Cheese Souffle: How and Why I Ate One a Day

More healthy foods are appearing on storeThen four. Then five. I experimented with more
shelves. When I saw a carton of egg whites atbutter, more flour, two whole eggs, low-fat
my grocery store I immediately thought ofcheese, and one percent milk.Every souffle fell.
cheese souffle. Cheese souffle is one of myMuch as I love cheese souffle, I was getting tired
favorite foods, but it's high in fat, and I hadn'tof the same whacky lunch. Despite a reputation
made one in years. If I could come up with aas a gourmet cook I felt like a failure. By the end
healthy recipe I could eat cheese souffle again.Iof the week I had consumed so many egg
bought two cartons of egg whites, fat-freewhites I felt like a giant parade balloon - a thin
cheddar cheese, and fat-free milk. "This should doperson filled with air. Maybe I'd float around the
it," I thought to myself. On Monday morning Ikitchen. Heck, I could float around the
wrestled the souffle dish from the back of theneighborhood.On Saturday morning I announced to
cupboard, assembled my ingredients, and beganmy husband, "I'm going to make one last souffle."
what turned out to be "The Great Cheese(It was a dramatic announcement.) Years ago,
Souffle Experiment."My first souffle was madewhen we weren't as health conscious, I used to
with one tablespoon of butter, instead of three,make souffle for dinner. My husband would come
and a teaspoon of margarine. Butter is a thickenerhome hungry and smell the baking souffle when
and, to compensate for less butter, I added extrahe got out of the car. The oven was next to the
flour to the sauce. I added a teaspoon of Dijondoor I would stick a "Don't slam, souffle in oven"
mustard to bring out the flavor of the cheese.sign on it.The note always made my husband
The classic recipe calls for six eggs, but I usedsmile and he always raved about my cheese
one whole egg, and egg whites for the rest. Tosouffle. And so, with great care and
stabalize the egg whites I added a teaspoon ofdeterminiation, I prepared souffle number six.
cream of tartar.When I put the souffle in theWhen I put the souffle in the oven it looked
oven it looked perfect.The souffle started to riseperfect. I kept peeking in the window to see if
and the aroma of melting cheese wafted throughthe souffle was rising. It rose steadily and looked
the kitchen. "This is going to work," I said tolike a cook book photo. Had I invented a healthy
myself. But it didn't work. Fifteen minutes beforecheese souffle?Five minutes - just five minutes -
the souffle was due to come out of the oven itbefore the souffle was due to come out of the
fell. My classic cheese souffle had turned into aoven it fell. We ate the brown, crusty, delicious
cheese tortilla. I don't like to waste food, so I atetop for lunch, along with a green salad. Though it
part of the souffle top for lunch."Oh well," Iwasn't the best lunch I've ever served, my
thought. "Tomorrow is another day." On Tuesdayhusband appreciated my efforts. I've given up on
morning I got out the souffle dish, assembled myinventing a new cheese souffle. Sometimes you
ingredients, and made souffle number two. Thisshouldn't mess with a good thing!Copyright 2006
time I used two tablespoons of butter. I wasby Harriet Hodgson Hodgson has been a nonfiction
careful to beat the egg whites until they werewriter for 27 years and is a member of the
stiff, not dry, and folded them ever-so-gently intoAssociation of Health Care Journalists. Before she
the cheese sauce.When I put the souffle in thebecame a health and wellness writer she was a
oven it looked perfect.But the same thingfood writer for the former "Rochester Magazine"
happened. Fifteen minutes before the souffle wasin her hometown of Rochester, MN. Her 24th
due to come out of the oven it fell. Again, I atebook, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating
part of the brown, cheesy top for lunch. CookingGrief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available
is chemistry and, since I'm not a chemist, the onlyfrom A five-star review of the book is also
thing I could do was make souffle number three.posted on Amazon.