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 . I’m now the chef 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. Maybe I was supposed to ______ the crowd, getting a decent job, like in medicine 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 “tasteless‌”. 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.

7 . My husband and I intended to have a quiet, low-key New Year’s Eve this year. We wanted to spend it with our kids and other immediate family and make it a special ________ for them, instead of ________ a babysitter and going out on our own.

The logical way to do this was through ________. As we all know, food had a magical way of making a night ________, and our New Year’s Eve certainly ________ that way, thanks to doughnuts (甜甜圈).

I decided to make doughnuts because my cousins had ________ a batch (一批) on Halloween and I found it very ________. I used a recipe from the 1976 Mennonite cookbook More With Less and it ________ a curious ingredient — two cups of mashed potatoes that ________ made the texture lighter. The doughnuts were rolled out and cut from a sheet of dough (生面团), then left to ________ until ready to fry in hot oil. Then they took several seconds to ________, which meant that my enormous batch of 100 doughnuts was ________ cooking in a fairly short time. We glazed (浇上浆液) the tops and then ________ them for the rest of the evening. The leftovers disappeared at breakfast.

This will become an annual ________, I have no doubt. Whether we host a bigger party or keep it small, there will always be ________ doughnuts, because when you have hot homemade doughnuts, you can’t help but have the best time.

8 . I started cooking when I was thirteen. Both of my parents worked, so I was usually ________ after school. One day, my parents forgot to ________ dinner before they went to work. As we were short of money, eating out was beyond ________ . So I decided to be the ________ of the day.

A few moments later, I ________   to cook fried rice, the best option out of ________ resources, including my cooking knowledge. After ________ a pan on the stove and turning on the heat, it soon began to sizzle (咝咝作响). I was so hungry that I ________ and threw everything into the pan all together. In went rice, pieces of meat and vegetables. Little did I know that the   ________ of ingredients was crucial in cooking. I ________ waited for the meat to be thoroughly cooked, but other ingredients were   ________ . At first, I mistook it as steam from cooking, but I soon ________ something went horribly wrong when smoke came out to ________ the kitchen.

Later that day, my mother told me, “You cannot rush yourself when cooking.” Rather, I should take steps, turning to the basics, such as learning about the ingredients and ________ the recipe.

I’ve learned that the first ________ seems hard but we should just start and let the journey teach us.

9 . 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.

10 . Food has always been one of the greatest wants of humankind. The search for food is the_______human behavior. Thus，_______food were easier to get and prepare，it would be really helpful for humankind. It would reduce a great burden (负担). The development of processed foods (加工食品) has made food easier to get and prepare. _______every coin has two sides. Apart from its advantages，the_______of cooking also has its disadvantages.

Though processed foods seem like a great way to save_______，they offer much less nutritional (营养的) value than traditional foods. People today are so busy that they are not able to spend enough time preparing their food. As a result，many people_______to eat processed foods，ready­to­cook meals and various fast foods. But what will_______if one eats such food all year round? It will damage your health. The nutritional value of the food is not so high. Worse still，research shows that preservatives (防腐剂) used in these foods are_______to children. That's why health experts warn people not to eat too much of such_______food.

Besides，since people spend little time preparing food，the culture of cooking is slowly ________. Cooking is not done just to satisfy hunger；it is also a(n)________form of art. Across the world，there are thousands of ________cooking styles. If young people are used to processed foods，few of them will develop great cooking________. And when they become parents，it will be hard for their children to enjoy a(n)________home­cooked meal. What's more，cooking is a great time for families to connect. There is a lot of________when family members are preparing food together.

In a word，I believe though processed food has made the preparation of food much easier，it has not been a good step for humankind.