12.31.08
Post-Christmas Cooking Disaster
I made the casserole, and it sure looked good when I checked it about fifteen minutes before planning to serve it. I have some frozen petit pois in the freezer, and the youngies and I were going to sit down to a cozy, home-style meal. They went out for a few minutes to get something from the store, and I decided while they were gone that I would put the dogs out on their leads.
The crafty and footloose beagle decided to take that opportunity to explore the neighborhood and beyond. I heard her go, as she pulled the lead clasp loose and it hit the porch step. By the time I got outside, the pug right behind me, the beagle was across the street and headed for the hills. I fastened the pug on the lead and headed after the beagle, in the cold and dark, in apron, cardigan and wooden clogs. Around the block, down the street about half a block, and she disappeared behind the church. I decided to head back and change into boots and a coat, and enlist the kids to help.
In the meantime, pug had gotten off the broken lead, but decided the wise course was not to head into the street where I was calling and clapping and threatening. He went back to the porch and waited patiently for his beloved owner, my niece, to return. Good pug. Bad beagle.
The kids came out with me, the niece on foot, her fiance in the truck. We searched. We shone flashlights into backyards. We called. After almost an hour, niece was worn out and cold, and it was starting to sleet. She jumped in the truck and the kids kept looking. So did I. I circled wider, checking the waterfront, the park, behind the convenience store. I climbed the hill and checked the wooded path. Dog prints here and there, fresh ones, about beagle size, but the snow either turned to sodden grass or ice. Finally, I though I might be closing in because I found a lot of criss-crossing prints in the snowbank behind the Girl Guides building. I headed down the street, and was about a block from home when the kids caught up with me in the the truck.
“We found her. She was headed home, so I just jumped out of the truck door right on her. She’s in her crate.”
Back home, my sister-in-law was waiting, perplexed. She missed all the excitement by being at work. “Well, that turned out all right.” (I didn’t think minor frostbite of my earlobes was all right.) Then she asked the Big Question: “What’s for supper?”
The turkey casserole, abandoned in a warm oven (I had turned it down) for almost three hours. I pulled it out. The biscuits looked like wood chips. The gravy was a shiny paste. I probed a little. “It’s ruined,” I pronounced. “No, it’ll be all right. We’ll just take the biscuits off.” ”No, it’s ruined.”
A quick consultation between the youngies. “We’re going out.” “Oh, it’s late. I’ll make something else.” “No, no, get your coat.”
So the turkey casserole became fish and chips, a bit late, but solid comfort food, and compensation for my stinging earlobes.
It’s good to have family.
10.16.08
What to do with Eggs
Right now we can get eggs at a good price at the grocery store. They aren’t the best of all eggs, but the good eggs are at the farmers’ market and it is beyond busline range. Eggs are not strictly vegetarian, but unfertilized eggs, as most are, do not ever become chicks. (You need a rooster in with the hens to get fertilized eggs that will hatch.)
We used to have our own chickens. Some chickens are lots of fun. We had three at one time who were real pets and followed us around like dogs. They liked to come in the cellar door and watch Nicholas stoke the wood furnace. If we didn’t pay attention, they would try to get upstairs into the house and that just drove the dogs crazy. These chickens had names – Jet, Ginger and Penny. My chicken-raising friend rolled her eyes and said, “You don’t name the chickens!” I did, and they were great. Other chickens have been just chickens and sometimes a little nasty.
The big pay-off is that if the chickens are fed right they produce eggs. We got about five eggs a week from each chicken for about nine months out of the year. (They sometimes don’t lay when the days are short and when they are moulting – growing new feathers.)
But even grocery store eggs are a good source of protein (free-range eggs are lower in cholesterol.) So here are a few ways to cook eggs that aren’t expensive or time-consuming.
REALLY GOOD SCRAMBLED EGGS
This is too simple to believe. Forget milk, cream, or water. Forget herbs and seasonings. Melt a little butter/margarine in a nonstick or well-seasoned pan. (Use olive oil if you prefer.) Break four eggs into a bowl, gently scramble with a fork (not a whisk or some electric doodad.) I mean, really gently, so that you can still distinguish some white. Don’t beat until fluffy, keep it calm. Now pour the beaten eggs into the pan, and stir around lightly with a wooden spatula. The wooden implement means you aren’t overscrambling. Keep the heat medium-low until the eggs are mostly set, but still a little moist on top. You won’t believe how tender the eggs are cooked this way, treated with gentleness. Transfer to a warm serving dish. This is enough for two good eaters, or enough for one very good eater.
A SIMPLE OMELET WITHOUT FOLDING
Do you find omelets intimidating? Try this instead. Dice a small onion and a small green pepper finely, fry in a little oil or butter at medium-high. Reduce the heat to medium. Meanwhile, beat together four eggs until well-mixed. Use a fork, not a whisk. Pour the eggs into the vegetable mixture in the skillet. Have on hand some diced, grated or sliced cheese- real cheese, from a block, that is, like cheddar or gouda or whatever you like. Let the eggs start to set, then slide a spatula under the cooked rim and let the raw egg flow under. Do this all the way around until most of the raw egg has gone to the bottom and cooked. While the eggs are still moist on top, lay on the cheese evenly, then cover, reducing the heat to almost nothing. Peek in after a minute to see if the cheese is melted. Divide into portions and serve. Try other vegetables, cheese mixtures, or fresh herbs minced. Just sprinkle the herbs on top, don’t mix into the eggs. Again, keeping the heat low will keep the eggs from getting tough. (If you use a hot pepper and some cilantro, serve the omelet with salsa and tortillas.)
PICKLED EGGS
This takes some time and preparation, but is worth it. It is one way of dealing with surplus eggs. Get your equipment together: Pot for hardboiling eggs, kettle for heating vinegar, hotwater canner, canning jars (quart size is good), lids, jar lifter, extra towels, kitchen timer.
Ingredients: 2 dozen or more fresh, raw eggs; gallon of vinegar (I prefer cider); seasonings such as garlic cloves, bay leaf, pepper corns, mustard seed, one clove or leaf per jar, or a half dozen seeds/corns.
Hardboil the eggs and peel. I don’t have a fail-proof method for getting the shells off without the white splitting. The fresher the egg, the easier it peels. Meanwhile, heat the vinegar with an equal amount of water; you probably won’t need the whole gallon, but best to have extra to top up jars. Put the peeled eggs in the clean canning jars and add seasonings. (Note that raw garlic turns copperous green in vinegar! But isn’t harmful.) Pour in the hot vinegar mixture. I put a metal table knife or skewer in each jar as I fill it to avoid any cracking. Put the lids on properly, following the manufacturer’s directions for making the seal. Immediately lower into the boiling canner, cover the canner, and process for ten minutes. (Less than that will not give a good seal.) Lift out with the jar tongs (if you don’t have these, get some, since they will save you many burns.) Cool on the towels. Keep for about a week before serving. Open jars should go in the refrigerator.
