A Return, With Eggs... and More!

Yes, another mini-siesta from food blogging comes to an end. Life, it's busy, you know. And I'm actually trying to finish an actual fiction book, which is no small feat these days!

In any case, to the (partial) subject of the post: Eggs. In  particular, eggs for dinner, which is a weekly occurrence in our house. While occasionally it's an omelet, or in the spring and summer often a frittata, for the last 6 months or so, it usually involves a poached or fried egg, the delectable runny yolk providing some serious richness to pasta with brown butter or an arugula salad with a sherry vinaigrette.

Last night it was eggs cooked in tomato sauce, adapted from this recipe from Marco Canora. I followed it fairly closely, but did deviate somewhat, adding a half-cup of onion with the garlic, putting a touch of grated nutmeg in the tomatoes (I used most of a 28 oz. can) just before adding the eggs, and topping it with flat-leaf parsley instead of oregano, since I had some in the fridge.

Here it is in the pan...

And here is the finished product...

What makes these egg-centric dinners so much more enjoyable is the true free-range eggs, purchased at McGinnis Sisters, from Miller's Farm in New Wilmington. They're more expensive than conventional eggs, but if you're talking about something that is the centerpiece of your meal, and the difference of a buck or two, I don't see the economic case against it.

The color alone of a true free-range egg yolk (from chickens that get to cavort in the grass, eat bugs out of poop, etc., not the ones which simply have "access" to a tiny caged, mostly dirt yard adjacent to the jam-packed confines of a factory farm chicken barn) tells a story: bright orange, almost glowing. Then when you taste the egg, the tale is complete.

Now, to be fair, I can understand, particularly for those on a limited budget (and in the current economic environment, that's many more people these days -- and if the impasse over the federal budget isn't resolved, could very soon include me), not being able to pay more for sustainably produced meat. The price differential in that case can be quite significant. But the difference in the price of conventional vs. truly free-range eggs, around $2, for many people could easily be accounted for by skipping that case of soda or going without that bag of chips. That is, to my mind, no sacrifice at all.

McGinnis Sisters deserves accolades for its commitment to sourcing sustainably produced eggs and, increasingly, meat from local farms.When the location in Seven Fields first opened a few years ago, it carried meat from Ron Gargasz's farm in Volant (probably not far from Miller's farm!), which just happens to be the source of the beef for Franktuary's locavore dog.

But it put the meat in a crowded freezer, cordoned off from the conventional meat sold at the large meat counter. It wasn't promoted or even labeled in any special way, quickly developed a freezer film on it, and soon enough the freezer and beef were gone.

Now it has returned, with buffalo from Wooden Nickel Buffalo Farm in Erie, and other sustainably produced  meat. It's still cordoned off in its own freezer, but that must be, at least to some extent, because it's frozen. But the beef's availability still isn't promoted in any special way. It's just there, below the Bell & Evans chicken products. That's something that should, and easily could, change.

Eggs, Summer Veg, Goat Cheese

Had our first zucchini from the garden.

Had one of those tremendous mild white onions from the farm.

Had some brown eggs, also tremendous, from a different local farm.

Had a red pepper, courtesy of large grocery store chain.

Had some goat cheese, courtesy of same said large grocery store chain.

Had some fantastic, crusty bread – removed from freezer few hours prior – courtesy of the DeLallo store in Jeannette, Pa.

Had a delicious dinner.

Scrambled Eggs with Goat Cheese and Grilled Vegetables

• 5 eggs (cage-free & local, if you can get ‘em)
• 2 – 3 oz. of goat cheese, crumbled
• Half of a zucchini, cut thinly into half-moons
  
• Half a large red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• ½ cup of thinly sliced onion
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• A few slices of crusty bread

Light a grill.

Beat eggs in a bowl with some salt and pepper. Toss the vegetables in a different bowl with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, salt, and pepper. When grill is sufficiently not (but not too hot), add vegetables. A grill plate or even some foil is advisable.

When vegetables are beginning to get tender, put a tablespoon of butter in a medium pan, over medium heat. Add eggs.

When vegetables are close to tender, add bread to grill. Cook on either side for 30 seconds to a minute. Remove vegetables from grill when they are tender, but careful not to overcook them. Onions should be nicely caramelized, hopefully with a few crispy ones.

Cook eggs until slightly more than set. Add a big scoop of eggs on top of a piece of toast, sprinkle on some goat cheese, and top each with a healthy portion of the vegetables. If you feel like it, drizzle a few drops of balsamic vinegar over top.

Enjoy.

Egga Disha

As previously mentioned, we eat a good bit o' eggs… at least once a week… typically for dinner.

I’ll often make egg burritos for lunch, tossing in whatever I can rustle up in our fridge and pantry that seems like it might taste good.

The other evening we had an egg burrito for dinner, slightly tweaking a Mark Bittman recipe for “spicy scrambled eggs.” On the side we had a tomato, red onion, and avocado salad. (Yes, yes, I know: tomatoes and avocados? Obviously sourced far, far away from Western Pa. Hey, I do my best. The eggs were local and free-range, so there!).

The burrito was absolutely delicious, but just having these alone as scrambled eggs is also perfectly acceptable.

Spicy Egg Burrito

• 1 jalapeño pepper
• 1 small clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1-inch knob of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of canola oil
• 5 eggs (there is no flavor substitute for truly free-range eggs)
• Salt and pepper
• ¼ cup of cilantro, chopped
• Shredded cheese of your choice
• 2 tortillas

Roast the jalapeno: Using tongs, hold the jalapeño over a burner, turned to high, rotating as needed, until the skin is charred all over. Wrap it in a small bit of plastic wrap and let it sit for five minutes. Unwrap and scrape off the char. Remove the top and seeds and dice. If you want a spicier burrito, be sure to leave a decent bit of the ribbing on the pepper when removing the seeds.

Crack eggs into a bowl, beat, and add salt and pepper.

Put a large sauté pan on a burner of medium-low heat. Warm tortillas on both sides, until you see just the first bits of brown, move to a plate and cover with a dry dish towel.

Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the jalapeño, ginger, and garlic, and sauté until fragrant and the pepper bits are sufficiently tender, about 2-3 minutes maximum.

Add the eggs, let them begin to set, and proceed as you typically would for scrambled eggs. [Mark Bittman advises removing the eggs from the heat every few minutes, then stirring up, then putting back on the heat. I tried this, once, and it didn’t make any difference in the final product.]

When the eggs are ready, lay out the tortillas, add some shredded cheese in the middle (some manchego would probably be fantastic), top with the eggs, the cilantro, and, if you wish, some of your favorite hot sauce. Wrap ‘er up and enjoy!

And, as for the title of this post, a word from a truly celebrated chef…

Light, Local, deLicious

Eggs. Love ‘em! I can’t remember the last time I actually had eggs for breakfast. They’re almost always lunch or dinner.

About once a week I make an egg burrito for lunch, usually with some finely diced onion or shallot, a little garlic, some form of heat, some type of cheese, a sprinkle of cilantro.

For dinner, we usually turn to the versatile frittata, my favorite being one topped with garlic-oil infused croutons, chives, tarragon, and multiple dollops of ricotta.

Tonight, with little in the way of time or good options for dinner and not a great variety of available ingredients for a fritatta, we turned again to eggs, very simple and very local.

The eggs, free-range, our last few from Heritage Farm that I picked up at the Farm to Table conference. The eggs would be scambled.

Into the eggs, just before they were set, went some freshly grated Parmesan.

Once the eggs reached the plate, sprinkled on top, some arugula, our first real pickings from the arugula plant I picked up at same said conference, which shares a spot in our dining room window with a field greens plant.

On the side, a few slices of toasted ciabatta, from, I believe, Penn Mac.

We were a little pressed for time, or otherwise I might have reduced some balsamic 'til it got a bit syrupy and drizzled over top of the eggs and bread. Next time.

By no means a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal, but with some Pellegrino or glass of a fruity white wine, you’ve got yourself one satisfying meal.