A Collection of Short Stories
Grandmother Luisa’s Chocolate Cake Recipe
Dear Mary,
You asked how to make that delicious chocolate cake we had at my house last weekend. It is my great-grandmother’s recipe. Well, here’s the recipe for Grandmother Luisa’s cake.
The main ingredients to make this dessert are:
- 175g chocolate
- 175g butter
- 200g sugar
- 90g flour
- 6 eggs
And to make the special chocolate sauce you need: a bit more sugar, custard, drinking chocolate, and 3 pieces of jelly.
First, put the eggs and the flour into a bowl. Mix during 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the sugar and the butter. Heat the mix and when it’s solid, add the chocolate and wait four minutes more.
While it is heating, you can make the sauce. Mix the custard and the drinking chocolate into another bowl. Cut small pieces of the jelly and add it together with the sugar to the mix.
And finally, you are wondering how to serve it. The best way of serving it is cold, so when it’s not hot, put the solid part in a plate and add the sauce as a topping.
I think Grandmother Luisa’s cake is very easy to make and it is low fat, you know? If you have problems making it, send me an email.
Yours,
Carmen
Our Mediterranean Sailing Adventure
My husband and I are both teachers; therefore, we have plenty of time during summertime. We have a sailing boat, and every year we plan a trip around the Mediterranean Sea.
On July 1st, we will leave Menorca with our kids. We want to arrive in Greece with our boat. First, we want to go to Tunisia; we will depart from Mahon, and our first stop will be in Carloforte, a very small and pretty island in the south of Sardinia. It will take us around a day and a half to get there from Menorca, so we will rest there for some hours before reaching Tunisia.
We love fishing, and every time we go from Menorca to Carloforte, we catch three or four tunas. Once we get to the harbor, we like to go to the fish market and sell the tunas there; it would be impossible for us to eat all of them.
My kids love swimming and the beach; they could swim all day long. Sometimes I think they are half fishes.
Last year we went to the Ionian Islands in Greece; those are gorgeous islands too. When you travel like this, you can’t really make plans because you are always depending on the weather, and you never know when or where you will arrive. We like that kind of life; we don’t have to care much about laundry, clothes, cleaning the house, or things like those.
Therefore, on my next holiday, I will go where the wind decides to take me, and I am sure, like every year, my holiday will be great. See you someplace around there!
A Birthday to Forget
This birthday should have been different. Everything was planned. I had made sure no detail could be lost. I was really happy; I had no doubt it would be an excellent day! I was wrong.
Everything began in the morning. I got up so early that all my family was still asleep. I waited for an hour, but it seemed nobody was going to wake up. Finally, I went to study alone without saying hello to anyone.
After that, at school, all my friends had forgotten it was my birthday. First, I thought it was a joke, but it was not. I was really disappointed.
Later on, I came back home. I wish they had prepared something special for dinner. We ate hamburgers because my mum did not want to cook. As soon as they finished, they went to bed, and I stayed alone in the dining room.
Finally, I decided to give up the idea of celebrating my birthday. I went to bed and saw a movie. Unfortunately, it was just another simple day.
An Unexpected Friend
A week ago, I was walking to my home when I heard a rare sound coming from a tree. I looked up, but I didn’t see anything, so I kept walking.
After a couple of seconds, I felt somebody following me, so I looked back and guess what? There was a monkey behind me. Yes! I thought that maybe because I was tired I was having a vision, but no, it was a real monkey from the jungle.
I was frightened, so I started to yell. But nobody was around. I looked once again at the monkey, and I saw that it was more frightened than I was.
Then I began to get closer to it, and it was shaking with fear. I decided to take it to my house. When we got home, I immediately gave it food. Wow, it was really hungry.
I took it to the zoo, but they told me that they did not have enough space for it. So I decided to keep it. After all, it will be a really nice pet, I thought.
Planning Your Visit to Barcelona
Dear Peter,
Thanks for your last letter. I’m sorry I haven’t written you for ages, but I’ve been really busy. I hope your family and you are well.
I’m really very glad you’ll be visiting me next month, although you’ll only spend one week in my country. For this reason, there’s no time to lose.
The first two days we should go to visit Barcelona. I’m sure you will enjoy it a lot because, for me, it’s one of the most beautiful places around the world, and I want to share it with you.
After that, we should go to Tarragona, which is an old Roman city. I don’t remember if you know my little cousin Anna, but she suggested we could sleep in her flat near the beach, in Cambrils, and I accepted her offer. For this reason, I think we might go to Port Aventura, an amusement park where we can do all we want. If we definitely go there, you will have to wear comfortable clothes such as trainers and a tracksuit.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Best wishes.
Connectors and Sentence Starters
Addition
then, next, and, also, moreover, furthermore, too
Concession
despite the fact that, however, while, although
Consequence
so
Exemplification
for example
Conclusion
finally, in conclusion
Reference
about
Other Phrases
If I were you, I would…
A Movie Recommendation
It was dubbed into other languages, but I recommend seeing it in English. Hope you are okay too. I used to [watch it]. When you see it, let me know soon your opinion about it. Best regards.