14
With only one month left before classes are over, I’ve managed to keep from disciplining Jaden. He tried to get my attention in nearly every class, but at the same time, I noticed Candace’s growing interest in him. She asked me halfway through the year if she could change cooking partners as she and Samantha had not been seeing eye to eye on their dishes. I’d assigned them to make together several times. I granted her request and when I entered class that next morning, Candace was seated next to Jaden.
As I walked to my desk, I avoided eye contact with him and sat in my chair. The tension during class held thick in the air. That was the first cooking session all year in which he didn’t ask me for one-on-one help. I was relieved when class ended, and hoped this meant he was moving on as I had done.
For today’s assignment, I’m having my students make lasagna. They learned how to make pasta a few months ago. What a messy and fun day that was! I don’t think any one of my students left class without flour somewhere on them. Now it’s time to test them and see how well they retain this skill. I’m looking forward to their creations. Each team will draw a recipe from the box I made for class. One is a standard Italian lasagna, one is all vegetables, another has chicken with a garlic white sauce, one is cheese only, and lastly, a seafood lasagna.
I chose this dish for my class mainly because I love lasagna. I’ve made it so many ways and now I want to taste my student’s versions of my favorite pasta dish. There’s also a lot of prepping involved, and it’s time consuming. I want to observe each student individually, and how they work together as a team. Especially Jaden. He has a huge goal set or his life and he’ll need to be able to work with others seamlessly.
Just as my watch buzzes, my students begin filing into the classroom. All but Jaden and Candace are on time when I stand to begin.
“Good morning, everyone,” I say, then turn when the door swings open.
Candace enters first, smiling wide as she meets my gaze. “Morning, Miss Turner. Sorry we’re late.” She continues toward the table she shares with Jaden.
“Yeah, sorry,” Jaden practically whispers as he passes in front of me. He manages to graze my hand with his. I quickly slip my hand into my pocket. Taking his seat, he drops his backpack on the floor, then clasps his hands on the table.
“Alright. Now that everyone is finally here, let’s go to the back and get ready to begin.” I lead my students to the prep tables.
Leaning against the counter with the box for them to pick from in my hands, I say, “Inside this box are five recipes. I need one person from each team to come here and draw out a card.” Before I can move to the center of the prep stations, Jaden stands before me. He’s much too close, so I scoot to my right and hold out the box for him.
He slides his hand into the box and brings out a card. Holding it up and looking at Candace, he says, “Italian lasagna. We get to make pasta again, right?” He moves closer to me.
“Yes. You and Candace will make the class a true Italian lasagna. I hope you’re both up to this task.” I step toward the center of the space and nod toward Samantha to come and choose a card.
She smiles and picks the card with the vegetable lasagna on it. Waving it at Bob, she says, “This should be easy.” Bob nods in agreement.
The other three teams receive their lasagna recipes. I instruct my students to begin. I stand back and observe as they gather the necessary ingredients, tools, and the pasta machine they’ll need to make fresh pasta.
The chatter between the partners fills the room as one from each team begins to combine the flour and salt into a bowl, followed by eggs in a deep well they created in the middle of the flour ball. After the flour and eggs are mixed well, my students switch places. Those who watched the first step now begin the second step of kneading the dough by gently folding it on itself, flattening, then folding it again.
Once the kneading is done, the dough must rest for thirty minutes, covered with plastic wrap. While this takes place, each team works on their sauces.
I walk around the tables, stopping at each one, making notes on my iPad, and checking their progress. When I arrive at Jaden and Candace’s station, she has her back to me, chopping away on the garlic bulbs.
I tilt my head up and meet Jaden’s blue eyes. His sweet smile fills his face, warming my heart. His eyes scan around the room, then come back to mine as he winks and kisses the air. I close my eyes and shake my head slowly.
Candace comes to his side. She wipes her hands down her apron and says, “Hey, Miss Turner. I can’t wait for you to taste our lasagna. Right J?” She wraps her hands around his biceps, tilting her head up, she smiles sweetly at Jaden.
He pats her hands as he stares at me.
I swallow hard when she calls him J. My heart clenches tight, my stomach hardens, I bite down hard and turn my gaze away from Jaden’s for a second. Collecting myself, I draw in a deep breath, then let it out slowly.
I turn back to Candace and say, “I’m looking forward to it, Candace. I should check on Samantha and Bob. You two look like you’ve got things under control. Good Job.” I step away from their station and head toward Bob and Samantha’s. I need to put space between Jaden, Candace, and me.
Each team has all their ingredients ready to go when the thirty minutes have ended. They unwrap the ball of dough and begin to divide it with a spatula. The women go first by taking a piece of dough and flattening it into a thick disk between their hands, then feeding it through the pasta roller. Each team finishes making the long lasagna ribbons. Carefully they slip them into the boiling water, keeping a close eye on the pot.
The hardest part of this dish is making sure the cooked pasta ribbons don’t tear when lifting them from the hot water. It’s time consuming, but they all manage to place the first layer in the long rectangle baking pans, then the meats, cheeses, and vegetables, whatever their recipes call for. Since there isn’t enough time during class to bake these delicious dishes, I have them place their lasagnas in the large refrigerator until their next class.