egg in zucchini nest

Here's a fun dish --

5 servings

In one saucepan,

Hardboil 5 eggs.

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While the eggs are cooking, combine in a separate saucepan:

2 cups rice
2 zucchini squash, sliced
1 yellow summer squash, sliced
4 cups water
1 cup tomato juice
2 tablespoons butter

Cover and simmer until the liquid in absorbed and the rice is soft.

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Drain the hard boiled eggs.
Serve the rice and zucchini mixture into plate bowls.
On top of each "nest" of zucchini and rice, place an unshelled hard boiled egg.
(Put dishes for eggshells near diners' plates on the table so each diner can shell their own egg.)

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Review:

4 forks -- good to eat and to generate conversation

Ham and eggs and grits

Sometimes we just have to fix comfort food -- days when:

• the dogs won't quit barking,
• the children won't stop fussing,
• the refrigerator's leaking,
• the phone's ringing
• unexpected guests stop by
  

Nothing but nothing beats ham and grits with water gravy, and a side of scrambled eggs for restoring harmony to the universe.

We tested out this menu last night with good effect:

Serves 4

Grits:

• Boil 3 cups water in a saucepan for grits.
• Add 3/4 cups grits to boiling water, stirring constantly.
• Let grits cook for a few minutes, until thickened. Stir occasionally so they don't burn.
  

Ham and water gravy:

While grits are cooking:

• Heat skillet.
• Place four fully-cooked, prepackaged ham steaks in hot skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side. (It will blacken the steaks slightly.)
• Add 2 cups water to skillet with ham steaks and simmer. This makes the water gravy.
  

Returning to the grits:

• When the grits are thickened enough, add several slices cheddar cheese.
• Stir melting cheese into grits.
• Move saucepan with cheese grits to cool burner and cover.

Scrambled eggs and sausage:

• Get out another saucepan.
• Cover bottom of saucepan with sunflower oil (or your favorite vegetable oil).
• Break 4 eggs into skillet.
  
• Stir eggs in skillet with wooden spatula, scrambling them.
• Throw in a handful of sliced, fully cooked, little Smokeys sausage.
• Stir until sausage slices are heated through and eggs are cooked.

Serve:
Serve ham steaks on plates with cheese grits. Cover both with water gravy.

Pile scrambled eggs and sausage on the side.


Enjoy!

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Review:

5 forks for pleasing the appetite and restoring good humor

Egg salad conversation sandwich

For 3 servings:

To make sandwich filling:

• Boil 5 eggs until done. (Cover eggs with cold water in saucepan. Heat to boil. Cover with lid and turn off heat. Let stand 20 minutes.)

• Drain the water. Peel the eggshell from eggs.

• Place diced shelled eggs in mixing bowl

• Add chopped dill pickles (1 whole dill pickle, chopped, per serving)

• Add chopped 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• Moisten mixture with mustard and pickle juice

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To make sandwiches:

• Toast sandwich bread (2 slices per serving)
  

• Place lettuce leaves on toast. Top with egg salad.

• Assemble sandwiches and cut in half.

• Quickly print conversation starters on skinny slips of paper.

• When no one is looking, toothpick a conversation starter on each half of sandwich, with the print facing down.

Serve sandwiches. As diners eat, occasionally refer to printed conversation starters -- to start
or maintain an amicable conversation.

Bon appetit!

Ramen bok choy

Okay, a success! After yesterday's abject failure, I tried bok choy (three servings) again. This time, I stir fried chopped fresh bok choy in canola oil with:

6 largish fresh white mushrooms
6 chopped strips of turkey bacon
1 handful of roasted sunflower seeds
a quick dusting of garlic powder
an even quicker dusting of powdered ginger

Meanwhile I cooked three individual serving size packages of ramen noodles in boiling water for about three minutes. I drained the ramen noodles, and divided them among three shallow bowls.

I reheated the stir-fried mixture, added three eggs, and stirred the eggs (plus cooked ingredients) until the eggs were totally cooked. Then spooned the hot stir-fry mixture over the ramen noodles.

For color and complementary flavor, I accompanied the stir-fry with fresh plums.

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Review:

My diners had the option of further seasoning their stir-fry with soy sauce, fresh ground black pepper, or with the powdered seasoning pre-packaged with the ramen noodles.

• The soy-sauce-seasoning diner said the dish was excellent! He figured out the "crunchy things" were sunflower seeds and commented favorably on them.

• The other diners opted for some of the ramen noodle pre-packaged seasoning as an additional flavoring, as well as a bit of fresh ground pepper. They agreed that the ramen noodles were too dry -- perhaps too well-drained before the stir fry was added.

green bean taco

*recipe*

Steam or sautée until tender:

fresh, trimmed green beans

Break one egg per serving, into a bowl and mix the eggs thoroughly.


Heat in a skillet:

vegetable oil, enough to scantly cover the bottom of the skillet

Pour beaten eggs into skillet and fry as a large omlette.

Sprinkle:

cooked eggs with shredded cheddar cheese.


Assemble by layering, then folding:

one soft flour tortilla

one serving of cheese omelette

spoonful of cooked green beans

Serve with ranch-dressing on the side.