CARB FREE COOKING

Celery-Egg Delight
by
Isaac Asimov

Prolific writer Issac Asimov (he has 169 books published, 9 in print and 9 in progress) calls himself, tongue-in-cheek, a “specialty cook.” The specialty being breakfast… “About ten years ago,” he says, “I got fed up with waiting for everyone to wake up (I’m a dawn riser) so we could have breakfast together. It seemed to me more sensible, and filling, to make it myself than wait around indefinitely to be served.”

After a series of mishaps and freak accidents – such as slithering on eggs which had slithered on the floor; upsetting scalding coffee into the egg mixture and on himself; setting the flame too high and almost setting himself alight – Asimov claims he’s now reached the stage where he’s a first-rate, early-morning, short-order cook. His specialty is eggs. “There’s almost nothing I can’t make or do with eggs,” he says proudly. “I like adding things to omelets. Like ham, mushrooms, sausage or cheese. Topped off with yoghurt.”

“But, as with all cooks of my ‘calibre,’ I’m temperamental. I don’t like to be watched (also I don’t want Janet to see what I’m putting in).” However, unlike most other avowed culinary marvels, Asimov adds he’s also an excellent assistant: “I’m a wonderful third hand. If Janet needs help, I’ll slice, shred, chop, whatever. I’m great at cubing and balling. But there’s a catch. When the meat or melon balls are served, I insist on getting full credit.”

--CELERY-EGG DELIGHT

--INGREDIENTS:

5 Seperated Eggs

1 Cup Finely-Diced celery, sauteed in 2 Tablespoons Butter

3 Tablespoons Butter

5 Tablespoons Flour

2 Cups Cold Milk

Dash Pepper

1 Teaspoon Salt

--METHOD:

Remove melted butter from heat.

Then blend the flour and some of the milk until smooth.

Add remainder of milk.

Cook directly over heat, constantly stirring until sauce thickens and boils.

Add seasonings.

Thoroughly beat egg yolks, gradually stir in hot mixture and celery.

Beat egg whites till stiff.

Lightly fold in.

Then turn into 6-cup ungreased casserole and bake in oven for apprx. 45 mins. Or until golden brown.

Friends of mine run their own recording studio in the Midlothian/ Richmond, VA area off Hull Street Road. They hit me up about wanting to do some shots for a layout since they've never officially done anything with it. Here is one of the shots from that set!

We shot in their newly renovated studio. It's just a first edit, and I'll probably mess around with it some more to fix the monitor screen behind them. Noticeably, we are going for a "Rocket Science" kind of idea with the lab coats, and making it look like they're cooking up sweet jams for their clients as a play into the name of their studio!

Once I am done with the set, they're sending the ones they want to use to Justin Reich and will have everything together and posted soon thereafter. I'll be posting some other photos from this shoot when their layout is done and up!

SO MORE WILL BE COMING SOON!

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Strobist:
AB800 w/ large octabox high to camera left