Laughter is in my DNA

This is my Genetics lab partner, Margaret. She is looking at fungal spores here. (They get up to some crazy stuff when they breed.) Margaret is remarkable. She is smart, kind and determined. Everybody else was afraid to be my lab partner. (That'll teach her to come late the first day). Margaret also has a great sense of humor. This is apparently rare in the scientific community.

Geneticists have absolutely NO sense of humor. Especially about sex.

Isn't that just wrong?

My genetics prof was not amused when I suggested that we turn down the lights and play soft music to encourage the mating of yeast strains. Also no yuks to me comparing the mixing of mating strains in agar (petri dish gelatin) to jello wrestling. It's tough room. The kids really don't know what to make of me either. This week I wrote a song about chromosomes swapping bits of themselves to the tune of "Petticoat Junction". Sadly, I'm the only person in the class who has ever heard of "Petticoat Junction" including the prof. Sigh.

In my textbook ($179, gulp. IMHO, you pay 179 bucks for a book, Ranger better come with it, know what I mean?) the geneticists describe the "TATA box" in which transcription begins.

"TATA box". Where I come from, the only reason to use "TATA" and "box" in the same sentence is when ordering porn on pay-per-view! (Please note that I detest pornography.)

"Tata box" is the most obliviously filthy name given out since my mother decided to shorten my baby nickname of "Miss Muffet" (because of the frilly dresses) to "Muff" when I was in high school. Yep. Not. A. Good. Nickname.

This recipe is for yeast raised waffles. Mix the batter the night before so the yeast has time to get busy. Don't worry that anything is having sex in your batter, though. That yeast is only one mating strain and isn't interested in each other (Yeast don't swing that way). It will reproduce asexually by splitting itself in half. All those bubbles, though? Yeast farts!

Yeast raised Waffles

1/2 cup warm water
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 pkg)
2 cups milk
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp baking powder

At least 8 hours before serving (up to 2 days ahead, supposedly) sprinkle yeast over water in mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Nuke milk to 100 degrees F. (body temperature). Melt butter and whisk with milk, salt, sugar, and flour into yeast mixture until lumps disappear. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temp for 8 hours or so. Whisk eggs and baking powder into batter. It will be thin. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to make waffles. Use 1/2 - 2/3 cup batter per waffle. Makes about 8. While batter keeps a couple days in refrig, waffles are best eaten at once. These are delicate and delicious.