Thursday, November 23, 2006

how long to burn up? cheese omelate, aspen

According to a big poster which arrived with the newspaper this morning, the sun will enter a "giant red phase"in around 4 billion years. This means that its outer layers will expand and boil away most of the earth's atmosphere.

A cheese omelate made with grated cheddar cheese and two eggs. Grate about 2oz of cheese with a fine grater. Beat the eggs and beat in half the cheese. Heat a little butter in a frying pan until it is just on the point of smoking but not burning. Add the egg and cheese mixture and shake, until it covers the base of the pan. Shake the pan. Then tip the pan to one side so that the uncooked egg meets the surface of the pan. Then tip it to the other side, so that another layer of egg cooks. All the time keep the pan just off, or on and off, the heat so that the base of the omelate does not become leathery. Add the remainder of the cheese to the centre of the omelate , which should still be slightly liquid. Shake, and as the cheese melts, flip one side of the omelate over and let it rest, folded over in the pan, for a few seconds. Then serve on to a hot plate.The whole operation should last a little over a minute. The omelate should be light and soft and the outside should be barely coloured.

Today, I came across the French word for Aspen, the variety of poplar, which has those wonderful trembling leaves. It is, evocatively, tremble.

1 comment:

Clare said...

I had a book of science knowledge when I was little that revealled this same fact about the sun going giant red in four billion years time.

I looked at the pictures of the sun steadily growing, swallowing Mercury, Venus and then Earth and all the other planets and then shrinking back into a cold, hard ball.

Then I went downstairs and asked my father when the book had been written.