondered why everyone in my class felt this urgency to get to know and be around each other all of the time given that we see each other all day every day during the week, but I’ve found the friendship on 3x speed to be really comforting and exciting. I think it’s a lot easier to be yourself when you know there’s a time limit on the duration of a relationship. I feel less shy here.
On the other hand, everyone I meet reminds me of someone from home. My friend Marina is my older sister — scary and loving and protective. Super smart, basically a mind-reader. Maeve is my friend from college — no bullshit and great banter. Says funny things like “wee” and “keen” and “cheers.” My director of our program is one of my brothers — the one with glasses who is subtly a genius and knows a little bit about everything. There’s this overall sense of impermanence that makes life feel like a game or a blip that I’ll never get again, and while I’m afraid of going home and feeling lost or bored or unfulfilled in some way, I’m looking forward to the normalcy. Some days I take the ferry alone and listen to too much music. I notice it’s been to long since I’ve taken my headphones off when the sound of my won voice surprises me. It happened today when I was catching the last ferry home. An older Goan woman started talking to me in line. She asked if the boat was on its way so I squinted at the water infront of us and saw a blurry something far away. I said it was coming. We talked for 20 minutes. Then the ferry came, and she pointed out that I was wrong the first time. She asked me if I was Russian. I said no. Then the ferry docked, and she held the strap of my backpack as we both got on. She reminded me of my grandma, who I’m worried about.
I think one of the best things about giving myself a break is that it has made me realize it makes me miss not being on one. I’ve also been looking at return flights this weekend which probably hasn’t helped with the subtle homesickness. I listened to Bon Iver this week, if that says anything about where my head is at.
Anyway.
All of the pasta doughs we made were complex and time-consuming, so here’s an old favorite that I think you’ll like. It’s easy and never fails. Cookbook-worthy.
Tofu Dough
½ block firm tofu (7 ounces), drained
1 cup flour, divided
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
In a medium bowl, stir together the tofu, flour, and salt until a crumbly mixture forms. Using your hands, bring the dough together, squeezing it in your palms, to form a ball.
Sprinkle 2 tablespoons flour on the counter or work space and knead the dough until it becomes smooth and bounces back, working in the extra flour on the counter. You can use this to make pan-fried gnocchi or roll it out into thin snakes and boil it for a rough spaghetti. If you have any leftover, form it into balls and roll them out thinly. You can cook these on a pan over medium for quick tofu wraps.
Pesto (A Recipe From Class That I Modified And Would Die For)
1.5 cups fresh basil
handful of parsley or dill
1/4 cup toasted almonds
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsps lemon juice
1/8 tsp coarse salt
pinch of chili flakes
3 tbsps olive oil
1 ice cube
Add almonds. garlic, lemon juice, salt. chili, and olive oil to a blender and mix until crumbly. Then. toss in herbs and an ice cube and pulse until well-combined.
I had leftovers and ate it with vegetables throughout the week. This on tofu dough pasta…I cannot fathom. In a good way.
What things have been like, on video:
To start, here are some clips from family dinner. My friends from Bangalore made pani to fill these massive bags of puri. I made my own once — these were so much better.
Hey Hal! India sounds amazing, nice to hear about all the new and foreign affairs and activities you’re getting into. Hope we get to see these travels on the yt! Also, hope ur gma is okay, u didn’t touch on it much but, i can relate to being worried about your grandparents. I’m just lucky the one gma i have left is still goin strong. Anyway, hope all is well, and safe travels.❤️