Oct 16- Magic Balls

Location: Samarkand, Uzbekistan

On the way back to the hostel we stopped by the bazaar and got lots of ingredients for a spaghetti-vegetable stirfry for at least four people plus whoever wants some.

Back at the hostel we found Jeppe, our room mate from Bukhara, in the court yard. Another happy reunion!
While Jeppe and James busied themselves with conversation, Estella and I embarked on what was to become a real dinner adventure. At one point, Jean-Pierre from France felt the need to point out this terribly traditional position we had put outselves into: guys talking, girls cooking. Well, Estella and I had so much fun in our "traditional position" in the kitchen that we would not have traded with anyone else in the hostel at that moment.
The hostel staff were busy cooking food also so the gas pressure at each stove burner was not sufficient to bring a pot of water to a boil in less than 45 min. O no! This could turn into a midnight meal.
About an hour into it, once the spaghetti water was close to boiling, Estella and I lost our patience and just put the spaghetti in the pot. We soon regretted that decision because instead of cooking, the thin, hollow spaghetti quickly soaked up water and turned into a giant ball of mushy dough. Meanwhile, the large pot of chopped vegetables was barely steaming. What a disaster! But it was so hillarious at the same time. Word quickly spread and other guests kept coming into the kitchen to see if we were making any progress and to provide moral support. THANKS GUYS.

We tried numerous ways to rescue our mashed spaghetti. We dumped the water and added oil to try and fry it. No luck. Just not enough heat. We tried to boil a small chunk of it in water but it just got mushier. By this point the vegetable pot had started to steam a bit, partially due to the fact that now not all burners were in use anymore so the gas pressure was just a tiny bit greater than when we first started. Finally we decided to make small balls out of the spaghetti dough and steam them on top of the vegetables, sort of like dumplings. After about 3 very entertaining hours in the kitchen dinner was finally ready. The final result was surprisingly tasty and everyone who tried it was pleasantly surprised, especially Estella and I. The fact that we were super hungry helped too.

ESTELLA, I WILL NEVER FORGET OUR FUN TIMES IN BAHODIR'S KITCHEN. IT WAS SO GREAT TO MEET YOU AND I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN SOMEWHERE.