By The last week of January and the semester had found its pace. AP Chemistry II was in thermodynamics and electrochemistry, building on the foundation from first semester, and I was engaged in a way that was different from last year — less about keeping up and more about genuinely following something interesting. That is the difference between competent and passionate, and I was in the passionate part now.
I had also started looking seriously at college programs. My list had seven schools: LSU (reach, given their competitive environmental science program), Tulane, Xavier University of Louisiana, Spelman College in Atlanta, University of Maryland (their food science and environmental systems intersection), Howard University, and one more distant reach — Cornell, where there was a food systems program in the College of Agriculture that aligned precisely with what I was building toward. I was not expecting Cornell. I was not dismissing it either.
Mr. Guidry had written me a letter of recommendation — I had asked him in December and he said yes immediately, which he said was not always his answer. He said the work I had been doing since sophomore year was the kind of work he wrote letters for. I thanked him with a loaf of my sourdough, still going strong after eleven months, which I brought wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. He looked at it and said, "Sourdough?" I said yes. He said he had been trying to make it work for months. I gave him my starter notes. He said I was his favorite student. I said that was not scientific. He said some things didn't need to be.
Bringing Mr. Guidry that sourdough loaf — wrapped in a kitchen towel, still warm in my hands — reminded me that the most meaningful things we make are the ones we give away. Fresh pasta carries that same energy for me: it takes patience, it rewards attention, and when you hand it to someone, they know you put real time into it. After spending weeks thinking about my future and the people who are helping me get there, I wanted to sit down and make something slow and deliberate, something that felt like the semester I’m finally in — not just keeping up, but genuinely building something worth sharing.
Homemade Fettuccine
Prep Time: 40 minutes | Cook Time: 5 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1–2 tablespoons water, as needed
Instructions
- Make the well. Mound the flour on a clean work surface and make a wide well in the center. Crack the eggs into the well and add the olive oil and salt.
- Combine the dough. Using a fork, beat the eggs gently, then begin pulling flour in from the inner edges of the well, a little at a time. Continue until a shaggy dough forms. If the dough feels too dry, add water one teaspoon at a time.
- Knead. Knead the dough by hand for 8–10 minutes until smooth, supple, and elastic. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Roll. Divide the dough into four portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion as thin as possible — about 1/8 inch thick — using a rolling pin or pasta machine, working from the thickest to the thinnest setting.
- Cut the fettuccine. Lightly flour each rolled sheet and fold loosely. Cut across the fold into strips about 1/4 inch wide. Shake the cut pasta gently to separate the strands and dust with flour to prevent sticking.
- Cook. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the fresh fettuccine and cook for 2–3 minutes, until tender but still with a slight bite. Drain and serve immediately with your sauce of choice.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 310 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 310mg