Classic Egg Salad and Another IIP

Today's recipe is for classic or old fashion egg salad, it may not be a very fancy salad or recipe but it's definitely one of our favorite lunches. I've been wanting to do a post for the egg salad for a while but it has just kept being pushed back and I never took photos of it until a couple of days ago. I have Penny to thank for the final push because the theme this month for her IIP (international incident party) is eggs. Well I actually had several ideas of different egg dishes I could make for the IIP, but quite honestly I took the easier way this time. I have been extremely busy working a big project that I will share with you guys in the coming weeks, so please make sure you come back to hear the news.

Obviously in order to make egg salad you need to have hard boiled eggs prepared. I have already shared my way of cooking perfect hard boiled eggs every time. You can find the instructions in my archives here.


I also want to add a little note to the technique, I have learned from so many websites that if you add a teaspoon of baking soda (soda bicarbonate) to the water it will make removing the shells much easier. Which honestly can be such a hassle because the shells can sometimes stick to the egg white. This last time I decided to add the baking soda and I peeled the egg shells under running water. If you have a special technique or trick share with the rest of us in the comments section below.

Ingredients:
6 hard boiled eggs
3-4 tbsp. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. salt, adjust to taste
pinch ground black pepper, adjust to taste

large bowl
fork or potato masher
spoon

1. Remove the shells from the boiled eggs. Place the eggs in a large bowl, using either the back of the fork or a potato masher push down to break up the eggs. Continue until you have coarse pieces or to the desired consistency.

2. Add the mayonnaise to the bowl and mix until well incorporated. Sprinkle the salt and ground black pepper over the egg salad and mix until well incorporated. Taste and adjust salt and/or pepper if needed.

Serve on bread of your choice.

Don't forget to stop by Penny's site for her Egg recipe as well as visiting all of the other participants submissions. Oh I can't wait to see all the wonderful recipes everyone has shared.


This last photo I'm just throwing into the mix because I loved the way the sunlight was hitting our healthy lunch. See you can make it extra healthy and nutritious by adding your favorite fresh fruit and some tea or coffee with milk and you're set :)

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Thutilinanga Indonesian Chili Fried Eggplants/Aubergine

Eggplant also know as Aubergine is one of our favorite vegetables. Well technically it is a fruit but people use it as a vegetable. These veggies are in the same vegetable family as tomatoes, sweet peppers and potatoes. I know it's kind of weird thinking that all these vegetables belong in the same family. Eggplants/Aubergine come in a variety of shapes and colors but I think to most of us in the west we are most familiar with the long almost pear shape purple varieties. People in Asia are also familiar with long skinny, round and small eggplants. Since I've only had the long pear shaped I could not tell you how and if they differ in taste. Maybe some of my readers could enlighten me ?

Eggplants are very good for our bodies, have you ever noticed that the darker fruits,vegetables and greens are usually the best and healthiest options. They are a good source for Vitamins B1,B6 , dietary fiber, potassium, folic acid, magnesium, cooper, niacin, antioxidants and the list goes on. In studies Eggplants have also proven to lower cholesterol as well as help manage type 2 diabetes and their GI is 15 - quite low. In addition to being very beneficial to our bodies I find Eggplant to be a very versatile vegetable that will absorb any type of spices and sauces well so it makes a great cooking ingredient.

The recipe I'm sharing with you today is from one of my Indonesian cookbooks our FDG so kindly brought for me from Indonesia. ( I spoke about it here ) I'd like to tell you that my photo doesn't do the dish justice, Even though it doesn't look so pretty it really was delicious so delicious that I've made a several times now. I followed the recipe pretty much as in the book but one time I changed a couple of things, please see the notes. The eggplant was soft with a little bit of spiciness from the chili and all the flavors really came together. I hope you try the recipe and see how flavorful it tastes.

Ingredients:

(serves 2-3)

2 medium eggplants ( aubergine)*

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 red chili, thinly sliced ( or any color you have)

1-2 tsp. ground chillies

2 Roma tomatoes, quartered

1/4 tsp. salt

2 medium eggs,lightly beaten

6 3/4 oz or 200 ml thick coconut milk ( I have also substituted with vegetable broth)

In addition I have on occasions also added the following ingredients:

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small piece of ginger, finely chopped

(*The recipe book calls for 4 Aubergines, they are refereeing to long and thin Asian Aubergines but instead I have used 2 large and thick western Aubergines. *)

1. Slice off both ends of the clean eggplants then slice them in half cutting widthwise. Take each half and slice into quarters lengthwise. Heat the oil and fry the eggplants until they have browned , making sure to turn so they fry on all sides. In the mean time slice the onion, chili and cut the tomatoes into quarters. Once the eggplants are browned and soften through place on a serving platter or large plate and set aside. In the same pan fry the onions until they are translucent then add the chili and fry for another 3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, ground chili, and salt giving the ingredients a good stir. Fry until the tomatoes have broken down.

2. Next push the vegetables aside and add a little more oil to the pan if necessary, pour the beaten eggs. Cook the eggs though and break up to scrambled eggs. Stir and combine the egg into the vegetable mixture. Pour the thick coconut milk or if substituting like I have pour the vegetable broth. Stir to well combine all ingredients and allow to come to a boil.

Pour the vegetables mixture over the eggplants and serve.

The eggplant tasted much better than it looks in my photos, sorry the photos aren't very good. Both my husband and I really enjoyed them, we ate all of it. They were served on the side of Nasi Goreng for a Vegetarian dinner. ( Recipe for Nasi Goreng is here )

I leave you with another little fact about Eggplant/Aubergines , they are native to the Indian Sub-Continent and then were spread throughout many regions of the world. Funny I always pictured or thought they were native to Mediterranean areas in Europe.

* This dish can be enjoyed as a main dish or as a side dish. If you are a vegetarian and don't eat eggs I think Tofu instead of eggs would taste just as good. *

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The perfect hard boiled egg, every time!

Today's post is a back to basics cooking lesson, How to boil an egg. The perfect boiled or hard boiled egg is when the egg is cooked all the way through and the yolk is golden , there shouldn't be a grey/green ring around the yolk. To me if a hard boiled egg has that grayish or green tone, it becomes very unappetizing. (I can picture it, grayish yolk chunks in egg salad ,,,yuck ). I think eggs are one of those foods that seem like a fairly easy to cook food, but some how can turn into a difficult food to master. Many people have problems with either over or under cooking eggs and can quickly go from delicious to disgusting. This is a fool proof method and if you try it your hard boiled eggs will come out perfect.

1. Utensils you will need are a large pot, a slotted spoon, and a large bowl. You will also need cold water and of course fresh eggs. First place the eggs in a large pot and pour cold tap water into the pot, the water should cover all the eggs by about 1 inch / or 2.5 cm. Place the pot over high heat until the water has reached a rolling boil. This means that the water is bubbling vigorously. Then immediately lower the heat to a medium low setting, and continue to boil for an additional 10 minutes.



2. A minute before the 10 minutes are up, fill half way a large bowl with very cold- ice cold water. Using the slotted spoon gently place the eggs in the bowl with very cold water, making sure that all the eggs are covered.



3. Leave the eggs in the cold water until they are at room temperature. This is a very important step because this cooling down is what prevents the yolk from turning grey/green.

Look the yolks are perfectly cooked and are a beautiful golden yellow color!! :)

I have been making hard boiled eggs this way for years and it's always a success. Now you are ready to enjoy these hard boiled eggs with a little salt and pepper,slice them to use on sandwiches, and these are also perfect to for deviled eggs or egg salad. (I will post my recipes and photos for both soon.) Now if I could only master poaching an egg ...

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