Lasagna Means I Love You: List 2

by Kate O'Shaughnessy
Trying to recreate a sense of family while in foster care, eleven-year-old New Yorker Maureen (Mo) Gallagher writes letters to her dead grandmother and builds a website to share recipes with stories and photographs.

This list covers Friday, August 18–Sunday, October 22.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3
40 words 3 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. veer
    turn sharply; change direction abruptly
    As soon as she was about ten feet away, I took a giant breath and stepped into the middle of the sidewalk so she couldn’t get past me without veering far off course.
  2. maneuver
    move skillfully, as around obstacles or into a position
    Somehow, she had managed to maneuver past me without me noticing.
  3. understatement
    something said in a restrained way for ironic contrast
    To say Tate’s mom’s house is beautiful is a huge understatement. Everything in June and Tate’s life is beautiful. The car they rented didn’t bounce or jolt like taxis do, their clothes barely wrinkle, and their flowers never look sad or droopy or get that weird-smelling cloudy water, when you’ve kept them for maybe a few days too long.
  4. bound
    move forward by leaping
    Four of her five golden retrievers came bounding out to bark at the car as we crunched to a stop in front of the house.
  5. roil
    be agitated
    It came out in a burst, like all this had been roiling and storming inside of him for a long time.
  6. haywire
    not functioning properly
    Something bad happened this morning.
    Something worse than the black clouds of smoke at Ms. Schirle’s apartment. Because this time, the thing that went haywire wasn’t the oven—it was me.
  7. complement
    make perfect or supply what is wanting
    Her blond hair was swept back into a low bun, and she was wearing dangly blue earrings that complemented her crisp white dress.
  8. barge
    push one's way
    I expected her to come barging into my room after she finished cleaning up my mess, like you would have, to chew me out, to ground me for a million years, to make me apologize, right this instant.
  9. bristly
    very irritable
    “It’s fine,” Moira said, a little bristly. I don’t think she liked being called lady.
  10. scuff
    poke at with the foot or toe
    I scuffed the ground with the toe of my shoe.
  11. digest
    arrange and integrate in the mind
    Did I have any questions? I had a million. But I shook my head. I needed time to digest all of this.
  12. frazzle
    exhaust physically or emotionally
    He looked frazzled, like he’d jumped over trash cans and bumped into people to get home fast, but when he saw us like that, he gave us a tentative, hopeful smile.
  13. tentative
    hesitant or lacking confidence; unsettled in mind or opinion
    He looked frazzled, like he’d jumped over trash cans and bumped into people to get home fast, but when he saw us like that, he gave us a tentative, hopeful smile. “We all good here?”
  14. churn
    stir cream vigorously in order to make butter
    We churned our own butter, which meant we often had leftover buttermilk needing to be used.
  15. bustle
    move or cause to move energetically or busily
    It brings me great comfort to know a small piece of our family’s Minnesota history will continue on, all the way in bright and bustling New York City.
  16. spiel
    artful or slick talk used to persuade
    On our walks to the subway station, I stop to talk with people about the Family Cookbook so I can collect more recipes. And I’m getting a lot better at it. I’ve practiced my speech—or my spiel, as you would say.
  17. saffron
    aromatic dried stigmas of a crocus flower, used as flavoring
    One night, she made chicken potpie. She was so proud. Her first completely American recipe, she said. But she put walnut paste in it. And saffron. It came out bright yellow, and she sprinkled the whole thing with pomegranate seeds.
  18. gig
    a booking for performers
    “Rock stars don’t play at dive bars for a hundred bucks a gig,” she’s said to me before.
  19. grate
    reduce to shreds by rubbing against a perforated surface
    First we grated the squash and added salt to draw out the water.
  20. manifest
    reveal its presence or make an appearance
    “You have to put it out there. Write about it as your next post. Tell people that’s what you’re looking for.”
    “Really? You think?”
    “Yep. I do. Manifest your destiny. That’s what Mr. Gregory always used to say, remember?”
  21. submission
    something put forward for the judgment of others
    I hope you are enjoying these family recipes, stories, and photographs. Every time I get a new submission, I do a little happy dance! So keep them coming, and tell all your friends and family about the Family Cookbook.
  22. stub
    a torn part of a ticket returned to the holder as a receipt
    Fanned out in his hands were three little stubs.
    Three little stubs that looked suspiciously like tickets.
  23. flair
    distinctive and stylish elegance
    She said she’ll miss seeing you at the PTA meetings. That you were always the one who brought the most color and flair.
  24. saute
    fry briefly over high heat
    Using the same pan, add a bit more oil and sauté the garlic until fragrant.
  25. hurtle
    move with or as if with a rushing sound
    “Oh—the bathroom’s right—”
    She pointed and I hurtled forward, not even stopping to take my backpack off.
  26. tendril
    slender structure by which some plants attach to an object
    Long green plant tendrils hung down from over the kitchen cabinets and from on top of the TV, and sheer scarves had been thrown over the lamps to soften the light.
  27. sulk
    be in a huff and display one's displeasure
    “He loves to bark. And Toast—he’s the Chihuahua—is sulking. It takes him an hour or two to warm up to people.”
  28. concoction
    any foodstuff made by combining different ingredients
    “A secret concoction of mine for sour stomachs. When you work at a bakery and love to eat, you get a lot of those.”
  29. al dente
    cooked so as to still be firm when eaten
    Boil the first layer of sheets in a pot of salted water for 2–4 mins, leave them al dente, they will finish cooking in the oven.
  30. pitch
    promotion by means of an argument and demonstration
    I didn’t notice that one of them had a mascara-streaked face until I’d already started my pitch and handed them a business card.
  31. sham
    something that is a counterfeit; not what it seems to be
    “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, honey, but family’s a sham.”
  32. fraternal
    (of twins) derived from two separate fertilized ova
    “Are they twins?”
    The man in the blue sweater nodded. “Yep. Fraternal. This little lady is Ophelia, and this is Kacen.”
  33. casual
    not showing effort or strain
    “We served this at our wedding, seven years ago. It was small, just our closest friends at our apartment for dinner. Our families didn’t come. It was casual; we just threw the pasta together with what we had. But it came out perfectly balanced—a little bitter, the right amount of salt and sweet. And it’s become our go-to dinner for special occasions ever since.”
  34. mince
    cut into small pieces
    In a large saucepan, heat olive oil and sauté your rainbow chard stems first over medium-high heat. Once tender, add greens and minced garlic.
  35. sage
    aromatic fresh or dried gray-green leaves used as seasoning
    Turn heat on lowest setting and then add sage, half-and-half, and parmesan.
  36. pudgy
    short and plump
    I suspect June wants me to be healthier. Maybe she thinks I’m too pudgy or round or something.
  37. bland
    lacking taste or flavor or tang
    It’s bland when things are steamed and don’t have much butter or spice.
  38. meld
    mix or become mixed together
    The chocolate and the spices melded with the tomatoes better than I could have ever imagined.
  39. essentially
    at bottom or by something's very nature
    “So, a pop-up restaurant is essentially a regular restaurant, but it’s temporary,” he explained.
  40. reception
    the manner in which something is greeted
    “There are tons of places like this across the city you can rent for a period of time. I’m trying to launch a new concept, but I wanted to test it out first. So we’re going to be running it for two weeks or so, to see what the reception to our food is.”
Created on Fri Jun 28 10:54:14 EDT 2024 (updated Fri Jun 28 16:04:36 EDT 2024)

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