Work It, Dad!
with Avi Spivack
Hi, I'm Avi, and I try to put the work and the dad together, with mild success. This is all about trying to give you a view from what it looks like on the dad-man's side of the world, and I hope you find my ruminations humorous because I try not to take myself too seriously.
And here I was thinking I was all “helpful” and all that.
Silly me.
Okay, show of hands: how many of you out there know that 2 cups of *cooked* pasta differs from the volume created by 2 cups of *dry* pasta? All of you?
Well, then say hello to your favorite blogging DOLT. For any of my readers who thought I was actually “helpful” - you can stop nagging your hubbies to do more. I may have tooted my own horn a little too much. Here’s what transpired earlier this week…
The scene: Wife working, my job-work theoretically done for the day, child in bed.
Wife: “Can you please make pasta for the tomato soup I’m making and add a little extra for her to take for lunch tomorrow? I’ll be down in a bit.”
Me: “Sure, no problemo.”
I find the recipe all by myself. I open to the page of the Tomato Soup with Orzo recipe - ALL BY MYSELF!
2 cups cooked pasta.
The 1 cup measuring cup appears to be dirty, so I deftly utilize the 1/2 cup measuring cup (what brains!).
I put the water on to boil, add oil, and away we go! Water boils and then I confidently add four 1/2 cups of orzo to the rumbling water - 2 cups of dried pasta will make 2 cups of cooked pasta, right? (I should have consulted the National Pasta Association’s website even though I didn’t even know there was a National Pasta Association).
Wife comes down the stairs as I am taking the over-cooked pasta off the burner, ready to be strained.
Me, the moron: “How come there is so much pasta?”
Wife: “Now you need to write a blog post about why you’re a moron. You can’t even make pasta.”
Me, dumbfounded (I do have a college degree, right?): “You’re right.”
The moral of the story is obvious, but here’s the fun part: if you asked your hubby to make 2 cups of cooked orzo, would he (a) know what orzo is; (b) know where it is; and (c) make the correct amount (or be able to feed your entire neighborhood, like I did)?
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hahahaha! this is funny - i dont understand why the recipee is measured after the cooking, to me that is just MEAN!
my husband would have said ‘ok’ and then would have cooked the remainder of whatever pasta was in the pantry without ever even realizing there was a recipee.
We would have just had pasta salad instead! i am all about flexibility lol
Kate | March 21st, 2008 at 7:59 pm
Mine routinely cooks up 3/4 of a box of dried pasta. To feed just the 3 year old and the 16 month old.
Don’t feel too badly! Orzo makes some delicious pasta salad…
Lylah | March 21st, 2008 at 8:03 pm
Mmmm, now I want orzo (cooked, of course) with some feta and tomatoes and tiny pieces of cucumber for the crunch. Mmmm. I’ll be over soon since you seem to have so much ;).
I give you huge points for going right to the recipe to begin with.
Mandy | March 21st, 2008 at 10:40 pm
1. Your first post hardly tooted your horn. You were bending over backwards to go along with your wife’s minimizing your contributions.
2. Boiling too much pata hardly makes you a moron, and actually was helpful, right?
—
Perhaps this dynamic of having the things you do minimized and belittled works for you, but I wouldn’t recommend it to others. I suspect most people wouldn’t jump at the chance to do something they weren’t absolutely sure about after being called a moron for making a minor and trivial mistake.
JohnMcG | March 24th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
Avi, if it makes you feel any better, this situation is reversed in my house. I constantly make too much pasta and my husband consistently makes fun of me for it.
Amy@UWM | March 26th, 2008 at 11:33 pm