so whats cooking ?

"lets cook", said S.
K and i looked up, half surprised, half in awe at the suggestion.
well, i was back from my little trip down south. All being well with my family, i started back, happy that i had found time for some old fashioned rock 'n roll and a few hilarious novels that i had enjoyed during my wonder years. Had to make a short stop at Bangalore to attend a colleague's wedding. Its was swell and everything worked out so perfectly for the merry couple. I called up everybody i knew in Bangalore to let them know i am in town. After a few hours, there being nothing more i could do to screw up their lives, I called up everybody i knew in Bangalore to let them know i am leaving town. so there i was travelling back to Mumbai, little did i know what awaited me.
had settled into the apartment, met the guys and the spent the whole day watching the Australian Open and the much delayed India-Pak encounter. we were just back from dinner.
"lets cook", said S.
K and i looked up, half surprised, half in awe at the suggestion. we had just finished dinner but were still a shade hungry. there was a pack of noodles.
S: lets cook
K: u mean, now
S: yes, lets cook
B: u mean, now
S: i feel like it
K: u feel like cooking
S: no i feel like eating
B: we have Tang
S: we'll have that too, with the noodles
To ordinary men, such an ordeal might be quite the third instalment of mission impossible, but not to us marine engineers. we like challenges and believe me, this was one of a kind. surely, i must add, this was a giant leap for mankind.
That started the discussion on thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, convection currents and so on. we discussed whether the Rankine cylcle was relevant to our discussion. after so much of brain storming, we hit upon an idea, and quite successfully managed to boil water. It was simple and efficient. All we did was take water in a pan and placed it over a-recently-procured-electric-stove and plugged it to a 220 volt a/c supply and switched it ON. voila, after a few minutes, the water started to boil. simple and efficient like i said.
K: (looking at the pack) it says here, that 100gm of this noodle would fulfill 20% of our dietary requirement for protein and calcium
B: wonderful, wonderful
S: open it then, make sure u tear along the dotted line
totally enthusiastic, we decided to use up 200 gms from the pack, confident that 40% our dietary requirement for protein and calcium would be fulfilled. so out of the pack and into the pan, went the noodles. we watched in awe as the noodles melted in the hot water.
S: it says here, that we should stir
B: then stir
S: it also says, it would be ready in two minutes
K: damn, i forgot to time it, do we have a stop watch
B: no sweat, that was the test bed results, in actual, it would take more time, owing to actual weather conditions
everything went in an orderly fashion. grand finale - a mixture of assorted spices was added and the whole thing was stirred again, first in the clockwise direction and then when that got monotonous, in the anti-clockwise direction.
K: we did it
B: yes, we did it
S: oh my god, we did it
yummy. it tasted so good, we were left wanting for more and what an experience it was. it elevated the standing of cooks, wives who cooked, moms who cooked and other helpful souls who would cook to a whole new level. so let me summarise quickly the ingredients that go into the successful cooking of some yummy noodles:- a pack of noodles, ofcourse, vegetables (optional), mixture of assorted spices, one electric stove, 220 volt a/c supply, 3 marine engineers and a bottle of fire extinguisher (just in case u wanna play it safe)
wouldn't go to the extent of saying that it was a nerve-racking experience, but would surely appreciate if someone would just invite me over for dinner everyday !