A while back I was going through some severe depression because whenever I cooked my pasta, I would overcook it. I could never do it right. Figuring out how to put just enough in without making too much was hard enough, let alone cooking the crap. I went to classes, had spaghetti cooking experts come to my house and train me, bought instructional books and dvds, called spaghetti cooking hint hotlines, asked cooks at restaurants, emailed spaghetti companies, everything all to no avail. The training just never took. The fact that my dad was a world class spaghetti cooking expert and expected me to follow in his foot steps just made it worse by putting such immense pressure on me. So I threw in the towel on cooking spaghetti.
Finally, while walking one day in the Loop in Saint Louis I came across this guy cooking spaghetti on a camping stove in an alley. I said "Hey man, you must really be into cooking spaghetti if you're doing it in an alley". "Damn straight. Mike's the name and cooking pasta's my game." he said. "Oh great, maybe you could teach me how to not overcook my spaghetti. I have this problem with overcooking spaghetti", I replied. "Son, there ain't nobody I can't teach how to cook perfect pasta. Heck, I once taught a mule how to cook spaghetti" he replied.
So hours and hours of overcooked pasta went by, until Mike said this bit of confuscianlike wisdom "After about eight minutes or so, take out one piece of spaghetti and throw it against the wall. If it sticks, it's done. If not, then cook it another minute or two and check it again." brilliant!! So after eight minutes I took the pot and threw it against the wall. CLANK. It bounced right off. "SCREW IT!!! I"LL NEVER FIGURE THIS OUT!!!" I yelled. "Calm down, my apprentice. You misunderstood me. I said to throw a 'piece' of pasta, not the 'pot' of pasta. Now let's try again" he instructed.
SUCCESS!!!! On the very next pot of pasta, I nailed it! I did it! No longer will I overcook pasta! I called my father and told him I was coming to visit him and make properly cooked spaghetti for him at last.
But before I left, I had to thank Mike the pasta genius. "Thanks so much. You've turned my life around. How can I ever repay you?" I asked. "Just be sure to be a good trader on etree like I am and spread lots of Medeski, Martin and Wood on bt.etree.org" he responded. I had no clue what the hell that meant at the time, but made it my mission to do so.
So that's how Mike is my inspiration in both cooking noodles and spreading Medeski, Martin and Wood shows online.