Let’s see… How should I go about this? How does Alexis start one of these? Oh, I remember now!

Today’s the first day I start my new decision to become a better cook in the kitchen, so I decided to try and make something original. As much as I played that line over and over in my head, making an original recipe is a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be. I thought about all of the different kinds of foods I made for me and Alexis and all of the food I ate as a kid, so it should have been easy for me to think of something original.

But then, thinking about all of that stuff suddenly made me realize that whenever I had an idea of something to make, I remember a time when I ate something like it.

I have all of the different ingredients on the kitchen counter; different types of spices, a bunch of fruits, veggies, and side dishes, and then the main protein is a nice sized pack of ground meat. I take a few steps back from the counter and fold my arms, lightly tapping a finger on my chin as I look at all of the stuff I bought.

“Hmm… Hmmm… Hmph!”

I pout and stomp around a bit as nothing comes to mind for a possible dinner dish. At least, nothing new or original in my mind. I let out an exaggerated sigh and run my fingers on all of the ingredients, poking each and every one. The longer it takes for me to try and think of something to make, the less amount of time I’ll actually have to make it before Alexis comes home from work.

I take a glance at the small, decorative clock above the sink; the time reads “4:04 PM” in nice, blinking numbers.

I start speaking my thought out loud, “Alexis gets off at five thirty and should be home no later than six thirty, seven if the afternoon rush hour is terrible.” I cross my arms and close my eyes, letting all of my thoughts come out, “If I make something simple, then I need to start no later than five thirty…”

I lean back against the counter and keep myself deep in food thoughts. Naturally, I start to drool a bit from the corner of my mouth, thinking about all of the succulent dishes, delicious plates of food, and amazing and tasty desserts. The more I think about food, the more I can feel myself slipping into a daze. I hear a small dripping sound next to me and it snaps me back to reality; I drooled so much, I ended up making a tiny puddle at my feet.

Giving myself a wake up pat on the cheeks, I puff out my chest and reinvigorate myself to make sure I can think of an original dish for my girlfriend before she comes home. I want her to be proud of me! But I need an idea of what to make.

From the kitchen, I can see part of the T.V in the living room; it’s running a few infomercials. I keep my eyes on it, waiting for the main program to come back on, whatever it was that I left it on before I went to the store.

When I see what I was watching on the T.V, my eyes widen with inspiration, “I was watching a cooking competition!”

Switching from “Housewife Sam” to “Lazy Sam,” I rush over to the living room and climb over the back of the couch, comfortably laying on my side and watching the food competition unfold. Looking at all of the random ingredients and items that the chefs are given could easily inspire somebody watching to try their best at trying to recreate those same dishes. I’m even starting to get a few ideas as to what I should make.

I mentally start taking notes of everything each chef does, which tools they used, their techniques and styles. I notice the small clock in the lower right corner of the T.V which says “4:56.”

I let out a tiny gasp, taking notice of how quickly time flew while I was watching, “I need to keep my time in mind! If I pay attention to the number of commercials, I’ll be able to keep myself in line to cook.”

I get up from the couch and head towards the kitchen, leaving the T.V on the channel. I grab my white and blue apron off of the little rack on the side of the sink and tie it tight around me, preparing myself to start cooking.

“Now, let’s begin the sweet desserts challenge special!”

… What?

I slowly turn around on the ball of my foot and stare at the T.V; the intro theme to a special, limited airing dessert competition starts playing. My sweet tooth starts getting a small tingle as I see all of the different treats flashing in front of me. Like it’s second nature, I walk to the T.V and lay back down. I lose myself in a beautiful array of sugar.

* * * * *

“So, you wanted to making something original and ended up getting caught in a marathon of cooking shows?”

Full of embarrassment, I let out a chuckle and scratch the back of my head, “Yeah, sorry. I wanted to try something different for dinner tonight.”

“If you wanted to try something different and original, then why didn’t to make something from your Japanese side of the family?”

“… Huh?”

Japanese…? Why would she say to make something Jap– I totally forgot I’m Japanese-American…

Blank expression on my face, the sudden realization that I have Japanese in my blood makes me freeze up with embarrassment and I stare at my plate on my lap. I spent so much time on making up a new dish from seeing stuff on T.V that I ignored the other half of me… I’m so forgetful, how the hell does Alexis deal with me on a daily basis?

— via Daily Prompt: Original Original

• Original Works
• Other Works.