Thursday, October 22, 2009

Poached eggs = fail

Tonight's dinner was going to be toast topped with roasted kale and a poached egg, with a side of sweet potato fries, thanks to inspiration from fellow bloggers CrumblyCookie and SimplyMe (this is my first attempt at linking on my Mac!) Alas, I apparently did not pay close enough attention all those nights during my childhood when my mom would make us poached eggs on toast. I got the boiling water part down, and knew to cook the eggs for as long as it cook the bread to toast, but beyond that, I was winging it. Nobody told me there had to be a certain amount of water in the pan, nor did anyone explain how to get the whites from shredding like cheap toilet paper mid-flush. My two beautiful farm-fresh eggs stuck to the bottom of my pan, and their golden moon yolks were left high and dry (or actually, rather slimy) due to my inexperience. One was salvageable, but the other served as a reminder to the dog that, although he gets reprimanded an awful lot, I do still like him. He was quite the attentive dinner companion after that.

As for the rest of the meal, it was divine. My sauteed kale was cooked in olive oil with garlic, orange bell pepper, and corn. This was my first experience with kale. The texture is "meatier" than spinach or chard, taking longer to chew, and the flavor was an excellent complement to the surviving egg. I liked that it kept its ruffle and did not wilt down to a pile of mush as spinach is wont to do. I used Tosca Reno's sweet potato oven fry recipe from The Eat-Clean Diet book, which is a spicier version of the Sweet Potato Oven Fries in The Eat-Clean Diet for Family & Kids book. The H and baby had a dinner date with H's parents, so I was free to cook for my own tastebuds. And my 'buds like spice.

So even though the eggs didn't go as planned, don't think I forgot about my toast! Ohhh no. I could never forget my toast... it was just a plain ol' piece of sprouted grain bread, until I smeared it with a hearty helping of artisanal cream cheese--one of my co-op selections from last night--that probably supplied my daily value of fat in one fell swoop. The texture was closer to goat cheese than the brick of Philadelphia you may be used to, but once it came to room temperature it was delightfully spreadable. Best.cream.cheese.ever. Thanks, Dancing Goat Creamery!

In case you've fallen asleep reading the previous three paragraphs, here's a recap: Dinner was garlic-sauteed kale with bell pepper and corn, topped with a messily-poached egg and served with spicy sweet potato oven fries and sprouted grain toast with locally-made fresh cream cheese. And it was very good.

4 comments:

  1. Poached eggs are definitely something that takes practice. Some people set the water in the pan into motion in a tornado-type swirl. Some people add vinegar to prevent the egg-white shredding.
    BTW, your mid-flush description is too true!

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  2. Did you see the movie Julie & Julia? There was a funny scene where she tried to make poached eggs for the first time. It was also a fail for her. I've never attempted this.

    Glad you found something yummy to do with the kale! I have also never attempted to cook (or eat) kale.

    I have made sweet potato fries though! Did your fries end up crispy at all? Mine are always pretty soft. They still taste good, but I wish I could figure out how to make the texture a bit more like traditional fries.

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  3. Nope, haven't seen it! I read the book though I don't remember much.

    The fries had crispy parts, but were generally soft, especially after they'd sat for a few minutes while I got the rest of dinner plated. It probably has something to do with the thickness and cooking time. I have 5 more to experiment with!

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  4. Mmmm, poached eggs are my fave and I've been making them since I was old enough to boil water. My humble advice is about 3/4 of an inch of water, a splash of vinegar and a rolling boil, add a couple eggs so as not to overcrowd the saucepan and voila! Good luck next time!

    PS. I love your blog having discovered it on my own quest for clean eating. Keep up the great writing!

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