I did it! I did it! I made a souffle’!

Way back in the 60’s, I used to love to watch Julia Child cook up those yummy looking masterpieces of hers. Her warbly voice and confident manner was just fun to watch, and entertaining too. What a sense of humor and obvious love of good food. I loved the way she explained things so clearly. The cheese soufflé always delicate, tall and fluffy, seemed to be the epitome of French cooking, and way beyond my meager talents.

That movie that came out last year renewed my interest and I vowed to make one someday. We went out and bought her cookbook and I’ve been enjoying dipping into it for ideas ever since. Last weekend we got a dozen big beautiful brown eggs from a local Farmer’s Market and I thought that this was the time-and the perfect eggs for the task.

So last night I did it! Made a classic cheese soufflé, from Julia Child’s cookbook. I don’t have the perfect pan, so used two smaller ones, so it didn’t raise properly, way above the edges of the dish like it’s supposed to. And I think I dirtied 20 dishes or cooking utensils on the way, but the result was delicious—if I do say so myself. And Jim agreed! In the end, it wasn't that hard, just sort of complicated. Light and delicate, with a soft cheesy, eggy taste, it was just yummy.
We still have a few cold tolerant things growing slowly in the garden, so the soufflé was teamed up with a dish of stewed turnips and potatoes from our garden, simmered in chicken broth. We had a salad of freshly harvested red lettuce and wild garlic tops, dressed with a dressing made from the walnut balsamic vinegar we recently got in a South Haven Michigan store, and sparked with mushrooms and onions sautéed in just a tiny amount of butter. Chardonnay completed the meal.

Dessert was locally picked SunCrisp apples, simmered in just a tiny amount of butter and cider, and topped with a little Captain Morgan’s spiced rum. Wow! The best meal we’ve had in a while, bar none.

Next, we’re going to try a dark chocolate soufflé for dessert some night soon. I can hardly wait.