Gotta Cook (and an Egg Salad recipe)
When our phone has rung before 7:00 in the morning, besides jumping frantically upright and saying to my husband "Somebody died, somebody died!!", I'm mentally in another place besides half-asleep doomsdaying...I'm already in the kitchen cooking to placate the effects of the imagined disaster.
When I know someone who has fallen ill, had an accident, or just a routine cold, I'm ashamed to say my first response - even before I ask "Are you alright?" - is "Do you need me to make you dinner?".
When someone tells me there is a get-together, party, or gathering of people to celebrate something, before I even check my calendar to see if I am available, I unconsciously ask, "What can I bring?", and I am most definitely not volunteering to make goody-bags.
I want a reason to cook. I want to put food - lots of it - in front of people and get feedback. I am always hoping other people have brought their culinary specialties so I can acquire new fabulous recipes to add to my repertoire.
I'm a culinary martyr, opportunist, and worker bee.
Why is that, I wonder. Is it ethnic? Let's see, I'm a WASP, also Jewish, baptized Greek Orthodox so there is no way to tell. Is it genetic? Good question, because people in my family transport casseroles in Pyrex dishes as well as send 'In Sympathy' cards. Inconclusive. Is it media-influenced? Maybe, I love when Daryl Hannah, in the movie Steel Magnolias, says "It's in the 'Freezes Beautifully' section of my cookbook and I want to make something for their family that freezes beautifully!"
Right now I have chicken in the slow cooker and also eggs hard-boiling, and why? In case I can be useful, I guess. Because it's something I do well, I suppose. Because it's easier for me to deliver to someone shredded chicken with mango-chipotle barbeque sauce, and a side of mango salsa in Tupperware than it is to look them straight in the eye, let down my defenses, and say, "Incidentally, and despite my best efforts to the contrary, you've gotten to me."
I just have a problem saying things like that.
But if you're hungry, sick, really like food, or planning an event, I'm your huckleberry.
EGG SALAD
6-7 eggs, hard-boiled
1 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. coarse grain salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. paprika
3-4 tbsp. mayonnaise (you may like less)
1 tbsp. yellow mustard (I do this because hubby likes to go heavy on mustard)
Mix all ingredients, except for hard-boiled eggs, together.
Dice hard-boiled eggs.
Add to mayo-mustard-spice concoction.
The Egg Salad can be scooped onto lettuce leaves (I prefer Romaine or Butter Lettuce), into hollowed out tomatoes, and of course spread in between bread slices (French Bread works well, it's inviting). It'll keep up to 4 days in the fridge, if it lasts that long. Egg Salad is very comforting, and to keep up or regain your strength, protein is essential.
Be well =)
When I know someone who has fallen ill, had an accident, or just a routine cold, I'm ashamed to say my first response - even before I ask "Are you alright?" - is "Do you need me to make you dinner?".
When someone tells me there is a get-together, party, or gathering of people to celebrate something, before I even check my calendar to see if I am available, I unconsciously ask, "What can I bring?", and I am most definitely not volunteering to make goody-bags.
I want a reason to cook. I want to put food - lots of it - in front of people and get feedback. I am always hoping other people have brought their culinary specialties so I can acquire new fabulous recipes to add to my repertoire.
I'm a culinary martyr, opportunist, and worker bee.
Why is that, I wonder. Is it ethnic? Let's see, I'm a WASP, also Jewish, baptized Greek Orthodox so there is no way to tell. Is it genetic? Good question, because people in my family transport casseroles in Pyrex dishes as well as send 'In Sympathy' cards. Inconclusive. Is it media-influenced? Maybe, I love when Daryl Hannah, in the movie Steel Magnolias, says "It's in the 'Freezes Beautifully' section of my cookbook and I want to make something for their family that freezes beautifully!"
Right now I have chicken in the slow cooker and also eggs hard-boiling, and why? In case I can be useful, I guess. Because it's something I do well, I suppose. Because it's easier for me to deliver to someone shredded chicken with mango-chipotle barbeque sauce, and a side of mango salsa in Tupperware than it is to look them straight in the eye, let down my defenses, and say, "Incidentally, and despite my best efforts to the contrary, you've gotten to me."
I just have a problem saying things like that.
But if you're hungry, sick, really like food, or planning an event, I'm your huckleberry.
EGG SALAD
6-7 eggs, hard-boiled
1 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. coarse grain salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. paprika
3-4 tbsp. mayonnaise (you may like less)
1 tbsp. yellow mustard (I do this because hubby likes to go heavy on mustard)
Mix all ingredients, except for hard-boiled eggs, together.
Dice hard-boiled eggs.
Add to mayo-mustard-spice concoction.
The Egg Salad can be scooped onto lettuce leaves (I prefer Romaine or Butter Lettuce), into hollowed out tomatoes, and of course spread in between bread slices (French Bread works well, it's inviting). It'll keep up to 4 days in the fridge, if it lasts that long. Egg Salad is very comforting, and to keep up or regain your strength, protein is essential.
Be well =)
