eggs: a love affair
This morning, I had fried eggs. They were lightly pan-fried and were served warm and alone on a small plate. Two were had with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper, and two were lightly dusted with Parmesan. I quietly ate them standing by the kitchen sink, looking out the window, in part to avoid the dog’s longing glances and the not-so-subtle licking of her lips.
I love eggs. I hated them as a child, but lately I can’t seem to get enough of them. The average egg has 5.5g of protein and is quick and easy to make in a variety of ways, no matter how much you hate eggs. As an old-world custom, my mother used to break a raw egg in a mug of warm milk and make me drink it to “fatten” me up. Sunday breakfasts always included eggs, so my choice at the time was scrambled and with a few drops of Tabasco and soy sauce on top. (For some reason, eggs with soy sauce always tastes like bacon.) Recently, I’ve found gently hardboiled eggs to be a treat – easy to cook in the morning and quickly snack on through the day. When I have more time, I prefer my eggs soft-cooked, as in liquid whites and runny yolks, served with freshly ground salt, pepper, and buttered toast ’soldiers’ to dip in. If you’re at all curious about the wonderful world of cooking eggs, I highly recommend Michel Roux’s Eggs.The recipes are to-die-for, even if a little floofy French gourmet.
Which brings me to another one-food-topic book that I love: Oysters by Rebecca Stott. For the oyster-lover, this is a must-read. Enough said.
Then, there are those of you who are fond of neither eggs nor oysters. A pity really, but I even have a food book recommendation for you. Salt: A History is a fascinating read into that humble staple that graces just about every kitchen table. If you don’t like salt, well then.. good luck with that. :-)
