Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Well, then

I was going to post some Very Amusing photos but Blogger is unable to process my request. I have no idea if I'll be able to submit a simple text post, but my irrepressible and sunny outlook on life forces me to give it the old college try. So. Well. Here we are.

Why do my cakes sink in the middle? Also? Why do they take twice as long to cook as the recipe says, then *still* not be done in the center (perhaps why it's falling, dumbass)? There are a couple really neat looking books on kitchen chemistry that I feel I simply must purchase but I'm forever forgetting when I surf @mazon. One of these days. I didn't do well in chemistry. I never took it in high school (nor physics, civics or any other -ics classes for that matter). When I enrolled at the university, I had to take a chemistry placement exam and I'm fairly certain the computer wanted to send me back to 9th grade. I ended up in a class roughly the size of Sacramento, with one professor and about 16 TAs. The professor invariably wore a lab coat, a black turtleneck, and dark pants. It was rumored he lived in the dorms.

I didn't bother getting out of bed the day of the final. When I took the class a second time, I managed to pull a D. Thereby ending my dreams of getting into vet school. Probably for the best, I'd want to run over every client who brought an animal in to be euthanized because they couldn't be bothered to train or care for the poor thing. People suck. That's my irrepresible sunny side talking, by the way. Ain't she grand?

Does anyone else have the memory of a gnat? Seriously? If I'm at the store and I realize I need to buy X but it's not on the list, I must proceed to X's aisle immediately, do not pass go, do not collect $200, and for the love of the little baby Jesus, DO NOT GET DISTRACTED BY ANYTHING ELSE. Because then? I forget what I wanted to buy that I forgot to write down, and then I remember on the way home but it's too late and I forget to write it down (again) and the cycle, she continues.

It didn't used to be this bad. Yes, I was distractable, not like someone with ADD but it wasn't hard to send me off --hey, a kitty!

7 comments:

d e v a n said...

Blogger did the same thing to me earlier. took me hours before it would let me post pics.hmph.

As for the grocery store problem. I have the same one. If I don't write it down immediately or go get it RIGHTNOW I will invariably forget. It's also usually the one thing I NeeDED to make dinner.

floreksa said...

Its always the basics that I forget. Cheese, milk, eggs.

I can handle cakes pretty well, but quiche - I'm at a loss (and I've been craving a good quiche!). Burnt crust, watery interior. every.time.

Northwoods Baby said...

Low-fat milk and overbaking can make a quiche watery, as well as super watery veggies (tomatoes!). A strip of foil over the edge of the crust after you blind bake it will help with burning. One of those handy-dandy crust covers is wonderful for blind-baked things.

I'm starting to hate Blogger. Get what you pay for, I guess..

Northwoods Baby said...

I take that back, now I don't have to enter word-verification to post comments on my own blog, so the love, she returns.

Kristin said...

Hey, I know someone who is teaching "Chemistry of Solutions" next semester....maybe I should do a lab on baking?

My one suggestion on making a cake is using real cake flour.

You might read this
http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2005/10/why_real_baking.html

on the list making: duh. babies and breastmilk are made from brain cells -- what else can you expect?

craftydabbler said...

A thermometer in the oven might help with your cake experiments. I had an oven that was off by over 50 degrees and I didn't have any clue until someone recommended a thermometer to me.

I can't tell you how many times I end up walking from one end of the store to the other in a normal shopping trip. Oh yeah, I need cilantro. Schlep to produce. Oh and sour cream, back across the store. And on and on it goes. That is where I get my exercise. : )

Northwoods Baby said...

Hey, new poster! Hi! Hey there!

I have a thermometer in the oven, and a stone insert which keeps the temp really regular (if I let it heat up long enough). Last time I just bunged the batter in before the stone was up to the temp, this time I waited. Sank both times. The recipe calls for AP flour but I may try cake next t-- Perp's out of her room at naptime, bbl.