Backlog: I Soufflé . Can You Soufflé?
Who: Eli and Tommy
When: December 10, 2018
Where:The Phone
What: How to make a soufflé and how to not to mess up with your girlfriend
Tommy was enjoying one of his rare days off and wanted to get some cooking done for the following week. He was trying to keep the freezer as well as the refrigerator well stocked with comfort food for Liz to hopefully cut down on all her drama. She had mentioned that she had a craving for banana soufflé so he was skimming recipes online. He chuckled to himself when he realized that he could just call Eli to ask him how to make it!
Eli was bumming around his place. He had some time to kill before he had to be at the restaurant. He was disappointed he couldn’t be spending it with Tina. His phone rang, and he wondered who could be calling him.
He answered and soon found out that Tommy Chang was on the other end.
“Oh, hey.” He wondered why Tina’s pseudobrother was calling him up. “What’s up?”
“Um, I was actually calling for your chef’s expertise,” Tommy replied, “I’m trying to get some food cooked up for the week and I need some help with desserts. Liz has been really wanting some banana soufflé and I can’t seem to find a recipe that doesn’t look too complicated. Would you be able to help me out?”
“No problem. They are pretty tricky.” Eli understood. He had trouble with soufflé when he was first starting out. His first soufflé got a failing grade from his professor when he was taking a culinary arts program way back when. “I got some time to kill. If you got the ingredients right now, you can put me on speaker phone. I’ll talk you through the process.”
Tommy grinned, “Yup. I have all the ingredients in front of me. I got a recipe off the uCook website that looks like something I could actually not be too bad at. If that makes any sense.”
“Right. Okay so first. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Now, you prep your soufflé dishes. For how ever many you want to make. How many servings are you making by the way?” Eli walked into his kitchen, phone still at his ear. Even if wasn’t the one actually cooking he apparently had to be in the proper setting. “You just have to brush them with your melted butter.”
He chuckled at a thought he had and decided to share it with Tommy. “How much is this like those tapes from grade school. The ones that taught you how to read or to speak Spanish.” He tried to imitate the voice from his childhood. “Please hit pause and press play once finished. Something like that.”
Tommy cracked up at the memory, “Yeah! I loved those. The filmstrips that beeped when you needed to advance them were also pretty cool. Um, I’ll be making six servings so that would take care of dessert for two nights. Thank you loads for your help Eli.”
“Like I said, it’s no problem.” Eli looked over at his oven. “Liz will really enjoy this. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. It must be nice, doing something special for someone special.”
“It’s part of having a good relationship, isn’t it?” Tommy agreed, “Right now with Liz being so medically fragile I’ll do whatever I have to to take care of her and if dessert makes her happy that’s what I’ll do.”
The older man definitely wished that Eli had met the Chang’s when things weren’t in such an emotional uproar. It seemed that everyone was out of sorts and nowhere near their usual personality.
“I try to do that for Tina. I want to protect her. Even though she doesn’t need it. I think she could take all of us in fight.” Eli chuckled. “But you get what I mean.”
“Oh yeah,” Tommy agreed, “We’ve always been that way with her too. She never wants us to think that she’s weak in any way so even when she actually does need us she hates to tell us. Tina is definitely tougher than most people I know!”
“Yeah, she can be scary. I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side. I don’t know how your brother is still alive though.” Mike Chang seemed like someone that made mistakes easily. Eli thought he was a good guy though. Most guys would be worried about their girlfriend having that kind of relation with another man. When he had been in Lima he realized that even though Mike and Tina were more than friends, they were just like brother and sister. He was sure that if he brought it up, Tina would tell him how gross it would be to even associate those thoughts with Mike or call it Changcest. And it’s not like Mike was even on the same level as him. No contest.
But he must have been doing something right. It was pretty obvious that Rowan was into him, and for a moment he had the attention of that Quinn chick. Asian guy got game, and game recognises game.
“I’m pretty sure my brother was a cat in a past life,” Tommy chuckled,”I have no clue how he gets out of all the scrapes he does to be honest. Maybe that’s why T and Migs are so close? They both land on their feet that’s for sure.”
“That’s good to hear. I mean that they can take whatever life throws at them.” Eli was glad that Tommy wasn’t able to see his concerned expression. He hoped that should his flash come true or that anything bad happened to him, Tina would be okay.
“I hope that whatever happens between Tina and me, that she’ll be happy. That’s what I want for her.” Eli paused. “And I’m hoping that its going to be me that’s making her happy.” Even though he didn’t wink, the tone of his voice made it sound that he did. Eli didn’t mean sex, although that was pretty happiness inducing if he had to say so. But he just wished the best for her, even if it wasn’t with him. He chuckled. “I’m sorry I hope you don’t take that the wrong way. I don’t want you and your brother to find a reason to kick my ass.”
The older man knew that his pseudo-sibling had been through a lot in her life - from her parents general ambivalence toward her, a bad relationship breakup as well as the recent loss of her childhood friend. He hoped that the new relationship with the chef worked out because he wasn’t sure how much more disappointment she could take at this point.
“Yes,” he agreed, “she’s had a lot of things happen to her so she’s learned that it’s necessary to get on with your life regardless of the speedbumps you might encounter. Also, don’t worry about me or Migs finding a reason to kick your ass. Unless of course you break her heart needlessly. I just ask that you be patient with her because trust and words are difficult for her. Okay?”
Eli felt that he could to that for her. Give Tina patience. He had a heads up about her flash. And like the Joes said, “And knowing is half the battle.” He thought about what Tommy said. He was half right. Words were easy for Tina. Her monologues should be taught to forensic students. He could not believe she used to be shy in high school. But her words were valuable. She wasn’t going to waste them on someone beneath her. And he had to guess that when someone unworthy got an earful, they had better listen and learn.
“Okay. I find that very manageable.” He smiled. “So let me know how the soufflé went?”
“You bet, Eli.” Tommy replied, “Thank you again for all your help. You’re a life saver!”
When: December 10, 2018
Where:The Phone
What: How to make a soufflé and how to not to mess up with your girlfriend
Tommy was enjoying one of his rare days off and wanted to get some cooking done for the following week. He was trying to keep the freezer as well as the refrigerator well stocked with comfort food for Liz to hopefully cut down on all her drama. She had mentioned that she had a craving for banana soufflé so he was skimming recipes online. He chuckled to himself when he realized that he could just call Eli to ask him how to make it!
Eli was bumming around his place. He had some time to kill before he had to be at the restaurant. He was disappointed he couldn’t be spending it with Tina. His phone rang, and he wondered who could be calling him.
He answered and soon found out that Tommy Chang was on the other end.
“Oh, hey.” He wondered why Tina’s pseudobrother was calling him up. “What’s up?”
“Um, I was actually calling for your chef’s expertise,” Tommy replied, “I’m trying to get some food cooked up for the week and I need some help with desserts. Liz has been really wanting some banana soufflé and I can’t seem to find a recipe that doesn’t look too complicated. Would you be able to help me out?”
“No problem. They are pretty tricky.” Eli understood. He had trouble with soufflé when he was first starting out. His first soufflé got a failing grade from his professor when he was taking a culinary arts program way back when. “I got some time to kill. If you got the ingredients right now, you can put me on speaker phone. I’ll talk you through the process.”
Tommy grinned, “Yup. I have all the ingredients in front of me. I got a recipe off the uCook website that looks like something I could actually not be too bad at. If that makes any sense.”
“Right. Okay so first. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Now, you prep your soufflé dishes. For how ever many you want to make. How many servings are you making by the way?” Eli walked into his kitchen, phone still at his ear. Even if wasn’t the one actually cooking he apparently had to be in the proper setting. “You just have to brush them with your melted butter.”
He chuckled at a thought he had and decided to share it with Tommy. “How much is this like those tapes from grade school. The ones that taught you how to read or to speak Spanish.” He tried to imitate the voice from his childhood. “Please hit pause and press play once finished. Something like that.”
Tommy cracked up at the memory, “Yeah! I loved those. The filmstrips that beeped when you needed to advance them were also pretty cool. Um, I’ll be making six servings so that would take care of dessert for two nights. Thank you loads for your help Eli.”
“Like I said, it’s no problem.” Eli looked over at his oven. “Liz will really enjoy this. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites. It must be nice, doing something special for someone special.”
“It’s part of having a good relationship, isn’t it?” Tommy agreed, “Right now with Liz being so medically fragile I’ll do whatever I have to to take care of her and if dessert makes her happy that’s what I’ll do.”
The older man definitely wished that Eli had met the Chang’s when things weren’t in such an emotional uproar. It seemed that everyone was out of sorts and nowhere near their usual personality.
“I try to do that for Tina. I want to protect her. Even though she doesn’t need it. I think she could take all of us in fight.” Eli chuckled. “But you get what I mean.”
“Oh yeah,” Tommy agreed, “We’ve always been that way with her too. She never wants us to think that she’s weak in any way so even when she actually does need us she hates to tell us. Tina is definitely tougher than most people I know!”
“Yeah, she can be scary. I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side. I don’t know how your brother is still alive though.” Mike Chang seemed like someone that made mistakes easily. Eli thought he was a good guy though. Most guys would be worried about their girlfriend having that kind of relation with another man. When he had been in Lima he realized that even though Mike and Tina were more than friends, they were just like brother and sister. He was sure that if he brought it up, Tina would tell him how gross it would be to even associate those thoughts with Mike or call it Changcest. And it’s not like Mike was even on the same level as him. No contest.
But he must have been doing something right. It was pretty obvious that Rowan was into him, and for a moment he had the attention of that Quinn chick. Asian guy got game, and game recognises game.
“I’m pretty sure my brother was a cat in a past life,” Tommy chuckled,”I have no clue how he gets out of all the scrapes he does to be honest. Maybe that’s why T and Migs are so close? They both land on their feet that’s for sure.”
“That’s good to hear. I mean that they can take whatever life throws at them.” Eli was glad that Tommy wasn’t able to see his concerned expression. He hoped that should his flash come true or that anything bad happened to him, Tina would be okay.
“I hope that whatever happens between Tina and me, that she’ll be happy. That’s what I want for her.” Eli paused. “And I’m hoping that its going to be me that’s making her happy.” Even though he didn’t wink, the tone of his voice made it sound that he did. Eli didn’t mean sex, although that was pretty happiness inducing if he had to say so. But he just wished the best for her, even if it wasn’t with him. He chuckled. “I’m sorry I hope you don’t take that the wrong way. I don’t want you and your brother to find a reason to kick my ass.”
The older man knew that his pseudo-sibling had been through a lot in her life - from her parents general ambivalence toward her, a bad relationship breakup as well as the recent loss of her childhood friend. He hoped that the new relationship with the chef worked out because he wasn’t sure how much more disappointment she could take at this point.
“Yes,” he agreed, “she’s had a lot of things happen to her so she’s learned that it’s necessary to get on with your life regardless of the speedbumps you might encounter. Also, don’t worry about me or Migs finding a reason to kick your ass. Unless of course you break her heart needlessly. I just ask that you be patient with her because trust and words are difficult for her. Okay?”
Eli felt that he could to that for her. Give Tina patience. He had a heads up about her flash. And like the Joes said, “And knowing is half the battle.” He thought about what Tommy said. He was half right. Words were easy for Tina. Her monologues should be taught to forensic students. He could not believe she used to be shy in high school. But her words were valuable. She wasn’t going to waste them on someone beneath her. And he had to guess that when someone unworthy got an earful, they had better listen and learn.
“Okay. I find that very manageable.” He smiled. “So let me know how the soufflé went?”
“You bet, Eli.” Tommy replied, “Thank you again for all your help. You’re a life saver!”