Ingredients:
· 1 lb. fettuccini pasta
· 1 tbs. butter
· 1 lb. cooked shrimp
· 4 cloves garlic
· 1 cup half & half
· 6 tbs. grated parmesan cheese
· 1 tbs. chopped fresh parsley
Preparation:
In a large pot, bring salted water
to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In
a large skillet, cook and stir shrimp and garlic in the butter for about one
minute. Pour in half and half; stir. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese in one tablespoon
at a time, stirring constantly. After all Parmesan is added, mix in parsley and
salt. Stir frequently making sure it does not boil. Sauce will take a while to
thicken. When sauce has thickened, combine with cooked pasta noodles; serve
hot.
While helping my grandmother prepare
the pasta, she would tell me some of her fascinating stories. The best thing
about the stories was that they were not the same story every time. They would
get better and better each time she told me a different one. I loved all her
stories even if they weren't always true. Spending time with her was what I
really loved the most.
She once told me a story about her
great grandmother Pearl. Pearl was very smart. She was too smart for her age.
She would know more than all the adults. She never went to school to learn
anything. Although, she never went to school she wanted to continue to be
smart. A gardener that lived across the street taught her everything he knew.
It could have been the simplest things to learn, and she learned it.
One day, a man named Mr. Burton
caught the gardener giving Pearl lessons. He got into a terrific amount of
trouble. He lost his job as a gardener and could no longer give Pearl lessons.
It broke Pearls heart. People assumed that the gardener was sexually harassing
pearl, but that was far from his intentions. She did not give up on learning
though. She remembered everything the gardener taught her and never forgot it.
Pearl missed the gardener and the lessons he would give. She did not care what
anyone thought of the gardener.
Pearl searched for the gardener, but
he was nowhere to be found. It saddened Pearl to not be able to see him
anymore. Pearl's father brought home a newspaper. He was furious with what he
was reading and seeing. The newspaper read that a man had been beaten and
drowned. Pearl was so anxious to read it. Once she did, she saw that it was the
Gardner, her dear friend. She cried and cried until she was all out of tears. I
found myself crying as my grandmother finished up her story. Whether the story
was true or not, I could the heartbreak of Pearl.
