1 . I’m now the cook and owner of a restaurant. Nothing in my early years led me to _______ my life would connect to food and cooking deeply. My family did eat together often: we had a _______ that my grandmother cooked the weekly big meal on weekends, but food was hardly the _______ of my family’s story. After I entered college. I was still _______ about what I wanted to do. I was “supposed” to _______ my family, getting a degree in medicine at graduate school or something similar.

When accepting the job assisting cooks after finishing college, I just _______ to pay my rent. That didn’t _______ any big life plans. However, as I worked longer, the food world showed me amazing _______.

Too little salt, and a dish is _______ to be “tastelss”. A bit lemon juice helps prevent cut apples and peaches from turning brown and ________ their appealing colors. The lesson that small things matter reminds me to never ________ tiny stuff in all parts of life.

Also, working with food teaches me to really taste, smell and touch. I learn to observe my ________, watching ways birds land, the growth of trees along roads… and ________ wonders in everyday life. ________, I head down my own path, which is ________ from going to medical school as my parents did, but gives my life purpose and direction.

2 . Tim Ma’s parents came to the United States from Taiwan in the 1970s. They opened a _______. It was not a success. They found success in America, _______, in computers and engineering. Because of their own _______, Ma’s parents hoped he would study to become an engineer.

Growing up, Ma considered many _______—writer, fireman, even president. But he had a sense early on. He didn’t want to be a(n) _______.

His _______ could not understand why he just wanted to open a restaurant. They had worked long hours on their own restaurant, still _______. But Ma remained _______. He was going to do things differently than them. He was able to learn from their one major _______ as restaurant owners—they knew very little about the art of cooking. Their chef (厨师) ________ and opened a Chinese restaurant across the street which really put them in a bad ________.

So, at age 30, Ma returned to school—one cooking school. He received training in ________ cooking. In 2009, Ma opened his first restaurant, which ________ excellent cuisine.

At Maple Avenue, Ma worked long hours, seven days a week. His hard work ________. Ma opened his fourth restaurant last year. He ________ his training in French cooking with his Chinese heritage (传承) to create new dishes.

3 . What are the foods that you can only taste in memories? Your mother's biscuits? The pies you made as a child? And what are the recipes that help you _________your memories?

This morning, for the first time in over a year, made Dutch Babies, a kind of pancake. I'm a poor cook who's always _________ to pull anything out of the oven that isn't burnt. But _______, I get lucky.

Making Dutch Babies brings to my mind some of the _________ memories of my life. I've made Dutch Babies many times for sleepovers and _________. They were always a hit, _________ burned them.

After my kids grew up, I didn't cook much for years, except for holidays or other_________ occasions. When we had a family _________, I'd make Dutch Babies for breakfast.

I can't recall the last time I made Dutch Babies, before today. I know it was _________ a year, before life was ____________ for COVID-19, and we stopped having guests.

So why did I make them this____________ for only my husband and me? It's been a(n)____________ year for all of us, filled with things we couldn't do. I was ____________ to celebrate being alive.

Good food can feed a hungry crowd. But if it's made with love and ____________, it can fill a(n)____________ with the hope of better days to come. So, add your own memories.