Mollycoddle?

Last week the subject of soft boiled eggs came up. We agreed that there is something inherently comforting about eating them. I also find comfort in preparing them.

When I was a child my brothers and sisters and I all ate breakfast together before school. In younger days, mom made soft boiled eggs. We ate them over toast, which we crumbled into pieces in our bowl. We did not have egg cups (a friend has egg cups in her cupboard and says she uses them). Instead, the cooked egg was laid on the toast and it was up to us to crack it and scoop out the insides. In those days we probably buttered the toast as well.

As we got older mom left us on our own for breakfast, which by then consisted mainly of toast and cereal, although sometimes fried baloney or salami would find its way into the menu. The toaster would be placed on the dining room table along with cartons of milk and boxes of cereal (or actually bags of cereal since mom had a proclivity for buying generic puffed rice at the A&P - a false economy since few of us actually ate it).

I later learned of an implement called an egg coddler. This was a small ceramic cup with a metal screw on lid. China companies like Royal Worcester made these in patterns to match or complement their china designs.

I heard about and decided I needed to buy an egg coddler. Don't asks me why. I went to J. L. Hudson at the Oakland Mall and asked for an egg coddler. I wanted a bird or flower from the Worcester collection. All they had was a Peter Rabbit. It was made by Wedgewood. At that time Wedgewood owned the licensing privileges for Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter's illustrations.

I was a little dismayed that a Peter Rabbit egg coddler was the only one available to me - no other stores seemed to have them in stock at the time. But no matter, I bought the coddler and today it is one of my most prized possessions (I also have some by Wade, an Irish potter, and two floral Worcester bought at e-bay or le shoppe junque. A cursory search of e-bay reveals the Peter Rabbit cup is worth a fair amount of scratch).

The way an egg coddler works is this; butter the cup (or spray with vegetable spray) and crack an egg into it. Butter, salt and pepper may be added (I prefer to add these later). Screw on the lid and place in a pan of water. Bring to the boil and time your eggs. I like mine at just four minutes. The advantage of using the coddler is that the lid can be removed and if it's not done, you can replace the lid and pop it back into the boiling water for another half minute or so.

Coddlers are sized for one or two eggs. Mine are all "singles". I find that the Wade coddlers do not cook at the same rate as the others. Either the porcelain is a different thickness, or the ceramic lid makes a difference or there is some other force at play. No matter, I prefer the other cups anyway.

Soft boiled eggs require a different timing method. They cook faster since they are not sheltered by a thick layer of porcelain. If you want to soft boil eggs and have not done so before, try cooking three, removing one at three minutes, one at four and if necessary, one at 5 minutes. You should then know know long you like your eggs. Make a note and don't forget.

Place your soft boiled egg in an egg cup or just lay it on the toast which you have torn into pieces into your bowl. Crack the shell all around and scoop out the yolky egg. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and tuck in.

The disadvantage of an egg coddler is a somewhat oddly shaped "boiled" egg. No matter, you will scoop it onto your toast and smoosh it all up anyway so shape is of little importance. What is important is the comfy cozy feeling you will have eating your warm egg and toast with a spoon.

Find an egg coddler, or just soft boil your eggs, and feel like an English child breakfasting with your Nanny in the Nursery School Room. Be glad I did not instruct you to eat dripping toast for tea.

Quotable quotes; in the category Well At Least She Knows What She Means!

“This recipe is certainly silly. It says to separate the eggs, but it doesn’t say how far to separate them.” - Gracie Allen

Mystery Plant!

My plants at work always seem to flourish even as those at home wither and droop. That's no mystery, at work I have windows and sunshine and a schedule of watering and care. At home available windows look out on brick walls which block any hope of sunshine entering to nourish houseplants. Watering can be sporadic and cats contribute to the general malaise.

Consequently, I get comments at work on my green thumb and my healthy plants - to the extent that at my last job several co-workers asked me to nurse their failing plants back to health. One person finally just asked me to take over her plant - until it died, that is. Then she said I could have the pot and the dirt, if I wanted. I really did not want but I took it anyway and let it languish in a corner by the window. Imagine my surprise when months later, green shoots appeared, growing a few inches weekly, until they were tall and slender. Until I left that job, took the pot home and let them languish.

I brought the pot to my new job along with my other "office" plants. They love the Northwest window and the regular watering and feeding, spritzing in winter and occasional trims. I had no immediate plans for the unknown plant other than to let it sit in a corner of the window until needed.

Imagine my surprise when months later, I again noticed little green shoots. I noted their progress with weekly photos and sent them to friends to see if they knew what the plant might be. I kept sending photos and they guessed "it looks like a hosta" or "I think it's ginger". I knew it was not a hosta and I was pretty sure it was not ginger.


Week by week I watched it grow, wondering what it could be and why it spent so much time pretending to be dead, only to start all over again. I hoped this time I would not kill it, whatever it was. I christened it Junior Bonaparte and encouraged it with plant food and water. I thought it was in the orchid family (that's what the original owner thought) so I treated it like an orchid.

Today the mystery was solved. I came to work and prepared to water plants and was greeted by what was unmistakably a calla lily. Click on the pictures and see for yourself! I did a little reading and found that calla lilies are tropical and like moist soil. They go dormant after blooming and can be allowed to dry out, especially when grown in pots. Apparently I had been doing it right without knowing. Next time I won't worry and I'll hope they bloom again!

Quotable quotes; in the category You Knew I Had To Go There, Didn't You?

"The calla lilies are in bloom again."

Katherine Hepburn in the MGM film Stage Door.

The Tomato Blushed When It Saw The Salad "Dressing"!

I made a nice salad the other day, and a homemade vinaigrette to go with it. The dressing was so delicious I wondered why anybody, including myself, would buy bottled dressing. Okay, maybe a favorite blue cheese dressing is worth buying but I have never had a store bought oil and vinegar dressing that was as good as one made from scratch. And making vinaigrette is one of those things that is stupid easy. Few ingredients, simple methods and endless variations.

You can make your dressing in a bowl or in a jar. You can make enough to keep on hand or enough for just one salad. Here's a giant hint (and one less bowl to wash) - make the dressing right in the salad bowl, add the vegetables, put the lettuce on top and stick it in the fridge until serving time. The veggies will marinate in the dressing and the lettuce will stay crisp. Toss well before serving.

Sometimes you don't even have to make a dressing, just add the dressing ingredients to the salad, tossing after each addition. I once had lunch at a friend's house - the sort of lunch I think of as fussy and not filling enough. Quiche and salad. Well, it was one of the best lunches I ever had. The quiche was delicious and what can one say about a salad that included fresh herbs plucked from a windowsill herb garden moments before serving? This is how she made the salad.

Prepare Romaine lettuce by washing and drying well. Leave the leaves whole or cut them but not too small. Place in a bowl and chill until ready to serve. At serving time core and slice but do not peel an apple, adding the slices to the lettuce. Drizzle with a good quality extra virgin olive oil and toss well. Add a bit of nice herb vinegar and a little lemon juice if you like and toss well. Add just a bit of salt and pepper and toss once more, adding some toasted walnut pieces and a little crumbled blue cheese. Reach out your window and pick a few basil leaves and tear them into the salad. Toss and serve. In my humble opinion, apples, walnuts and Stilton cheese are a natural medley. Sliced pear with Gorgonzola and pecans is even more wonderful!

The most basic dressing is vinegar and/or lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Stir these together then add about 2 to 3 times as much oil as vinegar. Adding a pinch of sugar and some herbs to the vinegar will make it a little more interesting.

To make a basic dressing in a bowl or in a jar, start with a good spoonful of mustard such as Dijon or a grainy, spicy mustard. (Hint: make your dressing right in the mustard jar when the mustard is almost gone - use up the mustard and save washing another jar)!

Add a little vinegar. I prefer cider or rice vinegar, wine or malt, or a flavored vinegar such as herb or raspberry. Add a little sugar or honey and a squeeze of any citrus - lemon, lime, orange even grapefruit. Add some fresh or dried herbs and a pinch of salt and pepper. You can even cheat by adding a few shakes of seasoned salt or herb blend. Stirring these ingredients together before adding oil allows them to blend.

Now add oil - olive, canola, safflower or whatever you prefer. Some nut oils or avocado oils can be very delicious and interesting. The usual proportion of oil to vinegar is about 3:1 or 4:1. You may prefer more or less oil. If you add sugar or honey or use sweeter vinegars you may find you need even less oil. Whisk or stir the dressing in the bowl or put a lid on the jar and shake vigorously.

Taste the dressing by dipping a bit of lettuce or other salad ingredient (this is how those fancy chefs do it on TV). Adjust the seasonings, oil or vinegar as desired. Drizzle some dressing (remember, less is more) over your salad and toss well, adding a little more dressing as needed. Revel in the knowledge that you have created the freshest, most delicious dressing possible for your salad.

Oh yeah, there is one reason to buy a bottled dressing - so you can have a fancy bottle to store your homemade vinaigrette in the fridge! Your dressing may thicken in the fridge. Just allow it to warm up a little before shaking and adding to your salad.

Quotable Quotes; in the category You Can Never Be Too Rich . . . Or Too Successful!

"The embarrassing thing is that the salad dressing is out grossing my films."

Paul Newman

Nut & Honey

I made baklava last week. In case you do not know what this is, it is layers of phyllo dough, buttered and layered with chopped walnuts, honey and cinnamon. In case you do not know phyllo is impossibly thin sheets of pastry dough (you can read a book through them) that is often used in making strudel and other pastries.

I bought the phyllo on sale, intending to make a pastille (a Moroccan dish of chicken and phyllo layered with spices and dusted with powdered sugar). But the leftover chicken I had intended to use became Bill's supper one night so I had to find another use for the phyllo. I decided on apple strudel.

I have a friend who makes apple strudel from scratch, including the dough. This involves much resting and rolling and stretching of the dough to get it thin enough. It also requires much patience as the process is long and tedious and the dough is practically guaranteed to tear. Since I already had the phyllo I decided to go ahead with that. I diced apples and tossed them with cinnamon and sugar, layered the phyllo dough (which also requires patience that I do not have) and rolled up a pair of lumpy, crooked strudels. No matter, I baked them and they tasted just fine. The only problem was I still had half a box of phyllo left over.

I considered other dishes and perused my cookbooks but baklava seemed to be the most likely suspect. I coerced Bill into cracking all the walnuts we had in the house and chopping them coarsely. I based my recipe on two different versions from two different books, one proclaiming to be a prize winner. As I made the baklava I remembered the last and only time I had made it before.

When I was in sixth grade I found a recipe for baklava in a girls' magazine. Not knowing what it was I asked my mom who told me I would love it and we would make some. To my knowledge this is the only time I cooked with my mom, a possible exception being a time I baked (burned) a batch of cookies. Mom bought the phyllo, we layered it with butter and cinnamon, walnuts and honey and baked it.

At that age I had never been taken to a Greek restaurant. The wonders of braised lamb and roasted potatoes, Greek salad, flaming cheese and baklava were unknown to me. I agreed the baklava was delicious. For an unknown reason we never repeated the experience.

I layered and baked and thought of mom. I called brothers and sisters to chat about mom, about baking with her, about baklava and about anything else that came to mind. It felt good to connect with them by phone, and with mom by baklava. In case you want the experience, here is a fairly easy recipe for baklava. Warning: working with phyllo dough is a thankless task. It is temperamental and fussy. Maybe you know somebody like that?

I made a half recipe but here is the full recipe. Makes a 9 x 13 pan full, or 30 pieces.

4 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 package (1 lb.) frozen phyllo dough
2 - 3 sticks of butter, melted
cinnamon & sugar
pinch of ground clove or nutmeg, (optional)

Syrup
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
juice of half a lemon
1/4 cup honey
orange flower water (optional)

Thaw phyllo according to package instructions. Toss walnuts with 2 tsp. sugar and 2 tbsp cinnamon.

Divide phyllo dough sheets into five equal portions. layer one portion in a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish, spreading the layers to cover, if necessary. Top with 1/4 of the nut mixture. Repeat layers until there are 4 layers of phyllo and nuts. Top with the final layer of phyllo. Tuck in the edges of the phyllo and cut the baklava into squares or diamonds with a sharp knife. You should get 30 pieces depending on size.

Melt butter and pour over the baklava, making sure the entire surface is covered with butter. You can insert a knife around the edge of the pan to make sure melted butter flows down between all edges. (I used rather less butter than called for and thought it was almost too much). Sprinkle a bit of cinnamon over the top, if desired, and bake in a 350 f. oven about 35 - 45 minutes until very brown.

Meanwhile, bring sugar and water to a boil and simmer about 10 minutes. Add honey and lemon juice and simmer 5 minutes more. Add orange water (optional). Pour the syrup evenly over the partially cooled baklava. Serve at room temperature (or slightly warm if you cannot wait that long). Bill suggested serving with a spoonful of Greek style yogurt.

Quotable quotes; in the category You Ain't Never Had A Friend Like Me!

"How about a little more baklava?"

Robin Williams as the Genie in the Disney film "Aladdin"

If You Knew Sushi . . .

I have been eating at a great new sushi place. No, I am not going to tell you the name as I want to keep it all to myself. But if you are in town I will take you there and you can enjoy delicious, fresh and cheap sushi.

Since January I have been rehearsing for The Secret Garden. I played Mrs. Medlock, the only non-singing character in the show. That's okay, Mrs. Medlock is also the most awesome character in the show and my wig and costume were the best. I would post a picture but then you would know what I look like. If somebody sends me a pic where my face does not show I will post that.

At first I was only called to rehearsals on Wednesday nights. Not bad, easy to tape the shows I watch and I was usually home by ten. But as the weeks went by I was called to more and more rehearsals until I was finally going almost every night of the week.

At first, when it was only Wednesdays and later when it was more often, Bill would have something ready that I could eat in the few minutes between getting home from work and leaving for rehearsals. This often took the form of burgers and fries from the Top Two. Now anybody who knows me knows that I loves me some burgers, but even that can get tired after awhile. Then I found the sushi place. I don't remember how I found it or what I was looking for when I stumbled upon it - likely I was searching for bento options (that's another post) and found this place. Various reviews were all extremely positive with one notable exception (quickly proven to be unfounded) so I decided to give it a try.

Sushi is a hard choice for me because guess what, I do not like raw fish. I know, I know. But there are several options for someone like me - the egg cake on rice, the California roll, which contains avocado and fake crab, and my favorite of all, Inari Sushi. This is a pocket made of fried tofu skin and stuffed with sushi rice. Most places, this one included, make it about the size of a regular piece of sushi, folding the excess tofu under. My favorite place to get this particular sushi crams that tofu pocket full so there is nothing left to tuck under. The finished sushi resembles a large, tan Easter egg with a snip of pickled ginger for garnish. Yum.

Imagine sushi rolls for as little as $2, pieces of sushi for $1 each. And all made fresh before your eyes, not packaged in a grocery store with a "use by" date stamp. Now imagine the sushi prepared by someone who knows you and greets you by name and takes extra pains to get your order just right - no wasabi for Bill, and here, try this while we finish your order. Just what you might expect in the local sushi bar.

But this is not the local sushi bar. Reviewers commented about passing the place by because they could not find it, or because they could not believe that anything good could come from this dismal, dreary storefront. But all were glad they did and most were torn between sharing the bounty and keeping this a closely guarded secret. I am in the latter camp.

So for now you will just have to be content knowing that I occasionally enjoy a sushi feast for a few dollars, and that Bill sometimes joins in the feasting for just a couple bucks more. Oh, and I have even sometimes had the tuna roll (good) but I will not be ordering the futo maki again (too much of a good thing and not enough variety - there's so much, it fills me up).

As we got closer to the week of the play I did not have enough time to eat sushi so it has been fast burgers for the past two weeks. Not to worry, tonight is Wednesday. It's sushi night!

Quotable Quotes; in the category At These Prices, I Could Probably Afford It!

"I could eat my body weight in sushi".

Mikey Way, bassist for the band My Chemical Romance

Fun At The Fair

Years and years ago I went to the Illinois State Fair with Bill and his family. It was a sort of de facto Nelson/Lockwood Family Reunion since many of Sallie's relatives lived in Springfield and many more came to town for the fair.

We stayed at the home of Sallie's Aunt Katherine & Uncle Harv (Harvard, not Harvey). This was the uncle who owned a vintage 1970s red El Dorado (could it have been a convertible?) and who arrived in Chicago every fall with a trunk full of fruit from his trees. He did not really have an orchard but they did live on a lake on a large parcel of land on which were planted several fruit trees - apple, peach, pear, plum - and each autumn he loaded up the trunk of the Cadillac with fruit (I mean loaded) to bring to friends and relatives.

Uncle Harv also had a large garden to which he rode a bicycle and where he harvested endless butternut squash. Probably there were other vegetables but I only remember seeing rows and rows of squash. He brought several back and Uncle Tom at once cut one up and cooked it with butter, salt and pepper, proclaiming it delicious.

Also staying in the house were other relatives. The camper trailer was set up in the side yard and Sara's family stayed there, while others stayed at the Holiday Inn in town. Believe it or not on the day we went over to enjoy the hotel pool, there was a beauty pageant in progress in the rather huge atrium/auditorium. Probably the Miss Teen Springfield pageant and likely in conjunction with the fair doings. We did go to the fair and I did enjoy it although we did not partake of the rides or the stage shows.

I had only been to the fair once before, the Michigan State Fair, and as a 12-year-old I thought the only reason to go to a fair or carnival was to ride a Ferris wheel, eat carnival food and buy souvenirs. As an adult, I learned that looking at prize cows, sheep and poultry and watching pigs race for a pan of Oreos was equally entertaining.

The most fun (to me) was viewing the prize winning canned goods - fruits, jams, jellies, preserves - and cakes and pies. Even floral arrangements were awarded blue ribbons. Although most of the fair was winding down (the animals were being removed even as we watched) the cook-off was yet to be decided. This year, it was a beef contest and I had the dubious honor of watching some of the finalists prepare their entries.

The kitchen contained four cooking stations, each equipped with its own range, sink and counter top. Contestants had brought their ingredients and cookware in bags or boxes. A few of them gave me icy stares when I approached their work stations but one seemed willing and even eager for observers and chatted them up. I watched her prepare her prize winning "Mexican Lasagna" (I might have called it tamale pie or enchilada casserole but what do I know). In a 9x13 glass baking dish she layered her sauce, refried beans, corn tortillas, her secret recipe ground beef and her shredded cheese.

I marvelled that she used pre-packaged versions of everything, including pre-shredded cheese. Thrift conscious, I would have opted to shred my own and save a few pennies. Most wondrous of all were her tortillas. I had never seen any like them for sale. They were small - much smaller than the corn tortillas generally available for sale. Those were about six inches in diameter. Here were only four or five inches and they intrigued me. Anything different than we are used to seems inherently more interesting and desirable. (I saw some of these small tortillas for sale in a Chicago Groceria y Carniceria just last week).

She noted my interest and held up her package of tortillas, which were sold six to the pack . The tortillas I routinely purchased were packed no less than a dozen and often 20 or more to a pack. "This is a new kind of Mexican Lasagna noodle" she informed me, in her down-state drawl. "They're called tor-tellas". I nodded and attempted to appear rapt. I knew what they were, having eaten tortillas, tostadas, tamales and tacos nearly all my life, and having made authentic homemade tortillas on more than one occasion.

She finished her ministrations and slid her concoction into the oven to bake. I wandered over to the other stations, hoping to engage the other contestants in similarly scintillating conversation, but they were having none of it. I did not take their aloofness personally and instead wandered about viewing partially eaten pastries and wondering about the criteria for judging.

I have been to a few smaller fairs since, namely the county fair held in Barraboo, WI with Mary on a sisters' weekend, but have never returned to a State Fair. I would love to attend the Iowa State Fair which is often touted as one of the best. I even sent away for the judging guidebook for everything one might enter in the Illinois State Fair. Maybe one year my marmalade will be on display. Maybe I'll win the bake-off! Maybe, but probably not.

Quotable Quotes; in the category Let's Put The 'Fun' Back In Dysfunctional!

"If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is go to a state fair. Because five minutes at the fair, you'll be going, 'you know, we're alright. We are dang near royalty."

Jeff Foxworthy

It's The REAL Thing!!

Years and years ago I was in the Sondheim play "Company". The theater group met in the Oak Park (MI) High School auditorium and easily half the cast members were from Windsor Ontario, Canada. True theater lovers think nothing of commuting to a different country three nights a week for rehearsal. Okay, so it was essentially a drive across the bridge and a ride across town but still . . .

I remember lots of tasty nuggets from that show but leafing through and old "church lady" cookbook from the 1970s and coming across a particular recipe triggered this memory.

Anyone who knows "Company" knows that the inimitable Elaine Stritch played the unforgettable Joanne and sang "Ladies Who Lunch". In case you do not know, Joanne was something of a lush and the song was performed (at least in our production) as Joanne sat at a table drinking cocktails. Each verse ended with the line "I'll Drink To That!"

The 1970s saw the demise of the classic glass soda pop bottle. Some people objected to cans and plastic so Pepsi (and other companies) put their sodas in a new style glass bottle. People liked to wash and re-use these bottles for lots of things. Drinking water from bottles was not yet a universal practice but juice, other soda flavors, tea or lemonade might be put in the bottles, as might other things.

The lady playing Joanne in our production carried such a Pepsi bottle with her at every rehearsal. It was not unusual for actors to have a bottle of water, tea or other beverages with them at rehearsal. Joanne's bottle held Pepsi . . . or so I thought. I learned later that the bottle held in reality home-made Kahlua! That may have explained why she was such a shoe-in as Joanne! She played a very realistic lush!

In case you decide you want to make some Kahlua (and maybe carry it with you in a recycled glass or plastic bottle) here is a recipe.

Combine:
4 cups water
3 cups sugar
10 teaspoons instant coffee
bring to a boil and simmer about 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool.

Add:
3 teaspoons vanilla
1 fifth Vodka

Strain into dark glass bottles or ceramic canisters. Allow to steep 3 months, shaking occasionally, before "mixing" or serving straight up!

Quotable Quotes; in the category Let's Not Forget Mahler!

"A matinee, a Pinter play,Perhaps a piece of Mahler's. I'll drink to that. And one for Mahler!"

Stephen Sondheim "Ladies Who Lunch" from the musical "Company"