Empty promises.

The rain smells different here.  It is a burning, ozone saturated smell.  A potent scent that sits in the air when the clouds obscure the supposed-constant sunshine.  It does not smell like rain.

At home, the smell of rain is diffuse; it wafts in on great gusts wet wind.  It is an intangible feeling that the world is about to storm--to toss and turn, if you will--in a fantastic upset.  The rain scent does not sit, but rather saturates.  At home, it promises downpours and horizontal raindrops, lightening and thunder that roils, water that refreshes. 

It seems odd, then, that the rainstorms at home--on landlocked prairie land-- seem much more reminiscent of storms on the high sea than the piddling rain of the coastal area.  

The Move.

Things I have learned about Orange County:

• Apartments do not come with a refrigerator
• Craigslist and Thrift stores are as/more expensive than Target and Ikea
• There is one Wal-Mart and numerous Targets
• There are no mosquitoes
• GPS and google always include Interstate 55 in their direction (even for just a mile)
• Interstate 55 is always slow and crowded

Experiments in the Culinary Arts

Skillet Lemon Soufflé

My first attempt fell flat.  Apparently egg whites are the most finicky substance on earth; should any kind of oil and/or foreign substance (including fingers) make contact with the egg whites at any point in the process, they refuse to rise.  Also: when the recipe states to add the sugar slowly, it means slowly.  The egg whites take about four times as long to peak--and they don't ever firm up as much as they would otherwise--if you add the sugar in large quantities at the beginning. However, once I got past that... the souffle was actually quite good and not terribly difficult. 

The lemon zest was obnoxious to obtain, but lovely to look at; I became exceedingly fond of it by the time I finished.  I did not have an oven friendly skillet, thus I used a 10" cake tin which worked just as well.  The first picture is taken about five minutes after I pulled it out of the oven.  I was braced for my second disappointment when I saw it begin to collapse; fortunately, it is supposed to happen thus no need for alarm.  When souffles are served in restaurants, the souffle if brought to the table straight from the oven whereupon a small hole is made in the center; this 'collapses' the souffle which is then ready for consumption.

Serves 6.   Published September 1, 2009.   From Cook's Illustrated.

Don’t open the oven door during the first seven minutes of baking, but do check the soufflé regularly for doneness during the final few minutes in the oven. Be ready to serve the soufflé immediately after removing it from the oven. A 10-inch skillet is essential to getting the right texture and height.

Ingredients

5	large eggs , separated
1/4	teaspoon cream of tartar
2/3	cup granulated sugar (4 3/4 ounces)
1/8	teaspoon table salt
1/3	cup juice and 1 teaspoon grated zest from 2 to 3 lemons
2	tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1	tablespoon unsalted butter
	Confectioners' sugar , for dusting

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Using stand mixer, whip egg whites and cream of tartar together on medium-low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Slowly add 1/3 cup sugar and salt, then increase speed to medium-high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form, 3 to 5 minutes. Gently transfer whites to clean bowl and set aside.
   
   
2. Using stand mixer (no need to wash mixing bowl), whip yolks and remaining 1/3 cup sugar together on medium-high speed until pale and thick, about 1 minute. Whip in lemon juice, zest, and flour until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
   
   
3. Whisk ¼ of whipped egg whites into yolk mixture until almost no white streaks remain. Gently fold in remaining egg whites until just incorporated.
   
   
4. Melt butter in 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-low heat. Swirl pan to coat evenly with melted butter, then gently scrape soufflé batter into skillet and cook until edges begin to set and bubble slightly, about 2 minutes.
   
   
5.  Transfer skillet to oven and bake soufflé until puffed, center jiggles slightly when shaken, and surface is golden, 7 to 11 minutes. Using potholder (skillet handle will be hot), remove skillet from oven. Dust soufflé with confectioners’ sugar and serve immediately.
   

In Transition.

Waiting.

The Digit Injury

A few weeks ago (September 23, to be exact), I smashed my finger in a door. It was a very heavy metal door with a tendency to slam shut. The injury occurred as I was exiting the powder room at my former place of employment. A man was passing in the hallway, thus I stepped back to let him go by without entering my personal bubble. Unfortunately, my finger happened to insert itself into the door jamb as the Very-Heavy-Metal-Door was closing. My abused digit caught on the portion of the hinge that stood out, thus forcibly smushing a crevasse into the skin.

The injury itself was rather fascinating. The door did not break the skin, rather it compressed the tip of my finger all the way down to the bone. The profile evidenced a sharp delineation between smushed and non-smushed portions. My mother has lamented the fact that I did not take profile pictures at the time; my mistake, the next time I am injured, I shall dutifully take a 360 degree visual record. For this event, however, I do have a one dimensional photographic record detailing the healing process. Let me share:

Immediately Following Injury

• No swelling
• Complete numbness
• Unable to bend
  

Two Weeks

• Swelling has begun (though finger remains largely compressed)
  
• Tingling
• I peeled off the dead skin that had been pushed to the left side
  

One Month

• The crevasse is beginning to heal
• Remains swollen around the crevasse (I had to peel off the scab every few days so the skin would grow together)
  
• Blood has begun to slowly exit the area via the nail bed
  

A Month and a half

• Turns out the nail was fractured (where it had begun growing underneath the crevasse)... thus when the nail grew out past the cuticle, there were two layers.
  
• I peeled off the top layer as it kept catching on things; 'twas painful
• A slight dent remains where once there was a crevasse

Two months

• A faint scar remains in place of the crevasse
• The nail continues to grow out, though the extra top layer towards the end is inconvenient
  

Three months

• The scar remains slightly red
  
• I trimmed off the extra top layer at the end of my finger as it kept catching things and tugging slightly; now it is an extraordinarily short and ragged nail, but otherwise normal.
  

The experience has been most interesting and slightly gruesome in an awesome way. This marks my most serious injury (though not the bloodiest) I've ever had. Too bad I didn't file for workman's comp.

Christmas Cards

In a fervor upon my return stateside, the card-making commenced in earnest.