Had they ever met, Stuart Little and my dad would not have been on the same page. Or, at least not until late afternoon when they both “take a dive” and enjoy a good nap. I could see a chance for possible camaraderie there. Otherwise, Stuart, the perennial early riser and my dad, “morning is over-rated”, would have been incompatible bedfellows. However, there is one thing they would have agreed on, other than the nap, and that was a good egg for breakfast. My dad loved eggs…not fancied with sauces and fluff, but a good scrambled, over-easy or poached egg. Stuart Little agrees. Basic, simply cooked eggs belong right up there with the best of the best. Dad had designated “egg days” and woe be to anyone who violated them with thoughts of cereal, pancakes and yes, even my magic protein shake (If Our Green Table Could Talk entry). Egg Days were sacred and not to be passed over or violated with substitutions. Period. My parents have an extra fridge in their basement and that is where dad’s treasure trove of eggs “lived”. Religiously, every Tuesday night and Friday night, he would take inventory in the upstairs fridge and replenish the stock so that Egg Days on Wednesday and Saturday could “fall into place rather nicely.”
Simply cooked eggs need two simple components to be at their best: freshness and gentle treatment. Use old eggs and the whites are watery and the yolks, flat. Tough it up cooking an egg and you are one step away from rubber. Springtime has lovely eggs and you can find them easily now directly from farmers or from a market that knows local egg farmers! Make sure they raise their hens as nature intended: eating grass, grubs and bugs and enjoying plenty of fresh air, sunshine and clean water. (As a side note, when our children were little and we were living in Mexico, we had two Rhode Island Red hens, "Georgie" and "Road Runner", and later when we moved back to the U.S., we got two more hens and two ducks to boot. What a hoot they were and the eggs, oh my…I can still taste them! I heartily recommend having your own chicks if you can!!)
FUN!!! Right as I am writing this, our neighbors are coming over for a glass of wine and guess what they brought…6 beautiful home-grown eggs, 5 brown and 1 gorgeous green! They keep four hens in their backyard and feed them with their yard’s bounty of grass-y, worm-y things and add in some extra kale and yogurt for zip. The eggs are amazing...plump, deep orange-yellow yolks that sit up at least a mile high (well, slight exaggeration!), but they do tower over the firm, thick whites. They smell so great, too...almost "fragrant" and the taste is like spring itself...fresh, fresh, fresh.
Simply cooked eggs need two simple components to be at their best: freshness and gentle treatment. Use old eggs and the whites are watery and the yolks, flat. Tough it up cooking an egg and you are one step away from rubber. Springtime has lovely eggs and you can find them easily now directly from farmers or from a market that knows local egg farmers! Make sure they raise their hens as nature intended: eating grass, grubs and bugs and enjoying plenty of fresh air, sunshine and clean water. (As a side note, when our children were little and we were living in Mexico, we had two Rhode Island Red hens, "Georgie" and "Road Runner", and later when we moved back to the U.S., we got two more hens and two ducks to boot. What a hoot they were and the eggs, oh my…I can still taste them! I heartily recommend having your own chicks if you can!!)
FUN!!! Right as I am writing this, our neighbors are coming over for a glass of wine and guess what they brought…6 beautiful home-grown eggs, 5 brown and 1 gorgeous green! They keep four hens in their backyard and feed them with their yard’s bounty of grass-y, worm-y things and add in some extra kale and yogurt for zip. The eggs are amazing...plump, deep orange-yellow yolks that sit up at least a mile high (well, slight exaggeration!), but they do tower over the firm, thick whites. They smell so great, too...almost "fragrant" and the taste is like spring itself...fresh, fresh, fresh.
Here is a recipe for simple, perfect-every-time scrambled eggs. All you need for extras are thick slices of toast with sweet butter and a little local honey and then another spring treat...fresh local strawberries.
Simply Scrambled Eggs (This recipe is adapted from Julia Child...really hard to top! I understand that baseball legend Ted Williams always made his famous scrambled eggs this way too...slow and easy does it!)
4 fresh eggs
sea salt and fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)
Break eggs into a bowl and beat just to blend whites and yolks. Season with sea salt and black pepper (The only change I make to this recipe is that I add salt and pepper at the end.) Heat a skillet over low heat and add butter. Heat until melted and then add all but 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs. Slowly and gently scrape the egg mixture from the outside and bottom of the pan towards the center. Use a wooden spoon or spatula. It will take a minute or two until the eggs start to set. DON'T RUSH things by turning up the heat. After about 3 minutes more, the eggs will be like lumpy custard. Cook a little longer if you like a "drier" scrambled egg. Fold in last 2 tablespoons of raw egg, cook a minute or two until set and then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. If you want, you can fold in additional sweet butter, the tablespoon of heavy cream or some herbs. Dill and chives are nice and still basic and shouldn't cause a veto! Serves 2-3.
Next entry, I will share the new goat cheese and crackers I found that we ate over talk of chickens, eggs and backyard gardens. Oh, and I have to tell you next about the dinner at Sam and Ed's (names changed to protect the employed)! Beyond fun!
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