A New Way to Prepare Eggs - I call it Snow Eggs

I first saw this on a video that was in Russian or some Eastern European language. Basically what the video showed was separating eggs, whipping the egg whites, shaping the egg whites into a kind of volcano shape, placing the egg yolk into the centre and then baking it.

Looked fabulous and I couldnt get it out of my head. I wanted to make it for a while but each time I suggested it, I was met with doubt and resistance. Finally, I decided I would just make it. Two weekends ago, (14th March) Michael was away at band camp and so I persuaded my little princess to try these eggs for breakfast and let me make it for her.

I used three eggs and separated them, placing each yolk into an individual dish. Then I whisked the egg whites with a little salt until it was thick - like a meringue. Then I dolloped a batch of egg white on parchment paper and shaped it, making a hollow in the centre. The egg yolk was poured into the hollow.





I then baked it for around 15 minutes in a 180C oven.

Once it game out I placed it on a plate and sprinkled some pepper on the eggs and also a little more salt.  I served it with some lightly toasted bread as well.







I call this Snow Eggs coz it looks like pillows of snow.

The Snow Egg was really interesting. Sort of like a savoury pavlova and the egg yolk was a little runny once broken. The crust was a little rubbery as it cooled so you need to eat this fresh out of the oven and not let it cool too much. My princess thought it was interesting too. It was certainly a new way to enjoy eggs!

When I make this again, I will make the base a little flatter so that it cooks faster. As I said, indeed a new and interesting way to serve eggs!

Poached Eggs

I've always wanted to poach an egg and have tried a few times without success. The whites seems to dissipate in the water and become all straggly and stringy. I did try using a method I learnt from my friend Lorraine at Not Quite Nigella where she uses plastic wrap to encase the egg white and yolk.
Even that method though didn't quite work for me as the egg seemed to cling on to the cling film. I suppose that's why its called Cling Film...

Recently, the whole family has enjoyed watching MasterChef (The US
Version) and the kids have a great time in immitating Gordon Ramsey whenever The Lovely Wife or I cook something. After the season of MasterChef ended, our Satellite TV Station introduced Junior MasterChef(Australia).


I was so astounded by all the stuff that these little kids were making!
Simply Magnificent. I coulnd't cook half of what I can cook now at their ages. Then there was this little girl that made a poached egg. Dammit! If an eight year old (or was she younger) could poach an egg than I bloody well could too!



So... a few days ago, during the Public Holiday for City Day, I decided I was going to poach an egg. I remembered an episode on the adult MasterChef where Whitney (the winner) had poached an egg and the judges mentioned that she had used the 'swirl method'. I was intrigued by what the swirl method was and learnt that you stir the water before dumping the egg in. The swirling water creates a centrifugal force that pulls the egg onto itself.

I also remembered reading somewhere that you should add some vinegar to the water as the vinegar helps to bind the proteins in the egg and stop the egg white from spreading too much. However, I have also read that it doesn't really make that much of a difference.

The first time I attempted the Poached Eggs, I used vinegar in the water. I swirled the water around and then dumped the egg in. It started to spread out and so I tried scooping up the sides to the centre. Bad idea. More strings of egg white formed. I let the egg set and then scooped it out into a bowl. I discarded the water and started to boil a new batch. This time, I used a smaller saucepan. The water was only salted and I didnt use vinegar.

I remembered at this point that it was best to use room temperature eggs. At least I had left two eggs outside to 'warm up.' It was also advised that the best poached eggs were fresh eggs. The eggs I had in the fridge were already more than a couple of days old, if not older. Maybe that's why the first attempt failed.

Anyway, I broke one egg into a small rameking and waited for the water to boil. I turned the heat down and then I swirled the water into a nice whirpool. The egg was slipped into the water gently and the swirling action really seemed to bring it together. I timed it perfectly to three minutes and then scooped it out and let it dry before I placed it on a nice piece of toasted wholemeal.

Method
Fill a saucepan with water ensuring enough water to cover the broken egg.
Add 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp vineger (optional).
Bring water to to the boil and once boiling, reduce heat to low so that water is just simmering.
Working with 1 egg at a time, crack an egg into a small bowl. Stir the simmering water in one direction to create a whirlpool. This is the 'swirl method'.
Quickly slide the egg from the bowl into the swirling water. Allow to cook for 3 minutes, without stirring.
Then using a slotted spoon, remove the egg and allow to drain on the spoon over some paper towels.
Repeat with remaining eggs, one at a time. Between cooking eggs, use the slotted spoon to skim off any foam or egg remnants from the surface of water surface.

Serve eggs on toast, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper.

While I was getting my camera ready, I called out to my little princess who excitedly waited at the dining table for her breakfast of poached eggs on toast. She sliced the yolk and all the creamy goodness spilled out. "Just like on MasterChef, Dads!" she exclaimed proudly. I was rather proud of myself too!




I did another egg for my son but this time I left it in a bit longer to get a firmer yolk. The yolk did turn out a little firmer and I think the firm yolk was quite nice too although I have to admit that I prefer the runnier version.




My little princess really enjoyed her Poached Eggs and I was really proud of myself for having finally conquered the poached egg. I started singing a little jingle with my princess that went like this:

Daddy can make a poached egg, Daddy can make a poached egg.

We sang it over and over again until The Lovely Wife started to roll her eyes toward the heavens, seeking enlightenment!

Next step is to try and make Eggs Benedict...

French Toast for Breakfast and Dinner

My son had a bit of a stomach bug yesterday and couldn't eat very much. He was hungry though and so I suggested making some French Toast. The eyes of my little princess lit up as she asked "Like the ones in hotels?"

Yes, I replied, just like the ones in the buffet breakfasts at hotels. To make the French Toast a little more interesting, I dusted them with cinammon and sugar. Rather yummy indeed!

This morning, being a public holiday for Malaysia's Independance Day, the kids again asked if they could have French Toast - this time for breakfast. I remarked that there was no more cinammon nor was there any more bread. The bread problem was easily fixed by popping over to the local petol station but there was no cinammon there. It was also too early to get any cinammon from the local supermarket. So, this time, I just dusted the toast with icing sugar.

Ingredients
4 eggs
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp milk
8-10 slices white bread

Method
In a shallow bowl, beat eggs, milk and salt lightly with a fork. Over medium-low heat, heat a skillet or shallow pan with a thin layer of oil or butter.
Dip the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl to coat one side then carefully turn to coat the other side.

Transfer bread skillet and cook till the bottom is nicely browned before turning over to cook the other side. Remove to a plate and while hot, sprinkle with cinnnamon sugar or icing sugar. Alternatively, serve with some honey or maple syrup.

It's quite amazing how something so simple is so well liked. My little princess wolfed down 5 pieces - equivalent to 2.5 slices of bread. Her words said it all as she reached for piece number 5 - "I'm already full, but I'm still hungry!"

Indian Scrambled Eggs

I'm a great fan of scrabled eggs. Not only are they easy to make but they make a nice meal eaten on their own or with some bread. The kids like their scrambled eggs too.

When The Lovely Wife mentioned that she wanted to try out a recipe from her "Indian Shortcuts to Sucess" recipe book by Das Sreedharan, I smiled supportively. Although I don't think she needs any help with Indian food, she has surprised us all with some recipes from Indian cookbooks. I asked her what she was going to make and thats when my supportive smile vanished. I rolled my eyes upward to heaven as if to ask the Good Lord for strength as she answered "Indian Scrambled Eggs"


What the heck are Indian Scrambled Eggs? Surely, just adding in a little spice to eggs and then frying them scrambled does not consitute Indian Scrambled Eggs! Surely Mr Sreedharan, the author of that cookbook, had simply run out of ideas and needed to add in something to fill his pages. Maybe he had needed and extra page or two to fill and he thought Ha! Put some spices in eggs and everyone will think its a special recipe and buy my book.




Heck, when I was first starting to cook, I used to make Scrambled Eggs with onions, tomatoes and curry powder. Maybe if I had the foresight to brand it as Indian Scrambled Eggs, I might be famous now!

Anyway, this is the recipe as Das Sreedharan does it.

Ingredients
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp vegetable Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
10 curry leaves
1 small shallot, peeled and sliced
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tomato - chopped
salt
coriander for garnishing.
Method
Break the eggs into a bowl and add a little salt. Whisk with a fork or baloon whisk till well mixed.
Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they start to pop add the curry leves and fry till fragrant. Add the shallots and cook over low ehat till soft.
Stir in the turmeric and chilli powder then add the tomato and cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in the beaten eggs and stir constantly as it cooks until they are nicely scrambled.

All very simple and not at all complicated! Taste wise, it was interesting to say the least but nothing really spectacular. Tasty yes, but not the sort of thing that you would really expect to find in a cook book.

The Lovely Wife thought it was interesting and remarked that it wasn't something that she would have made if not for reading it in her cookbook.



I decided that instead of rolling my eyes, I would just reach out and take another helping of those Indian Scrambled Eggs...

Egg curry with eggplant

When I was young, my mother used to make a delicious egg curry. However, as I grew older, started cooking on my own, grew older, got married, grew older, had kids, grew older, this dish hardly made an appearance at our dining table.

That changed a few weeks ago. The Lovely Wife has been having a penchant for cooking Indian food using recipes from her collection of Indian Cookbooks. She decided to make this Egg curry and to say that it was delicious would be a tad of an understatement. It certainly brought back fond memories too!


This version of Egg Curry is a little different from how my mom used to make it. For one, this recipe uses eggplant that give the egg curry a nice distinctive flavour. I found it kind of funny (punny) that Eggplant is used in an Egg Curry - get it??!!



This is The Lovely Wifes interpretation of the recipe.

Ingredients
6 eggs
4 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
3 onions, sliced
3 green chillies, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch ginger, ground
handfull of curry leaves
1 tsp Tomato Paste
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 small eggplant, cut into large pieces
200g spinach leaves

Method
Place the eggs in a large saucepan. Cover with water and slowly bring to a boil. Lower the heat and allow to simmer for about 10 mins or till hardboiled. Drain and let cool in a bowl of cold water. Peel shelss and rinse the eggs to remove stray shells.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add onions, chillies, garlic, ginger and curry leaves. Cook stirring frequently until onions are soft. Add the tomato paste, ground coriander, turmeric, chili pwder, garam masala and a little salt. Cook, stirring for one minute.
Add the tomates, eggplants and spinach leaves. Cover and cook stirring from time to time for 6-7 minutes or until the gravy has blended with the eggplants and spinach. Add the hard boiled eggs to the pan and let them heat through in the curry for about 5 minutes before serving.

The recipe above comes from the book Indian Shortcuts to Success by Das Sreedharan.

Das claims that "Spicy egg dishes, such as this one are a favourite with my friend Jamie Oliver..."
While the egg curry was tasty, I wouldn't put it at the same level as something that Jamie would endorse - then again, Jamie aint not friend of mine is he...?

Regardless of whether Jamie Oliver likes this dish or not, it is very tasty and very nutritious. I really enjoyed this dish and to me, it's best eaten with rice, although I reckon it would be good with bread too!

Frittata or Quiche, does it really make a difference?

I've always wanted to make a Frittata although I always wondered what the difference was between them. I know that generally speaking, a quiche has a crust although there are some quiches that don't. I've never eaten a Frittata, let alone made one, so the only thing I had to go by was how they looked in pictures.

A quiche, to me, always looked a little more wet and softer in texture than a Frittata. The Lovely Wife makes a good quiche and I also remember the quiche sold in my neighbourhood Milk Bar in Australia that Joe and Claudette (the owners) used to call an Egg and Bacon Pie. To complicate matters, some people refer to Fritattas as Spanish Omelletes as well...

One thing I've learnt though is that the same thing can be called something completely different depending which part of the world you come from. Case in point is what we call Currypuffs here in Malaysia are known as Empanadas elsewhere and variants of the same include Perogies and I'm sure all sorts of other names in other countries or cultures.


So anyway, I decided I was going to make a Frittata for lunch and I wasn't going to worry to much about whether it was a Quiche, a Spanish Omellete or a Frittata. To me, it was a Frittata and that settled it.
I based this recipe on a combination of recipes from various Australian Women's Weekly cookbooks as well as different recipes found on the web.

This is what I did.

Ingredients
1 onion - chopped
4 cloves garlic - chopped
3 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
3 potatoes
200g Bacon - diced
8 eggs
100ml cream
50g spinach - blanched and chopped
1 red capsicum - diced
1 green capsicum - diced
200g mushrooms - sliced
100g cheddar cheese - grated

Method
Skin the potatoes. Boil potatoes until just tender. Slice into thin slices and set aside. Meanwhile fry the onion, garlic, basil and oregano. Add in the bacon and mushrooms and continue to fry until well cooked. Add in the capsicum and spinach and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Line the base of a 9" cake pan with baking paper. Place a layer of potatoes on the base and cover with half the vegetable and bacon mixture. Place another layer of potatoes and cover with the remaining vegetable mixture. Whisk together the eggs and cream till incorporated and season with salt. Pour over the mixture and cover with grated cheese. Bake in a Preheated 190C oven for about 20-30 minutes till the top is golden and egg has set. Allow to cool slightly before overturning out and removing the baking paper underneath. Flip right side up onto a serving platter.

I placed this Frittata on to a bed of lettuce for effect but it turned out that the lettuce added some nice salad-like crunch to the Frittata. I also served this with basil roasted tomatoes. It might be an idea to place the tomatoes on top of the Frittata after it's been unmoulded rather than serving it as a side.



The Lovely Wife enjoyed the Fritatta although she started the whole debate again about Frittata and Quiche. The kids thought the Fritatta was really tasty although my son felt it was a little eggy.

I liked it not just for the taste but also how easy it was to prepare. I will definitely use this recipe again for a vegetarian version or maybe even add in some spicy sausage for a variation on the same theme.



So Frittata? Quiche? Spanish Omellete? What are the real differences? I'd like to know!!

Quick Vegetable Quiche

The key word in this Quiche is Quick. Quick Quiche. Actually, not really so quick but quicker than normal. You see, a 'real' quiche would have a pastry crust and to bake a pastry crust would take some time. This version omits the crust but it just as delicious. This is one of The Lovely Wife's creations and as I said, one of the best things about this is how versatile it is. You can add some bacon or chicken pieces to make it more hearty or just stick to the basic vegetarian version.






The Lovely Wife likes to make this a little spicy as well by throwing in some chilli powder or sometimes curry powder. This is what she usually does:

Ingredients:
1 large carrot
2 zucchini
1 large onion
1/2 cup grated cheese
1 cup Self Raising Flour
1/4 cup oil
4 eggs - lightly beaten
Salt
Pepper
1 tsp Chilli Powder or Curry Powder or both if you want if more spicy!!

Method
Grate the carrot and zuchini thinly and chop the onion. Combine with all the other ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to ensure everything is nicely incorporated. Pour into a pyrex bowl or similar container and bake in a preheated 180C oven for about 30 mins.



See? I told you it was really easy! The kids really love this dish but I think one of the best parts is how easy it is to whip up but how tasty it turns out.

Sometimes, she also adds some chopped spinach to the quiche for more substance. I think maybe I should try adding some mushrooms to it too!

Canadian Pancakes

Most of you know that I try and get my children involved in the kitchen. I also try and expose them to all sorts of different foods. It was with this in mind that The Lovely Wife and I bought them two cookbooks from the Usbourne Childrens series.

When my son was in hospital recently for a minor lung infection, he was served pancakes for breakfast one day. He seemed to enjoy it tremendously although both The Lovely Wife and I found it a tad rubbery. Now both the kids have had pancakes before although we have never made it for them.

So one fine Saturday, The Lovely Wife decided she was going to make pancakes for the kids. I think she's getting a little bit of my 'disease' where she can't stand it if the kids like something other than homecooked food! She decided to get the kids involved as well by reading through the recipe with them. The recipe came from The Usbourne Little Round the World Cookbook - one of the very same books that I spoke about earlier.

The thing I like about the cookbook is that it not only provides the recipe but also some information about the country that the recipe represents. Now I am very, very sure that Canada has much more interesting Cuisine than Pancakes but at least the kids got to learn a little bit about Canada!




For instance, they learnt what maple leaves look like as well as learning that it is the National Emblem of Canada. They also learnt that maple syrup comes from the sap of the maple tree and that metal tubes are drilled into the tree to extract the sap. They also learnt about the Rockies and that Canada has "vast fields of wheat, mountains and huge lakes." Canadians often eat pancakes for breakfast too. I'm sure that's a generalisation but all in all, not a bad learning exercise

This is the recipe that makes about 8-10 pancakes although we made them small so we got a much larger quantity of pancakes. We also reduced the oil as we used a non stick pan.

145g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
300ml milk

Method
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Whisk the egg with two tbsp oil and milk. Beat the egg mixture into the flour a little at a time until smooth. Sppon the mixture onto a hot non stick pan and cook for about a minute. Pancakes will start to bubble. Turn over and cook the other side.

We served the pancakes with honey and nutella since we didnt have any maple syrup. A few days later though, we did get a bottle of maple flavoured pancake syrup since the pure maple syrup is just way, way too expensive over in this part of the world.


The kids loved the pancakes and they both scoffed them down like their was no tomorrow. It looks like pancakes are one of their favourite foods now!

All Day Breakfast!

Ever had a craving for a full blown breakfast? You know, the one with bacon, sausages, eggs, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes and everything else? Ever had the craving when it's way past breakfast time?

I'm one of those that loves places that serve all day breakfasts. I remember many years ago when I went to the US on work. There was this restaurant, I think it was Denny's, that was near the hotel that I stayed in. One evening after work, one of my colleagues and I walked across the road to Denny's for dinner. We were both immediately taken by their All Day Breakfast and we ordered the Lot! Complete with pancakes. Most satisfying I must say!



The best breakfast I’ve probably had was when my wife and I visited South Africa. We stayed at a small, quaint hotel that offered a buffet breakfast as part of the package. The best part about it was that the hot breakfast – meaning the bacon and eggs – was cooked individually and not thrown in a warmer as is the trend in other hotels.

On our first morning, we walked bleary-eyed to the restaurant and were welcomed by a charming elderly waiter who escorted us to our table. He had a thick South African accent and spoke rather fast too. The conversation went something like this:



Waiter: “Good morning Ma’am, Sir, and how are you today?”
Us: “Morning.”
Waiter: “Today we have the buffet and also you can order the hot
breakfast. For you, Ma’am, Eggs and Bacon?”
Wife: “Yes, please.”
Waiter: “How many eggs Ma’am?”
Wife: “Two please.”
Waiter: “Sunny side up, scrambled, hard boiled or poached, Ma’am?
Wife: “Scrambled please.”
Waiter: “Perhaps some sausages, Ma’am?”
Wife: “ Mmm…okay”
Waiter: “Some mushrooms, tomatoes and potatoes, Ma’am?”


By this stage my wife was quite flabbergasted and could only grunt her assent! I was thankful that etiquette dictated that my wife was asked for her order first, enabling me to act cool and dignified by saying, “Two eggs, sunny side up with everything, thank you!”

Needless to say, the spread that arrived was huge. Three large strips of bacon, two extremely tasty sausages, a large serving of sautéed mushrooms, one baked tomato, stir-fried potato cubes in herbs and spices, and of course the eggs and toast. Absolutely delicious!

So one night, I decided to treat the family to an All Day Breakfast. Large Meaty Sausages, Sauteed Mushrooms, Scrambled Eggs and Toast. Personally, I prefer my eggs sunny side up with the yolks a little runny. The Lovely Wife and the kids prefer their eggs scrambled so I followed the majority and just made scrambled eggs.




Yeap! Whos says you can only have breakfast in the morning? I think Sausages and Eggs qualify as a meal at any time of the day. We all loved it especially the meaty sausages with liberal doses of mustard!

I guess that's why All Day Breakfasts are so popular all over the world, any time of the day!

Breakfast for lunch?

My daughter is a great fan of Scrambled Eggs. It all started some time ago when we had gone out grocery shopping rather early, both she and my son were famished so to acquiesce their hunger, we had a late breakfast at Coffee Bean. We ordered the Scrambled Eggs with Salmon for her and my son to share and they really enjoyed it. So…Daddy of course had to do it better!

As a child, I was never treated to such a nice breakfast. My childhood memories of breakfast are still very clear in my mind. Each morning, mum would serve us each a half-boiled egg and a glass of milk or Milo. Sometimes, especially on weekends, there would be a treat of cereal. What I really hated about breakfast though was the fact that we had to take one cod liver oil tablet right after. I would end up burping just as I got to school and the nasty taste of cod liver oil would linger in my mouth until recess!

To be fair though the kids usually have have cereal or bread for breakfast. Scrambled Eggs with Salmon is definitely not the norm! My daughter likes her scrambled eggs so much that one day, when we were at home and wondering what to have for lunch, she asked if we could have Scrambled Eggs. No issue there but to spruce the meal up a bit, I decided to pop down to the local super and get a teeny bit of smoked salmon as well as some mushrooms.

So lunch that day was scrambled eggs with salmon, a side of garlic mushrooms and toasted bread. I dont think I need to give you a recipe for scrambled eggs but if you insist, this is how I make my eggs. 2 eggs per serving.

2 eggs
a little milk
salt
pepper
a little oil or butter

Beat the eggs with the milk. The milk makes the eggs a little lighter and fluffier. Season with a little salt and pepper and if you like some herbs like oregano, basil or rosemary. Heat oil or butter in a pan and pour the egg mixture in. Allow the bottom to cook a little and then stir the mixture, scraping the bottom and lifting with a spatula. The liquid egg will then run under the lifted part lifted. Keep moving the egg around as you repeat the scraping and lifiting. The egg will start to form curds. Depending on whether you like your scrambled eggs moist or dry and also depending on whether you prefer the curds small or large will determine how long you cook the eggs for.



Some people may thumb their noses at having scrambled eggs with salmon for lunch.
To me, as long as the food is good and wholesome, it doesn't matter if you eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner - Especially when the children love it!

While Mummy is away, Daddy will Play... Scotch Eggs

This is the second of 3 parts of How I played while the Lovely Wife was away. Played in the kitchen that is - cooking up a storm for my kids!

We had decided earlier in the morning that I would make them Scotch Eggs. Both the kids love eggs, especially hard boiled eggs. They also love their meatballs so it seemed like a perfect idea to combine the two!

Traditionally, a Scotch Egg is a hard-boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and then deep-fried. They are also usually eaten cold and often with salad and pickles. Contrary to popular belief, Scotch Eggs have nothing to do with the Scottish and was actually created in a London food shop way back in 1738.


The version I made didn't have Sausage meat in it, wasn't coated in breadcrumbs nor was it deep fried. It certainly wasn't eaten cold either!! I had a lot of meat left over after wrapping the hard boiled eggs so I made meatballs.

This is what I did:

Ingredients
4 eggs
500g Mince Beef
2 slices wholemeal bread
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup tomato sauce

Method
Boil the eggs until hard boiled. Let them cool then shell them and set aside.
Cut crust off break and soak in milk until soft. Mash the bread up till it forms a paste and then mix it together with the mince. Season with salt and pepper and add in the tomato sauce. Mix well.
Flatten some of the mince in your hand and then place the egg on top of the flattened piece. Slowly mould the meat around the egg. Use some water to smoothen out the meat over the egg if needed.
Place the meat covered eggs on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 mins in a 190C preheated oven.


I served these with garlic mushrooms and while the kids had theirs with rice, toghether with mustard and more tomato sauce. I ate mine with some French Bread.



All in all a very tasty and satisfying meal! Stay tuned for the last installment of While Mummy is away...