After three days of making noodles by hands... I have graduated to making noodles using a machine - I am moving up the professional node :-)
Daddy saw me making the Chinese noodles so labouriously... so I said to him that I wish for a pasta maker for my birthday. He said yes :-) However, I couldn't wait. Today after work, I went shopping and bought one already!!! It was on offer at HW Hjørnet, so if I don't buy it now, it will be more expensive... I justified :-P
Although I have read reviews about how easy it is to use a pasta maker, I was really nervous whether I would be buying a white elephant. This brand called Atlas 150 Macarto has received very good reviews.
After dinner, I went straight to make noodles using this new machine. It was really easy to use, to my great relieft.
For those who wonder how a working mom like me has so much "free time" to indulge in such hobbies.... no, I am no wonderwoman. I bought the dinner pack from my work canteen today, thus I did not have to make dinner. Also Daddy took care of J the whole way after dinner and also put him to bed at bedtime. I reckon that it is good that J has some solid bonding time with Daddy, so I wasn't feeling too guilty about "neglecting" J. I was too busy with my "new" baby - the pasta machine (can't be a perfect mother all the time)!
The pasta machine churned out nice long flowy thin noddles within minutes!!! I am SOOOO happy with my new pasta maker. It allows me to make 9 different thickness of noodles. No guessing that I chose the most thin option (2mm) - that is the characteristics of Chinese noodles.
It also allows two different noodles width. So I made "mee-pok" (flat wide Chinese noodles) today and also "you-mee" (thin round Chinese noodles).
It is also rather easy to clean, just dust it off with a clean brush and a damp cloth. I can clearly recommend it. It is really small and compact too (see the size of it in the picture beside an orange), thus it does not take up precious space in our kitchen. It is available at Amazon.
As I am making noodles using this machine, I think of my mother.... One of the activities that I would like to do with her when she next visits me in Copenhagen is to make noodles together.
I sometimes think about how I could connect with my mother, and wondered whether she felt the same, although we have never verbalised it. Daddy commented once that it must be so difficult for me to communicate with my mother, since our lives are so different, and she would not understand if I try to talk to her about my work, unlike Daddy with his mother. That was what I felt, and when Daddy told me his analysis, I burst into tears... perhaps my mother felt the same.
I asked and prayed to God to teach me to connect with my mother - that is my longing, as I wanted so much to spend time with her. My beloved mother and me... from two different generations. She does not have much education, while I am English-educated. She doesn't know much about life outside of the kitchen, a very simple lady, while I work in an office. I wanted to tell her so much about my life... but don't know how to start and where to begin... How could we enter each other's life, like never before... like when I was a child in the kindergarten telling her all about the daily happening... I really miss those times. I have never expressed my emotions to my mother. But I really did cry out to God.
One of the ways that God is sooooo real in my life is that He truly answers prayers, and that He knows my heart and is there to help us. He knows that I care for my mother, though I don't know what to do or say. In His still small voice, God whispered to me this evening, "Elaine, you can make noodles together with your mother. You can reach her at her level. In this way, you can show love to her in a way that she could understand". I thank God for giving me such ideas, each time I reach to Him in prayers. I know truly that everytime when I am able to think creatively, it is not my own talents, but the wisdom of God given graciously to me during my time of need. When I am weak, I am strong... in God, that is.
I truly thank God for such simple joys that I get to enjoy... such as making noodles. Whenever I am sad at work... I think of such simple blessings God has given me.
When we grow old, times would have changed, and technology would have changed too. I wonder what J would do to reach out to us his old parents. But I do know that God will solve that too. Just as I reach out to my mother, J would be able to reach out to us.
Perhaps you are like me with similar family background in Singapore. Have you ever thought of how to really spend quality time and connect with your aged mother? One of the ways is to prepare the Chinese reunion dinner together with your mother. Living overseas, I don't have such opportunities... at least not every year. But you may have. Treasure it. It is sooo precious.
I also learned another thing when making noodles using this pasta machine this evening. The Chinese invented the noodles making skills, but it is the Italians who have the best machines available today. As iron sharpens iron, each contributes to civilization. We are all contributing one after another building block to continue building and developing the world cilization. In my own little way, I am contributing to the DIY skills development in my family. I would not be able to indulge in my noodle-making hobby today without the Italians, with much thanks to them.
No comments:
Post a Comment