A Good Demon [Countryhuman]

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"Hello, my lazy roomie!" Ellie said as she lightly tapped on my shoulder. I closed my book and placed it on the table.

"What?" I said, turning around.

"Can you cook something? I'm hungry," Ellie rubbed her belly. Just then, my stomach growled. I chuckled as I stood up. I marched to the kitchen and took out some pasta, plus some other stuff from the cabinet.

'Alright, this shouldn't be hard.'

I placed a pot on the stove when I realized I don't know how to cook spaghetti. I facepalmed myself as I madly typed and scrolled on Google. I checked the ingredients and grabbed all the things it said and surprisingly, we have all of them.

SPAGHETTI AND MEAT SAUCE

1 pound lean ground meat like beef, turkey, chicken or lamb

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup (130 grams) chopped onion

3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup water, broth or dry red wine

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

Handful fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving

12 ounces dried spaghetti or favorite pasta shape

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

"Ok," I muttered. "First step, heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven)-" I stopped at that.

"That's good, I have a dutch oven right here," I chuckled.

It said add the meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. As the meat cooks, use a wooden spoon to break it up into smaller crumbles.

I immediately did all of that. By the way, I'm making the sauce right now. I continued reading the instructions, "Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously for about 1 minute."

Alright, got that done... There! I wiped cold sweat from my forehead and continued.

The next step is to pour in the water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of meat or onion stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and a generous pinch of black pepper. Bring the sauce to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for 25 minutes. As it cooks, stir and taste the sauce a few times so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Alright, I did what it said. Then I sighed. Umm... Hello readers! I have a small rant if you don't mind.

Anyway, I want you all to listen, especially those Italians out there. I ain't no expert chef and I'm just doing whatever the hell this website tells me. So please don't get mad or something. I swear I DID NOT snap it in half or did other stuff you might not like.

Anyway, I continued reading. This time, I'm cooking the spaghetti. Anyway, it says, "About 15 minutes before the sauce finishes cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, and then cook pasta according to package directions, but check for doneness a minute or two before the suggested cooking time."

And again, I did what the website told me. If I did something wrong, feel free to correct me or something. But please don't get mad. Also, this all took time. I swear Ellie popped out of the living room loads of times, asking when will I finish because it was kinda long. When I finally reached the last step, I let out a sigh.

"To finish," I read the website aloud. "Take the sauce off of the heat, and then stir in the basil. Toss in the cooked pasta, and then leave for a minute so that the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Toss again, and then serve with parmesan sprinkled on top."

When I finally finished, I served the food. To be honest, I'm happy that my Italian friend (who works as a chef in Olive Garden) isn't here. I still remember that one time I put ketchup on pasta and... You don't wanna know what happened. Anyway, I called Ellie and she sat down. Then she let out a squeal.

"Ooooh!" she said. "Spaghetti!"

We both took a bite at the same time and sighed from the delicious taste. From now on, spaghetti is my new favorite food (tacos are now second).

~~~

I was reading a book, trying to get inspiration to finally finish my novel series, when a harsh knock interrupted me. I stood up and opened the door. Ellie stood there, carrying a bag or golf clubs. I scratched my head from confusion.

"Wanna go play golf?" she smiled.

"Sure," I chuckled. "Whoever loses has to buy us dinner."

"You're on!" Ellie screeched. We both laughed in unison as we walked outside. Before we ambled outside the door, I snatched my  We both got in the public bus and went to a mini-golf coarse. We both took turns in each course.

When we were at the final course, it was the windmill. It was a bit hard because you have to time this right. Ellie took a deep breath, and focused her eyes on both the golf ball and the windmill. She hit the ball, but the windmill's vanes pushed it away. Ellie groaned in defeat and I smirked at her.

"Well, good luck," she grinned.

"Yeah, thanks," I replied. 

I got into place. I focused at the windmill and then at the ball. I licked my index finger and checked the wind. It was blowing north, right where the windmill is standing. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and when I thought in was the right time, I hit the golf ball with the club. It rolled into the windmill and went in the hole.

"Yay!!" I cheered, jumping up and down. Then I turned to face Ellie. She stared with her mouth open.

"Welp, looks like you are buying us dinner," I sniggered playfully.

"Ugh," Ellie bleated. "Fine, but what do you want to eat?"

"I don't know," I tapped my chin. "How about... Fried chicken?"

"Ooh! Good idea!"

"Alright then, we're going to KFC." I stood up. "Colonel Sanders, here we come!!!"

"Yay!!" Ellie grabbed my hand and we picked up our bags. Then, we rushed to the nearest KFC. We sat down and ate the crunchy fried chicken dipped in gravy. After we ate I stared at Ellie and smiled cheekily.

"Well?" I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Aren't you paying?"

"Yes, I know." Ellie's eyes shot daggers at me while she counts bills and hands them to the waiter. We stared at each other for a while. Then we burst into laughter. We went home after that.