I feel that many of us today are so wrapped up in the notion that you can “get [fill in the blank] quick” that we sometimes forget how to slow down and lose sight of how things should be done. Your “fill in the blank” could be anything from rich to thin to famous—such as by becoming the next D-list reality TV “star.” Although the lottery does help a lucky few become millionaires overnight, you could just as easily buy tickets your entire life without winning a dime… Earlier I saw a commercial for a pill that if taken twice a day touts to make you lose weight in just a few short weeks… Oh! And let’s not forget about our good friends from the cast of The Jersey Shore. Are they entertaining (at times)? Undoubtedly. Would you want to behave like them and have it broadcast to the entire world in order to become a household name? I’ll let you answer that one…
Will the quick and dirty method yield some sort of results? I’d posit yes. But do they lead to the best possible outcomes? No.
All of this is to say that on occasion it is best that you take your time with the task at hand. It all comes down to a good character trait called patience. I learned it as a child during fishing trips with my grandmother (I also conquered my aversion to worms and learned how to bait a hook, among other things). We would rise early in the morning (because that’s when the fish were biting), head to the pond/lake/whatever body of water we could find, and cast our rods into the quiet, serene abyss. And then we would wait. Wait until we saw the float bob up and down, signaling a nibble down below (this part alone could take an hour to happen). Yet still we would wait once we saw any sign of activity. My grandmother taught me that if you were too anxious you would lose the fish and have to start waiting all over again. The trick, I learned, is to wait until the scaly scoundrel swallowed the hook and tries to swim away. It’s at this point when the bobber would disappear from the surface of the water, and you knew at that point it all came down to reeling that sucker in! Here still it is imperative to take your time because that fish will do everything it can to wiggle its way loose from the hook. At this step in the process it’s all about the alternating combination of reeling and pulling your prize all the way up to shore until finally, success! And then the next thing you know, you’re putting more bait on the hook, casting your rod, and back to waiting again…
Can you cook eggs in about 30 seconds if you wanted to? Sure. The result? A tough, rubbery, blob. The key to perfectly light, creamy, and fluffy scrambled eggs—in case you haven’t already guessed it—is patience (and time). Whisk your eggs, salt, pepper, a splash of milk or cream, and maybe a little parsley together per standard protocol. Add a little bit of butter to a skillet over a medium-low flame and pour in your eggs. If they start to coagulate as soon as you pour them in then the pan is too hot and you should turn your flame down. Here you want to continuously stir the eggs (a wooden spoon is good for this) as they slowly cook. Depending on the size of the batch you’re making, this could take upwards of 10 or 15 minutes. (Say what?) No, I’m not joking. It may sound a little extreme just for some eggs, but trust me on this one because you’ll end up with the creamiest eggs you’ve ever had in your life. Throw in some sour cream or crème fraîche for added richness.
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