Cloud Soufflés and Chocolate Disasters

Being alone in the house at lunchtime, I looked for things to make my lunch with. Nothing apart from eggs.
Soufflé it is then!
So I found a recipe that a friend had posted earlier in the year that I wanted to try; Cloud Soufflé.
 

Cloud Soufflé Recipe
Ingredients 

2 eggs, separated
Salt

2 chunks of butter
Grated cheddar

butter for my ramekins.
 

I had four eggs so I went to separate two of them. One of my usual methods is to carefully crack them into a glass and pick up the egg yolks with my fingers (I know, most of you are probably shaking your heads right now). These yolks obviously had the gift of precognition and broke as soon as the eggs cracked.

I set these two failed attempts aside and separated the last two eggs using the tilt method (tipping the yolk back and forth between egg shell halves until all of the white has fallen into the bowl. One of the yolks still broke but I was able to scoop it away before it did any lasting damage.
There were a few wisps of yolk in my whites but it whipped up fine.

Ok so I followed the recipe to a T except I used butter instead of cream as I didn't have any and omitted the pepper.

I'm a little sad to say that it wasn't quite as good as I expected but it certainly looked impressive.

The egg of top was a little rubbery rather than crisp as I expected, probably because it's pure protein rather than regular souffle which has flour in it (starches crisp up better).

The egg yolk was runny but some of it had fallen to the bottom and cooked, making the ramekin hard to clean and the cheese didn't melt.

But it's definitely a good way to get your toes wet in the sea of souffle making, it's a lot simpler and faster with much less mess. Just remember that it may not taste the same.

Now. My two broken eggs. What to do? Well, I've often been told that you can't whip whole eggs to peaks. I figured that I may as well try to see whether that is true.

After whipping for a good twenty minutes, this was the result:

Mostly whipped... Soft peaks formed :)

I poured it into the ramekin and put it in the oven for around 10 minutes, in hindsight, 5 probably would have been enough.

While it looked good, it was overcooked and was rubbery :/

But at least I sort of proved that you can whip whole eggs, I wouldn't go out of my way to but if accidents occur, you can do it :)

Mum's Chicken and Corn Soup

I made this soup this morning for my lunch at work :)

Photo courtesy of my Partner :)

This recipe is courtesy of my mother, for me this soup is the go-to for sick days, orthodontist days, lazy days, cold winter school lunches etc.

1L Chicken stock - Homemade is nicer but you can use a bought one. (To make your own, gently simmer chicken bones for 3-4hours and strain)

Bring the stock to a gentle boil and add 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp grated ginger (or a few shakes of ginger powder), 2tsp sesame oil and 1-2 Tbs of oyster sauce.

IMPORTANT STEP (If you don't do this, all the egg will sink to the bottom): Get 1 heaped teaspoon (like, the spoon you use to stir your tea with, not a measuring spoon) of potato starch or 3 heaped teaspoons of corn flour and mix with enough water to dissolve it in a cup. Add to stock and stir until the soup thickens slightly, if you stop stirring too early, it may get lumpy, keep stirring and it should come right.

Crack 2-3 eggs into a bowl or cup and beat them with a fork for a few seconds, just enough to break the yolks and combine them a little.

Bring the soup up to a rolling boil and pour in eggs, stirring briskly (not too much or the egg will be too fine but enough that it doesn't form a huge clump).

Turn off heat and mix in 1 can of creamed corn (regular sized), careful not to splash the soup as the corn is quite thick. The soup should be the perfect temp for serving.

Makes around 1 medium pot full, it will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days.

Quickie: Prawn Stirfry

I love stir-fry, it's cheap easy and very, very quick.

At College, Saturday night dinners arent'r provided so I have to make something up for myself.

On the way home from lifting I picked up a packet of shiitakes ($2.80) and a handful of snow peas ($0.20) from the Asian grocer and 150g of raw Thai prawns (~$2.50) and a large clove of garlic (10c) from Coles.

When I do stirfry, I sort of vaguely think about what I want to go in it and then I just chuck it in, I don't usually measure things so any measurements are an estimation.

The kitchen provided is a converted commercial kitchen and it has most of the things that I need. No wok though, makes me a big sad but I make do with what I have.

I set the frying pan to a high heat, wipe and de-stem the shiitakes, wash and de-string the peas and peel/dice the garlic. Once the pan is hot, I fried half the garlic in about a Tbs of oil until it started to brown and then added the mushrooms and turned them over a few times with a spatula. I poured in about 1/2 cup of shao hsing wine and a Tbs of oyster sauce and let it reduce down a bit. (I would have liked to add a tsp of sugar but there wasn't any :/)

While it was reducing I heated up another frying pan and chucked in some garlic and about a tsp of oil. I then threw in the prawns and cooked them until they went pink. I added them to the mushrooms and threw in the peas, tossing them around for a few moments before moving it all to a bowl.

I was rather lazy and not feeling like carbs so I ate them without rice.

Ta-da! Apologies for the rubbish quality, I had to use my phone to take the picture.

TSSSS!

Gosh, weightlifters make funny noises don't they?

I'm definitely not an exception to the rule.

I am a culprit for the loud 'TSS!' or 'TSAH!' at the end of my snatch/clean/squat. Yep, I am that person.

But I have a theory as to why I (and many others) do this.

When I lift, I hold my breath. This is to help me keep my core rigid by increasing my intra-abdominal pressure. This is part of the Valsalva manoeuvre, a technique where you expire against a closed glottis.

So I'm doing all of this hard work holing my breath, when I'm finishing my squat/clean/snatch, I will exhale but in such a way that I don't reduce my intra-abdominal pressure and compromise my stability.

Part of my theory is also that it helps prevent the drop in blood pressure that can occur when using the valsalva maneuvre which would cause fainting however, I'm not 100% sure so don't quote me on that.

Overall I think that it is a part of lifting that happens almost without thinking but it helps to boost the confidence of the lifter and being such a psychologically demanding sport, whatever you do to increase your self-confidence, whatever routine or ritual you have, keep doing it!

So don't mock the noisy ones, (unless you both know you're joking) it's beneficial to their lifting!

Seen Lee

Goal setting - Vic Junior Champs

The other day at training, my coach asked me if I wanted to enter the Victoria Junior Championships in September because it's my only opportunity to compete as a Junior (20 is the age cap).

Also because I need a goal to work towards. It also means I need to get a lifting suit. Bring on the unsexyness!

I am rather excited!!!

I'm also rather pleased because my snatch has been improving a lot and I'm hoping that it will get a lot better in the coming weeks although, I am a bit worried about the state of my technique while I spend a month away from Phoenix (home in 3 days!) because I won't be seeing my coach for all of that because he's going to London for 6 weeks.

I also found this funky diagram which shows some interesting things about technique. I have a friend who lifts as well, G, who loves maths; he would adore this picture:

On a side note, I watched the Australian Qualifiers on the AWF live-stream. That was very exciting although who would get the places were obvious. (Congratulations to Seen Lee and Damon Kelly!)

On an unrelated note, it was my 4th year anniversary today with my partner S, who I get to see on Wednesday! So very excited! Very much looking forwards to going home and seeing my family as well.

My last assessment is tomorrow, I will be very glad when it is over!

Much love ~<3