Book of Days Tales

Today is the date that Isaac Asimov claimed as his birthday. He was a Russian-American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was born some time between October 4, 1919 and January 2, 1920 in Petrovichi near Klimovichi, then Gomel Governorate in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (now Smolensk Oblast, Russia) to Anna Rachel (née Berman) and Judah Asimov, a family of Jewish millers. His exact date of birth within that range is unknown, but Asimov himself celebrated it on January 2. The family name derives from a word for winter crops in which his great-grandfather dealt. This word is spelled озимые (ozimye) in Russian, and азімыя (azimiya) in Belarusian. Accordingly, his name originally was Исаак Озимов (Isaak Ozimov) in Russian, however, he was later known in Russia as Ayzek Azimov (Айзек Азимов), a Russian Cyrillic adaptation of the American English pronunciation.

From what I have read, Asimov was a decent cook, specializing in breakfast dishes because he was an early riser and got hungry well before others in the household were up. I found a recipe he gave a magazine for something he calls “egg-celery delight.” I don’t know why the silly name. It’s just a soufflé with celery. Here’s the recipe, which I have edited for clarity.

Isaac Asimov’s Egg-Celery Delight

Ingredients

5 eggs, separated
1 cup celery, finely diced and sautéed in butter
3 tbsp butter
5 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
salt and pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet and make a white roux by whisking in the flour. Whilst whisking well, pour in the milk slowly to form a béchamel. Simmer gently, whisking constantly, until the sauce thickens and cooks. Add salt and pepper to taste. (White pepper is preferable for aesthetic purposes. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.

Beat the egg yolks well and then whisk them into the béchamel. Add the celery and stir.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold them into the béchamel-yolk mixture.

Turn the soufflé into a greased baking dish, and bake for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden.