eggs – in thriver words

Eggs, Actually

With Easter approaching, I’m focused on eggs, actually. The past year of cooking both gluten-free and low histamine has meant eating more eggs. Why? Because they’re fast, easy and always in the refrigerator when I need something quick and haven’t planned ahead.

rows of white eggs with one gold egg — Golden Egg Meaning Odd One Out And Stand Out

I like eggs fried, boiled, baked, and deviled, on top, mixed in, and as a primary or secondary protein. Eggs are one of the most versatile items my system can tolerate.

As a general rule, we don’t eat eggs we’ve dyed for Easter. We inevitably leave them out in the sun too long and crack the exterior of too many. But boiled eggs can add protein to a surprising number of meals.

Keep boiled eggs in mind when you:

Serve a salad. Adding egg or egg salad to your toppings will make the salad more filling and increase protein.

Have a sandwich. Sandwiches aren’t limited to egg salad. Slices of boiled egg complement many sandwiches – think ham and egg or BLTE. Or serve half an egg instead of chips as your side.

Make curry. Top spinach curry with boiled eggs or prepare egg curry.

Pack a snack. Eggs are a great airplane snack for those who are gluten-free. You can also throw them in the ice chest when you’re going to the park or beach.

Beyond boiled, add eggs when you:

Bake a potato. Baked potatoes are another quick gluten-free, low histamine meal. Adding an over-easy egg to the top is a delicious way to enhance this simple meal.

Serve asparagus. One of my favorite ways to eat asparagus is lightly steamed, then topped with an over easy egg and shaved Parmesan.

Have leftover vegetables. Frittatas are an excellent way to use up the last serving of multiple vegetables.

Want a burrito. Eggs are delicious with salsa and avocado in an almond or cassava tortilla. Add black beans and cilantro, lime rice for even more substance.

Make bowls. Top your bowl quinoa, rice, or bean bowls with eggs.

Serve soup. Drizzle some egg into your chicken soup egg drop style or poach an egg in your broth.

Make desserts. Souffles, custard, and meringues rely on eggs.

A more familiar role for eggs may be the one they play in the background of meatloaf, casseroles and baked goods. Obviously, the uses for eggs are wide and varied.

When you stock up for Easter, consider buying a few more eggs than usual to use as regular protein in your diet. While I’m focused on eggs, I’m considering herbs, fresh cheeses, and other seasonings I can add to keep them interesting.

While I ponder, I don’t mind getting my hands dirty dying eggs for the grandkids to hunt. I’ll be having fun! Hope you are too.

The Price of Eggs

Every day, I’m reminded of the old cliché, what’s that got to do with the price of eggs in China? The price of eggs in the US is mentioned somewhere in the news or online Every. Single. Day. So, let’s talk about it.

Eggs are an ingredient in many entrees, baked goods, and desserts. Many breakfast plates center around them. Most of us keep some in our refrigerator at all times. Due to their ubiquitous nature, even a slight increase in the price of eggs eats into the margins of restaurants, grocery stores, and food producers unless they increase consumer prices.

So how expensive are they?

Today, in my regular grocery store, a dozen large white eggs is $4.53. Another local store lists a dozen grade A large white eggs at $3.99. Other local stores are charging $5 to $6. Even at $6, we fall on the low end of the spectrum. At my regular grocery store in LA, a dozen jumbo white eggs runs $9.27.

More than $9 for a dozen eggs sounds ridiculous. Maybe it is. But until H5N1 is brought under control in poultry population, the price will continue to rise. We will have to pay more or find substitutes.

The interesting thing to me is that rarely do you see the price of eggs, or beef, or pork as ingredients in your kitchen compared with the price of we pay to consume these ingredients as part of packaged or restaurant food. We seem to lose our minds over the price of a carton of eggs for our refrigerator while not blinking an eye at an $11 hamburger from a fast food restaurant or a $4 muffin from the bakery.

You could say we’ll pay a lot for convenience. And that seems to be true. But I’m not sure we typically examine these costs closely or in any meaningful context. Sure, if you eat at home you will have to exert more effort. If you drink cocktails at home, you’ll have to invite people over to get a similar social experience.

But it seems crazy to scream about raw ingredients being expensive while paying too much for mediocre food on a regular basis without any similar complaint. If you have the money, it’s fine to make a choice to pay more for atmosphere, swiftness, convenience, and social interactions. But if you’re doing it without making a conscious choice, it’s possible you could mitigate the effects of higher egg prices on your household by examining this more comprehensively.

I’m not saying that higher ingredient prices are inconsequential. They’re making a lot of our lives harder. I’m simply saying that thinking about things differently can be helpful when we’re forced into changing circumstances.

Even at today’s prices, eggs fall in the middle range when compared to other proteins. Here is a snapshot of today’s price for fresh, ready-to-cook meat, poultry, fish, and seafood in the south central US at a single big box store. From that, we calculated the price per day for 5.5 ounces of protein – the daily serving recommendation per person from the American Heart Association.

Pork Loin Roast $1.84 per pound or $.12 per ounce is $.66 per day
85/15 Ground Turkey $3.64 per pound or $.23 per ounce is $1.27 per day
Boneless Pork Chops $4.58 per pound or $.29 per ounce is $1.60 per day
Chicken $4.78 per pound or $.30 per ounce is $1.65 per day
80/20 Ground Chuck $4.93 per pound or $.31 per ounce is $1.71 per day
Eggs $4.53 per dozen or $.38 per egg is $ per 2.09 per day
Tilapia $6.94 per pound or $.43 per ounce is $2.37 per day
93/7 Lean Ground Beef $6.97 per pound or $.44 per ounce is $2.42 per day
Beef Chuck Roast $6.97 per pound or $.44 per ounce is $2.42 per day
Shrimp $8.98 per pound or $.56 per ounce is $3.08 per day
Scallops $9.64 per pound or $.60 per ounce or $3.36 per day
Salmon $10.38 per pound or $.65 per ounce is $3.58 per day

As you can see, eggs currently sit in the middle of the pack. That may not be where they fell before, and it will change again. But having a general idea of larger comparisons can give you more control over your budget.

When it comes down to it, it’s not the price of eggs that’s stretching you thin. It’s the price of many cumulative things. The more factors you become aware of, the more options you have. That’s what the price of eggs has to do with the price of eggs.

Meringue

I’m sitting here looking at my lemon tree thinking of lemon meringue pie. I rarely eat it, but I LOVE it. Growing up, it was what I asked for every birthday instead of cake.

The bright lemon filling looks like light to me. It tastes bright and happy and makes me smile. If the meringue were missing, I’d still eat the pie, but it would be missing that little somethin, somethin that makes it extra special.

If you’ve never made meringue, it’s egg whites, sugar, a little cream of tartar, and lots of air. Sounds simple. But I remember overhearing my mother’s friends discussing how hard it was to keep it from burning or weeping or turning out chewy instead of light and fluffy. Then they’d share tips…in person.

It sounds quaint now to share domestic tips in person, doesn’t it? How could your friends possibly know better than Google? Apparently, my grandmother’s friends did. Hers was perfect – light and airy with swirly tan peaks. And she was the person who made my birthday meal, so I was always in for a treat!

In general, the tips people follow from the internet are good tips:

Separate the eggs whites from the yolks while the eggs are cold.
Separate each egg in a secondary bowl so that accidental contamination with a piece of yolk is limited to that egg and not the other bowl.
Allow egg whites to come to room temperature for as long as an hour before beating.
Make sure your bowl and beaters are clean and dry.

But if you’re reading tips and the tipster says you must have an electric mixer with a metal bowl, you could come away believing that you can’t make good meringue without those items. Don’t let that deter you and don’t rush out to buy something you don’t want.

You do not have to have a metal bowl. Glass works just fine. And you can use a hand mixer or a crank-powered egg beater. In fact, that’s what I use. It’s powered by nothing more than my hand turning a crank and it works just fine for creating stiff, glossy peaks.

Egg whites will support their own weight in sugar without your meringue going flat, but you must add the sugar slowly. You could see instructions that say to leave the mixer on and add half the sugar, then fold in the other half with a spatula. That may work if you have a stand mixer.

I don’t do that. I add the sugar more slowly and beat between additions. Once you have stiff peaks that do not collapse, stop. It is possible to beat for too long which will cause the meringue to fall.

If you’ve had difficulty making souffles, don’t worry. The sugar in meringue helps stabilize the peaks so this should be easier.

When you look at photos of pie on the internet, you’ll see some with meringue that sits 3 times higher than the pie filling. Proportionately, I prefer less meringue than that. I like for each bite of pie to include crust, filling, and meringue.

Under and overcooking may cause the dreaded weeping my mom’s friends hoped to avoid. Paying careful attention to time and temp will help prevent it. You can also put a little cornstarch in the recipe for an added measure of prevention.

My grandmother’s friends must have known all these secrets because her meringue was perfect – light and airy with swirly brown peaks. And lucky for me, she made my birthday pie with that perfect meringue on top. Yum!

Travel Tip #22 – What to Do When You’re Feeling Peckish

When you’re feeling peckish, use this travel tip. A few years ago, my youngest son often announced he was feeling peckish. No one he knew used that word, but he’s a big reader with a huge vocabulary and it’s not uncommon for him to interject new words into the family lexicon. Once we determined that meant he was a little hungry, we asked him what he wanted to eat. After awhile, his use of the word diminished and my use disappeared…until yesterday when I was walking through the grocery store looking for suitable airplane/airport snacks.

Today, I’m flying to LA to visit my newest grandson. As I’ve mentioned before, I always carry gluten-free food when I fly. That way I’m prepared if I can’t locate something suitable in the airport or there’s a delay that means I must eat on the plane. Perusing the deli case, I suddenly saw boxes labeled PECKISH. Of course that got my attention.
peckish
The contents of these boxes turned out to be a protein pack with two “perfectly boiled” organic, free-range eggs and a cup of crunchy dip. The flavor profile of this snack is determined by the crunchy dip. “Fried Rice” dip contains organic quinoa crispies, dried tamari, carrots, toasted sesame oil, sea salt, green onions, garlic, and ginger.
egg
Other flavor options include “Salt & Pepitas”, “Rancheros, “Maple Waffles”, and “Everything”. All flavors are gluten-free, diary-free, and sugar-free. Some are keto and paleo-friendly. Each flavor varies slightly in protein, fiber, and sodium content, but each box is filled with protein because of the eggs.

Once you peel open an individually packed egg and open the dip, you just stick the egg in the dip and take a bite. The inside of my dip’s foil lid is instructing me to double dip!

The already peeled, “perfectly boiled” eggs fall on the soft end of hard boiled. The yolk is not runny, but it is not dry and crumbly. The very center is orange and a tiny bit gooey.

This snack appealed to me not only because of its name, but because I often take hard boiled eggs as an airplane snack. I pre-peel the eggs and drop them into a zip top bag into which I’ve sprinkled a little salt and pepper. I was curious whether the flavored dips would be enough of an upgrade to justify the larger price tag or whether they would inspire me to create some dips of my own.

The “Everything” dip reminds me of the Everything But the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend from Trader Joe’s without the bitter aftertaste. Okay, I realize most people put that seasoning blend on something like a bagel and may not know there’s an aftertaste. I’m in the habit of testing recipes which requires tasting things repeatedly–when they’re hot, when they’re cold, a day later–and without embellishment.

Having been known to put strawberry jelly on scrambled eggs, I would expect to like the “Maple Waffles” dip. It does have a subtle sweetness and its lid tells me it’s so dippin’ good! I like the “Fried Rice” dip. It has a pleasing and less subtle blend of savory flavors. The “Salt & Pepitas” serves the purpose, but fails to make a statement. I’ll have to leave you in suspense regarding the “Rancheros”. I haven’t tried it yet.

I like the idea of using crisped quinoa to hold flavors like maple syrup and toasted sesame oil to blend with tamari, but I’m not likely to whisk up a batch of egg dip for one trip for one person. If I want something besides salt & pepper or a seasoning blend I keep on hand, it makes sense to purchase a PECKISH protein pack.

Of course these are also great snacks for road trips, the office, or a kid’s lunch box. If they’re not sold in your area, perfectlypeckish.com offers a subscription box feature. You build a home box by choosing 10 protein packs in any combination of flavors and have it delivered to your home at regular intervals.

If your office is into clean eating, keto, or paleo, you can also order weekly, biweekly, or monthly shipments to stock the break room. The office packs are single flavor boxes containing 30 eggs each or a box of 30 eggs without a flavored dip.

It’s good to know that when I anticipate feeling peckish on a trip, I can pack a high protein, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free snack that’s full of flavor without taking the time to cook. All I need to do is follow this travel tip–purchase a PECKISH protein pack.

That’s it for travel tip #22. Happy traveling and happy holidays!

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/peckish?s=t

https://perfectlypeckish.com/

http://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/travel-tip-21-be-prepared-to-evacuate/

http://www.cooking2thrive.com/blog/travel-tip-19-pack-light/

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”