When the room goes round and round

Despite few drops of rain, I still made my way to the gym last nite for usual Body Jam class.  Such is my loyalty and commitment to the one exercise that I don't excel in. I possess neither a dancer's body nor grace but occassionally I like to fantasize that I actually do. 

So, first half of the class last nite was great actually...I knew the moves..everything was going great, no problem.  Basically, I was rocking it, dancing to the praises of the instructor.  I was having fun, showing off every once a while to the newbies  and outside onlookers..

Moments of brilliance....

2nd block of the class, however, was a total nightmare.  There were too many spinnings in the tracks.  After a few turnings, the studio was basically spinning right in front of my eyes.  I was like a little kid trying to find my shadow on the floor.  I could have easily be mistaken for a drunkard. The instructor was no longer singing praises. 

The effect of one spinning too many.

I always tell myself that I don't take this class very seriously, preferring instead to enjoy an hour of fun, which I do really but sometimes stinking at something which I like just isn't fun . 

Cooking Project : Egg Drop Soup

Here we go, another cooking trial...egg drop soup or sometimes known as flower egg soup.  I first came to know ahout the existence of this fabulous soup during my college days.  I remember going to this little chinese shop in Chauncey Village, West Lafayette to get my fix of this soup, especially during the cold winters. In fact, I love this soup so much that I have tried cooking this a couple of times as a student. How about that eh?  None came close to the original taste, much to my dismay but they were good, nonetheless.

Egg drop soup is simply beaten eggs added to hot chicken broth, which consist of many different variations of ingredients but the one item which is a must is tofu, besides the eggs, of course.  The thin stream of beaten eggs added to the boiling soup should create a thin strand of cooked eggs.

.   So, ok...after many many years, I did another attempt at cooking this soup over the weekend.  My ingredients were tofu, egg, tomatoes (sliced into cubes) , cubed carrots and onion, some tiny chicken slices (for my soup base since I don't like using chicken broth cubes), coriander for garnishing & a few drops of pepper, salt and sesame oil for taste.  Simple enough right? 

All ingredients, with the exception of the eggs and coriander were brought to a boil.  Then I switched off the stove and added in the beaten egg, careful enough to slowly drop it in forkful by forkful. I have learnt from past experience not to pour the entire beaten egg in. 

Blurry side view of the soup

A less blurry top view of the soup

Verdict - Though edible, this is nowhere near the taste of the egg drop soup that I first came to know and liked years ago...not that I can vividly recall the taste after so many years but I'm pretty sure the original tasted (and looked) better than my current version.  For one, I overestimated the usage of salt and the beaten egg did not stream as well as it should.  The soup became a little too murky for my liking too.  Still, I finished the soup though. 

It is edible, people. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the next project.  God knows I can't even follow the simplest of recipes.