I’ve moved a LOT over the last 16 years and I’ve gotten used to dealing with a different stove and oven each time. This time around, when I moved from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, we actually brought our own stove with us. Because of this I was a little startled when things that I have cooked hundreds of times suddenly acted differently. Simple things like pasta are taking longer to cook. I’m no chemist so I really don’t know what the causation is – maybe the salts and minerals that are in the water here are messing with things. I have also been startled by how quickly breads and bread-like products are going stale. In just a couple of days, a loaf of bread is dried to dust and growing things. Our average humidity here is about 15%. A friend of mine on the East Coast is having a devil of a time trying to lower the humidity in her house and I would gladly take some from her!

The bottom line is that if you make a location change or have drastic weather changes in your area, don’t expect your good old, tried and true recipes to come out the same. Even something like egg noodles! The noodles were easy to fix, I just cooked them longer but learn to taste frequently and make adjustments where necessary.

--- © Chef Raven