Today might be the last day of several days of rain. Fingers crossed. I’m really tired of it, though I know there are those of you out there that would give anything for some rain at this point. And I would gladly send it to you if I could. Everything is soggy. It’s humid. It’s dark. It’s depressing.
Again, when I ventured outside yesterday for a few short minutes…bam! Another mosquito bite. In the same place on my arm. The other day, I was bit on my eyelid. Lovely. I don’t really miss living in California, but I do miss the lack of mosquitoes there. For eight years, I was mosquito-free. Sigh.
The Japanese Beetles have chewed on most of my New Dawn roses, save this bud. I’m pulling for it. A quick examination yesterday of the roses that border the porch revealed no beetles. Dare I hope that they have left the premises?
One of my day lilies had exactly two blooms on it, ready to open. Had is the operative word here, as they are no more. My friends, the deer, decided to dine on them.
These coneflowers really are this color. No adjustments to the saturation of the photo. This is how they look. Hello, little moth.
The other day, when I mentioned my few kitchen accomplishments, one of them being fluffy scrambled eggs, Kathleen asked if I would pass along my secret. So yesterday, when Don requested scrambled eggs and I immediately responded with “No. I have a headache,” I reconsidered my response, thinking that it might be a blogging opportunity. Don got his scrambled eggs, thanks to you guys. I hope he appreciates you.
By the way, I really did have a headache.
I read this tip years ago and I couldn’t tell you where at this point. Here’s the tip:
Mix together your eggs and milk, whipping them with a fork. Pour the mixture into a frying pan.
And here’s the trick: as the edges start to solidify, push the solid eggs toward the middle of the pan. Constantly.
This means, my friends, that you really can’t leave the eggs to attend to other kitchen duties, like making toast. Assign that to someone else. Because the eggs cook quickly, you need to use that spatula to push the eggs toward the center.
See? More of the solidified eggs have been moved to the center. Keep doing this, never letting the eggs stick to the pan, occasionally flipping them to ensure even cooking. I don’t flip them until the end of the process. If you leave the pan unattended, you risk scrambled eggs that have browned, which is okay if you like that, but not as pretty. Or fluffy.
Here they are, just about done. Don’t overcook them. Trust me, they are light as a feather. Don loves them. Add some salt and pepper, have your child or husband or partner or niece or nephew or dog butter the toast, and you’re all set.
What the heck am I doing giving cooking advice?
The winner of a copy of Elizabeth is Missing is Shirley Elliott. Congratulations, Shirley! I’m sending you an email as soon as I publish this post. (And I love your name. That was my mom’s name.)
And there’s a new post up at Just Let Me Finish This Page. It’s a book review.
Happy Wednesday.
the back of my house is all windows so I see my yard from each room. your blog is like another window in my house. you have flowers in bloom… my yard is parched with a few sun flowers and hollyhocks going to seed. the 36 rose bushes are dried up by the time the sun comes out. so again i say thank you for all the photos! my water bill was 86 dollars last month…send me some rain!
now off to the kitchen for some eggs…
So sorry to hear of the heat and drought in your region, Judy. I wish I could send you some rain!
Claudia, Your eggs do look fluffy. I am going to try this technic. Thank you. Your flowers are a pretty color. Gosh , I just snapped a picture of the rose bush my daughter entrusted to me. It has two blooms. Blessings for a drier day. I wish mosquitoes would suck on Japanese beetles or that the beetles would eat the mosquitoes. xoxo,Susie
Wouldn’t that be perfect?
Mmmm. Now I’m hungry for an egg. Scrambled is my favorite flavor. Ha!
Go make some, Leslie Anne!
Claudia, I’m sorry that you have too much rain, summer is so short, and fleeting it seems like any day that isn’t perfect is crossing off opportunities that will never be back.
Thanks for the hint on the scrambled eggs, my Mom makes them that way, but I don’t think it was a skill that she handed down…lol. I will try and remember this next time.
Hope that headache goes away, humidity, and grey weather can’t help.
Jen
Joy of joys, it has turned sunny and the humidity has greatly increased. Thank goodness! Headache is gone, Jen. Thank you!
Love your cone flowers Claudia! I’m not sure why, but the deer are leaving our daylilies alone this year – must be enough other things for them to browse on and satisfy their tummy grumblings. We’ve also been fortunate to have rain lately – but mostly late afternoons and evenings (and I love to fall asleep to the rain), and the evening showers cool it down enough that we can turn off the AC and open windows and doors at night. Your eggs look yummy!!
It’s the opposite here, Vera. Usually they leave them alone, but this year is a different story!
Your eggs look wonderful….now I’m hungry! What do you mean….there are no mosquitos in California. Seriously? Ours are so big they will carry you away! I discovered yesterday, that the deer are eating my hosta blooms in a shade garden I have along the city sidewalk…gotta love the wildlife! I really hope the rain stops for you…soon! ;)
Well, there sure weren’t any in San Diego when I was living there. Not a one. Where do you live? Of course, the weather patterns have changed since I was there, so maybe they’re more in evidence?
We technically live in the city…but on the northern fringes, and are surrounded by marshland. Marshland=Mosquitos! ;)
We didn’t live near any marshes – so no mosquitoes, thank goodness.
Using your same technique for cooking, I have one more hint to make your scrambled eggs even fluffier… use heavy whipping cream instead of regular milk. You won’t believe the difference that makes. They are so fluffy they almost melt in your mouth. Try it… I know you’ll love it!
I think heavy whipping cream would be great, but it would have to be a very special treat!
That’s exactly how I fix scrambled eggs Claudia!! John will only eat them if they are done thru and thru. He said he had to eat too many runny eggs in the service. But, cooking them like this, it is easy to make sure they are all done.
Have a good day my Friend.
Judy
Tell John I don’t like runny eggs either! Have a wonderful day, Judy.
The deer here have never bothered our daylilies for some reason..And we have a lot of daylilies..that coneflower is a gorgeous color..That is the way I do my scrambled eggs and they are very fluffly..I think I will have some for lunch!
They never have until this year, those little buggers!
We had a rainy summer last year and I felt like I was growing moss it was so awful. Hope you get some sunshine soon! Love cone flowers, I’m going to try to grow some next year. I should be home in the Spring to start a garden. Thanks for the scrambled egg tips, I do love them like that!
hugs,
Linda
I’m making everyone hungry…whether for eggs or something else, I don’t know!
I hope your headache goes away and that you’re feeling better soon. That’s the way I scramble my eggs. I don’t know where that came from but that’s just what I do. Hope your day is sunny.
Headache is gone today, Missy. My readers know how to cook, that’s for sure. A lot of you do this already!
Loved your scrambled eggs tutorial, Claudia. I was taught all the same tips plus one more. “Keep the heat low, high heat results in tough eggs…” And in our family we often add a little shredded cheese, a spoonful of sundried tomatoes or hot pepper spread, a snipping of garlic chives or green onions, etc etc. But my favorite addition is from Julia Child who showed us that the French “gild” their eggs by sliding a cold pat of butter over the hot finished eggs on the plate. Yum. Wish I had a $1 for every plate of scrambled eggs I’ve polished off over the years… Hope you’re enjoying a rain-free day.
Yes, I should have mentioned keeping the heat low – it makes a huge difference in the quality of the eggs. I’m a purist about my scrambled eggs. I just want the eggs and salt and pepper. But it Don is making an egg dish of any kind, he throws in a lot of other things from the refrigerator and they are delicious.
I have a headache as I write this. I like your advice on the fluffy eggs. Constantly mixing it up. I had a lot of complaints about my non fluffy overcooked eggs, I am improving hehe. They like it when we add cheese and onion. What can I say? Thai omlette is fried in hot oil and is brown!
Hope your headache goes away soon, Ellen!
The eggs look delicious. Cool and dry here in Kentucky. Go figure. xo Laura
The weather is crazy, Laura.
Claudia, I must have jinxed it the other day when I said I had not seen a Japanese beetle all summer thus far. I was outside dead-heading a bit ago and my red petunias had lots and lots of holes…. they looked like lace. Sitting upon one was….. you guessed it! I flicked it off and got my bottle of Dawn & water and sprayed. Didn’t see them on any other plants, nor did I see any other lacy flowers, either. Gardening is always a bit of a walk on the exciting side, isn’t it? We are now to have about 5 days ahead w/ no rain. I hope it is heading in your direction, although it only got up to 62* here yesterday. The zucchini are producing like crazy and they are lined up on my kitchen counter, have had some grape tomatoes, and a few cukes should be ready to pluck tomorrow. Happiness!!
I don’t think we are going to get your cooler weather – temps will stay in the eighties here. But today, the humidity is much less oppressive.
We’ve had a ton of rain here this summer, too – but today is perfect: sunny skies with intermittent clouds and only 70 degrees. I spent some of the afternoon outside in the yard, dodging those gosh-darned mosquitoes. I have several bites on my arm, too. I have a recipe for mosquito repellent (made with essential oils) and I’ve been meaning to make it and try it.
Mosquitoes are really bad this year!
This has been the wettest and coolest summer that I can remember! A few years ago, my garden club came to visit my gardens the first week of August (absolutely no idea why I agreed to that!) and we had not had a drop of rain for 7 weeks. Midway through the evening, the skies opened and we got a thorough drenching! No one minded at all.
July is half over, dang, it’s passing by much too fast!
Way too fast!
Hi Claudia,
Thank you for the recipe, my husband is looking forward to breakfast this weekend. He really hates the scrambled eggs they serve at resturants, we always joke that they are fried and flipped not scrambled. I’ve never knew the secret and can’t wait to give it a try.
Kathleen
Have fun, Kathleen!
Claudia – I am vacationing in Michigan and just met a lady with a goat farm (Jill). She keeps ducks and said that she went from millions of Japanese Beetles to just a few. I didn’t know if you had ever heard that. Also, she exclusively cooks/bakes with duck eggs now.
Peg
No, I’ve never heard that. I suppose the ducks eat the beetles?