The Incredible Edible Egg: Food Musings

Looking at this blog of mine, it's really hard to believe that more seven months have passed since I've posted something and even harder to believe that what I'm about to post is far from fabulous. So how do I explain months of inactivity?  One word: child. Isn't it amazing when you have the hang of something and a monkey wrench is thrown into the mix?  Well our littlest monkey is quite a handful, she is.  And add her to the mix of the two that came before and I'm a nutty mom with too many extra-curricular activities and overall lunacy in the house.  Don't get me wrong - in the past seven months, I've made dinner nearly every night, I cooked Christmas Eve for 12, a one-year old birthday party for 15 and assisted with desserts for Thanksgiving, among many other special things.  So I am still at it...it's just that the night seems to end there - with me finishing the last of the dishes, sweeping the floor for the 8th time that day, and staring blankly at the television set.  Writing and posting has taken a real back seat to surviving the every day that is our life.

So why am I writing today? Well, for one thing, I was inspired by a recent post of a new friend on her blog - and thought; "Crap, I'd better get back to blogging before someone pulls the plug on all that I've done thus far." And for another, it occurred to me as I swooped in to pick up my oldest from a playdate, that it was nearly 6:30 p.m. and no dinner was going to be had until nearly 7:00 p.m. So what is a Mom to do?  Dress up eggs, of course!  The French do it all the time and we think it's fabulous!

I often find that when time is at a real premium, the mighty egg makes a meal just that - mighty.  Protein and taste - what could be better (well, maybe the giant pack of Twizzlers I ate today, among many other things!) than a wholesome meal of perfectly scrambled eggs and "something."  You can fill in the blank with whatever you have!  We had a lightly dressed salad with our scrambled eggs and shredded Gouda Cheese and a pinwheel chicken sausage I broiled quickly. Along with it, I baked up some 5-minute french fries, since I didn't have time to fry them.  I could have added some toast and then we would have had a perfect meal - well, actually, I poured myself a glass of wine so the meal was completely perfect. Dinner was on the table in 15 minutes and it was devoured in an even shorter time frame.

Eggs are incredible...think of all the ways we use them: souffles, quiche, scrambled, poached, fried, over-easy, in cakes, in meringue, in flourless chocolate cake, and so on.  They are a wonder to behold and they often serve as my go-to breakfast: I submerge an egg in boiling water for about 23 minutes and peel the shell immediately under cold running water.  Then I sprinkle a pinch of Kosher salt and a few grindings of pepper and I shove the slices down my throat as I race out the door!  But, hey...a healthy meal doesn't have to be long and drawn out!

Try some of these ideas when you're pressed for time - eggs are sure to please every time!

Tico-Tango's Papaya: Food Musings

When my two older children were younger, we would read a book called The Parrot Tico-Tango about a gorgeous but greedy parrot named Tico-Tango.  It's a beautiful book of amazing colors and it's focus is on repetition and it's a little sing-songy.  We loved that book - my daughter memorized all of it (and the passages were very long) so naturally we were so proud. I remember that she once recited it to my mother and step-father and they could not contain their giggles as she repeated the whole story about how Tico-Tango's round-yellow mango was not enough for him...he had to have his friend's fruit...a lemon, a papaya, a green-grape bunch, a date, etc., etc., etc. Only each time he came across something he wanted, he stole it. Eventually his greed got the best of him and all of the fruit he stole fell.

Anyway, the story reminded me of the papaya, of course.  When was the last time you had a papaya?  Do you know what it looks like? How to find a ripe one? And do you know what to do with one?

I read somewhere that babies like the taste of papaya because it is so mild in its flavor and that it's very easy to eat. So off I went to find a ripe papaya.  A ripe papaya's skin is more yellow than it is green. Unlike a melon, you can't really smell a ripe papaya unless it's overripe. Slice it open lengthwise and you uncover hundreds of small black round seeds - just simply scoop them out and the remove the flesh from the skin with a spoon.  It comes out gracefully.  For our little girl, I puree the flesh and she eats it just like that.  It is mild, indeed. It has a melon-like texture but is less sweet than a ripe cantaloupe.  It's less flavorful than that, too.  But it's delightful and if you puree it, you can spread it over grilled fish or use the chunks in a  smoothie.  You can serve it over grilled chicken or even steak or pork! Heck...try it with whatever you like - just the way it is.

"The Parrot Tico-Tango had a round yellow mango when he spied the papaya from his friend Soraya and he knew he had to have it, too, so he swiped it!"

Pear Puree By Any Other Name: Recipe

Since I am able to cook and bake for my family, I thought, "why shouldn't I make some food for my four month old?"  She is part of the family, too. I can certainly purchase food - but I since I'm able to create some quick dishes for her, easily, it doesn't seem to make sense to buy the same items in the store and then house it in the cabinet. Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to the store brands and I've used them plenty...but this seemed like fun and certainly very - and I mean VERY easy to do! I did this with both of my older two kids and mostly because the thought of feeding them the meat that came in the jars made me want to vomit. I bought these cute little 2 oz. jars and they even have a carrying tray so each one fits into the tray snugly and compactly in the fridge. It's the perfect amount for a little person to eat.

She really liked this - but then again, what's not to love? The pear was merely made puree-able...so what can you do with this? Well, if you're ever in need of a soft-food diet, this is a good option.  If you'd like to add this to the dinner table instead of apple sauce for something like a pork chop, you certainly could. See? Who would have thought that a simply baby food inspired meal could be something you could get use out of?

Puree of Pear
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2 medium-large pears, peeled and sliced

In a medium pot, pour 1/2 cup of water. Place pear in a steamer basket (or in my case, I used a mesh strainer with a lip and a handle so I was able to rest the strainer on the pot) over the water - but not touching it. Cover tightly and raise heat to high - let cook about 5-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of your slices and the ripeness of the pear.

When finished, place the cooked pear into the food processor with a tablespoon of the cooking water and puree until finely textured.