zucchinis are like mushrooms

i've been completely unable to cook a small handful of foodstuffs in my life.

fish is outright impossible for me. i can't even consistantly ruin fishsticks. they are mushy, burned-crunchy, both, etc. actual fish is more devestating when it comes out all wrong.

i've tried eggplant, and no matter how i salt it, brown it, etc. before baking, it's hard. or, it's translucent goo. there's a way to get it right. i am not in possession of that way.

then there's the ellusive pancake. in theory, the pancake is a simple thing to make. in pactice, mine are always tiny, torn up, a tad soggy, or burned. i blame the stove, but the outcome's still the same, no matter where the blame goes.

the last time i tried to make zucchini, i followed an online recipe by the letter. i ended with greasy, mushy lumps of half-charcoal/half-slime. the lumps were green in places, but that was the sole zucchini-like trait.

this time, i sliced a zucchini into half inch rounds, put them on a plate, added a teeny bit of water so they'd maybe steam a little, and put that in the microwave for a minute and a half. i poked them. i repeated the minute and a half. poked.

they were on the border of too tender to be any good, but they had not yet crossed over. and then i learned that zucchinis are like mushrooms. they make their own water, and need no help from the cook. the next zucchini is going in for only two minutes, and it isn't getting any water.

my hope is that where i've failed with eggplant, i can succeed with zucchini. after all, i've added spaghetti squash to my list of "stuff i can cook that i figured i couldn't." maybe once the zucchini is a cinch, i can try the eggplant again.

in other news, this expectorant only seems to work when i lie down. that's a very inconvenient thing, let me tell you. but the way it works when i am lying down, i'm very glad i got it. better out than in, even if you never knew it was there in the first place.

throat's starting to get a bit sore from all the night coughing, and it still hurts a great deal to cough, right under the ribs. but the rest is steadily going away, which makes me happy. i almost wish i had someone here to lightly pound on my back. i feel like there's something lodged in there than needs a good knock to get loose.

... the kids outside just hit a baseball out of the little park area and into someone's car. they don't seem overly apologetic, but there's a pretty sizable dent in the thing's roof. glad it's not mine...

love and peace