Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Queen's Meme - What Is The Meaning of Thyme and Other Deep Questions





The Cooking Meme (What Is The Meaning of Thyme and Other Deep Questions)










1. If you could put thyme in a bottle, what is the first thing that you'd like to do?











I'd hand it over to my mom, with whom my husband and I live. She'd use it to make something incredibly divine, some kind of mushroom-y chicken-y thing. Mmm...I can taste it now...

2. Do eggs really crack or do they merely have a nervous breakdown?


















Eggs crack for the most part. They can withstand a lot, but in the right hands they fold like a souffle.

Photo by Ewing Galloway

3. Why are you whipping the butter? What did it ever do to you?













There's a lot about butter that most people don't understand. It doesn't want to be hard. It longs to reveal its softer side.


















But it needs the permission of a thorough whipping before it will succumb.

4. Do your spoons spoon in the drawer? Have you ever noticed? And more importantly, if wooden spoons spoon do they get splinters?














My spoons don't really make it as far as the drawer. To be honest, I've got most of my flatware still wrapped in newspaper from our move here 10 years ago. My husband and I dug out a knife, fork and spoon each when we first got settled in Cole Harbour. These utensils just keep moving from the sink to the dish rack to being used while we eat. Sink, dish rack, eat. It's minimalism at its best.

As for the wooden spoons - I used to have some when I lived in Toronto and used to cook. I've never unwrapped them, either. I pop in frozen dinners or eat my mom's exquisite creations. It's all part of my paring down on non-writing-activity in order to claim more writing time in a 24-hour-period.

5. You hear: "Dumpling, my Dumpling, come hither." The candles are lit, the fondue is dipping, the Godiva is pouring, the scallions are steaming and the music is playing.....but wait, the windows are open. Why did you close them?


















I don't want the fog to roll in and dampen our smoldering evening...

6. Do you need a recipe to cook or are you a bohemian chef? Show us your reckless and wild side in the kitchen. Don't have one? Here's a recipe I made just for you: You will need a spatula, a whisk, a gallon of Chardonnay, a banana and a rump roast. What is the name of your dish?

First of all - the roast goes up in my mom's freezer. I don't handle raw meat. Blech.

Here's what I cook up with the rest:


















Two glasses for the wine
Fill, sip, enjoy

One banana
Peel it
You and significant other each start from one end and eat toward a kiss in the middle

Chase partner with whisk
Change places
Run from partner with whisk
Laugh and drink more wine

Trade whisk for spatula
Repeat chasing, running and laughing
If caught, suffer the consequences
Trade places and repeat

Was there supposed to be a dinner in there somewhere?

Order in.

7. After dinner, the dishes are so dirty that the dishwasher refuses to wash them. What did they say to get in hot water?


















They said "Mercy! Mercy!" And the dishwasher relented. Because the dishwasher is me...

8. Is your pot black?













It's stainless steel. At least, that's what I remember...

9. What is the sexiest spice or condiment in your cabinet? What makes it so?



















Cajun spice mix. It connects me to any Cajun cousins I might have, and makes me wonder who they could be. And it gives a kick of joie de vivre to a wide range of recipes.

10. How much crock is really in your crock pot?



















My crock pot is all crock, all the time. A pot implies cooking, and I'm quite confident the only thing you'll find on the crock pot is a layer of dust from non-use.

Visit Mimi at The Queen's Meme if you'd like to play.

3 comments:

Mimi Lenox said...

"I don't want the fog to roll in and dampen our smoldering evenring."....Brilliant! And the accompanying pic is perfect.

I never knew butter had a vulnerable side. Sob.

Travis Cody said...

I don't actually have a crock pot. Do I need one?

Don't tell the queen...but I might have to pass on this one. I knew I was going to fall behind with this meme.

Julia Phillips Smith said...

I promise I won't tell, Travis...