Topic: Dailies

Education

by

Leo Crocker Rogers

The quotes of the first two paragraphs below are not mine.

"A mind map is a diagram that starts with a central thought, word, or idea, then cognitively connects other concepts to that idea without the constraints of a linear path. The concept of "mind mapping" has been around for decades (see: thought web, semantic network, concept map, cognitive diagram, etc.), but with recent advances in technology, mind maps have become more easily used and shared in the virtual classroom.

"Educational institutions are employing mind maps in classes ranging from Web design to writing, engineering and beyond. Educators realize the potential of mind maps to help students effectively brainstorm, plan, organize, prioritize, visualize, gather information, take notes, make decisions, associate ideas, stimulate thought, problem-solve, collaborate, communicate, and even prepare for tests and presentations. With the diverse offering of mind mapping software options available, this innovative educational tool is a natural fit for those using the Internet to teach course content or assess tasks via the Web."

Really? I think I will make spaghetti.

When cooking pasta, if you think your meals are different than those of the Italian restaurant, they probably are. Here may be reasons why :

1. Use a larger than you think you need pot. This allows the pasta to cook evenly, not touching each other – the starch is equally removed from each strand and each strand expands to its full size.

2. Add salt. The pasta has no flavor. You want it to have flavor just like potato chips. Add salt.

3. Do not add olive oil to water. This makes the pasta slippery and the sauce will slid off. Too, the pasta will slide off the plate. Don't use. The reason people use the oil is to stop the pasta from sticking to itself when cooking. Right. Use a larger boiling pot. Bad first round choices make for even worse corrections. Use large pot.

4. Save a cup of the boiling water. Use this, with the starch in it to thin your sauce. You want the sauce to join with the pasta. Starch thinning is bolstering. Water is not. The sauce wants to be all it can be, not watered down paint.

5. Do not rinse the pasta. Drain it. If you rinse, the starch leaves and again, the point of the pasta is to be full bodied and to advance the adhesion of the sauce to the pasta. The combination of the sauce and the pasta is to be a substantial meal, not a slippery, no-salt, no-starch non-Italian meal.

Humanly, I may not be always right, but spiritually, I am never wrong.