I got back to town around 2:00 but still needed to get some onions, beef, and extra tomato from Smart and Final so that took another 20 or so minutes. I checked the time 2:35 or so in the middle of chopping half an onion, told my friends I would be arriving late since I had to cook. Julie said she was actually making some stuff at home and said I could make it there, and so I packed up and drove to her house. I arrived at 3:10 with my backpack and an extra bag, my camera, and my Instant Pot. I said hello, how are you, great big smile — that middle part is new. Aaron and Daphne were already there, though Ethan was either running late or MIA. (It would turn out he was just running late.) I was quiet and very awkward the first hour or so because a.) I had no idea where everything was in the kitchen and felt dumb AF asking Julie more than 4 questions about her place, though I'm sure she would've been more than happy answering more, and b.) I couldn't remember much about how my mom makes her very very good pasta sauce. As it turns out you just have to make a solid base of ground beef and spruce up the jarred stuff (I had always used jarred for these "friend pastas" but never quite understood it until I was forced to do it all myself). Season the beef, well. Black pepper, Italian seasoning, salt add more of them you think you need. Add a splash of water to hydrate the beef, keep stirring so it doesn't burn. Add the pasta sauce, add more seasoning, add more water to thin in out, simmer simmer simmer, add a little beef boullion. My sauce became quite thick as it cooled, and some of the beef pieces stayed whole larger than I thought, rather than totally dissolving into a smoother sauce, but it tasted delicious and did not look undercooked at all. No pink spots, just rich red deliciousness. Pasta was 4 minutes, high pressure in the Instant Pot, I released, pasta in the sink and sauce simmering for while as we waited for the roasted vegetables to roast and soften. Ethan arrived around 3:30. Around 4:30 when all the food was done we all dug in. There was the pasta, some coconut milk chicken curry, and the roasted vegetables. They all loved the pasta — it's my specialty now, apparently — and I did too, though I was a bit surprised that it tasted a little sweet (could just be from the tomato, not really any added sugar).
"[Growing up] is hard and nobody understands." // https://www.homestuck.com/story/2391