Grilled Egg Salad (Seriously.... the eggs were hard-boiled on the grill!)

Grilled Egg Salad

It is during the hottest days of summer when I crave an egg salad sandwich. Somehow it seems unfair that egg salad requires hard boiled eggs which means a pot of boiling water heating up the the kitchen... Pass. I have experimented with pre-cooking and freezing eggs, and now understand how the the egg salad in those commercially prepared sandwiches get that weird rubbery texture. (Well there's an admission, eh?) In July's Food Network Magazine there was a page of photos of things you can grill. Veggies, berries, eggs... Eggs??? No explanation or instructions, just a picture of a hard-cooked egg and a warning to prick a hole in it first.

One night last week I gave it a shot. We were cooking burgers, and like every other time we grill the coals would be hot long after we finished our meal. I usually toss in a few potatoes to bake, and this time I added half a dozen eggs. I poked a hole in the end of each one, set them on the grill next to the taters, and closed the lid. I cannot be certain how long I should have left them there, but when I checked back in twenty minutes they were done.

After cooling on the counter for an hour, I placed the eggs in the fridge. The next morning, I peeled them. The shells were too brittle to peel neatly, so perhaps next time I will cool them down in a bowl of water. Inside the eggs were indeed hard cooked.

When preparing the egg salad, I did not bother with making mayonnaise in case the experiment failed. Instead I used three tablespoons of vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil. Chopped green onion, a little salt... and there I had it! An egg salad sandwich on a day it too hot to cook!

With a bun bun baked on the grill the night before, I would have to say this was a pretty good sandwich.



www.stealthymom.com

Popover Fruit Cup

Popover Fruit Cup

Popovers make perfect little fruit cups. They are light and fluffy, and oh-so-easy. If you have leftovers you can rename them "Yorkshire Pudding" and serve them with a roast or stew. This recipe is adapted from my ancient edition of the Five Roses Guide to Good Cooking using avocado oil* and an extra egg per dozen. Substituting wheat flour for the white will still taste good but will not puff up as high.

For a dozen popovers:

1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs (or three duck eggs)
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 450F

Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Heat the milk, either in the microwave or on the stovetop, to just below boiling. A little at a time, whisk it into the eggs. Whisk in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Once the oven is hot, pour a tiny amount of avocado oil into each part of the muffin pan. Swirl it around to make sure it is enough to cover the bottom, then pop the pan into the oven for five minutes. Remove the hot muffin pan from the oven, and carefully fill each cup with batter.

Bake for fifteen minutes at 450F, then turn the heat down to 350F. Bake for another ten to fifteen minutes, until the popovers puff up, then turn off the heat. Leave the pan in the oven for another ten minutes with the heat off.

Serve with fresh fruit, butter and honey, or as Yorkshire Pudding.


Fruit Topping

2 oranges, sliced
2 apples, sliced
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup berries, either fresh or frozen, sliced
any other fresh fruit you have on hand: kiwis, peaches, pears...
2 tbsp maple syrup

Mix the fruit and syrup in a bowl, at least half an hour prior to serving so the fruit juices and syrup mix together.



I shared this post with Thriving on Thursdays and Full Plate Thursday.


www.stealthymom.com


*The original recipe calls for vegetable oil, and was written long before most corn and canola oils were genetically modified. Lard and olive oil have too-low smoke points to be preheated in a high oven. Avocado oil is perfect and well worth seeking out before you make popovers. You only need a wee bit so the tiny bottle you will typically find at the health food store will last a long time.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Sweet Potato Pancakes

Golden and hot off the griddle, Sweet Potato Pancakes have a hint of spice and are like sneaking into the kitchen to snack on pie. While they have no sugar added, who will stop you from pouring over a little maple syrup? (Just don't tell the kids this sweet treat contains Vitamin A, whole grains and is higher in protein than the average pancake. Shhhh.)

1 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato (approximately. If your measuring cup runneth over it will be fine.)
2 duck eggs or 3 chicken eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend together the sweet potatoes and milk, then add the eggs and blend until liquified. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Lightly oil a hot griddle (or pan.) For coin-sized pancakes, pour the batter by tablespoons onto the griddle. For average sized pancakes, pour about a quarter cup.

Cook the pancakes until golden on one side or bubbles appear on the surface. Flip them over, and cook until golden on the other side.

For more natural recipe ideas, check out Monday Mania, Martha Monday, Homestead Barn Hop,  Meatless Mondays, Tasty Tuesdays,  Fat Tuesdays,  Real Food Wednesdays, and Full Plate Thursdays.

www.stealthymom.com

Pizza Quiche

Pizza Quiche on Whole Wheat Crust

Eggs can be tricky with G-man, who always claims not to like them until he takes a bite. Lea over at Nourishing Treasures posted a recipe for egg casserole. The photos look divine, and it got me scheming about eggs and cheese. No matter what the food, the most effective way to get G-man to try it is to put it on a pizza. (The Cadet will eat pretty much anything.)

For the crust, I used whole wheat flour for a quick, no-knead dough. When forming the pizza crust, I made it thin with a raised edge to contain the quiche. You could make whatever kind of quiche you want; we enjoyed tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms and cheddar topped with mozzarella. Our kids tore into it, veggies and all!

For one, 14" Pizza:

3/4 cups warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt (Totally optional. We rarely add it to "save" on sodium.)
olive oil

2 medium tomatoes, diced or 1 can chopped tomatoes, drained
1 green pepper
4 oz mushrooms
4 chicken eggs (or 3 duck eggs)
4 oz grated cheddar
4 oz grated mozzarella
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano

Prepare the pizza dough: Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water. In a medium bowl, mix the flour and garlic powder. As soon as the yeast is totally dissolved, add it to the flour all at once and stir it in. With a mixing spoon, scrape all of the flour off of the sides and stir it into the forming dough ball. Once all of the flour is in the dough ball, pour a bit of olive oil into to bowl (about a teaspoon) and gently roll the ball in it to coat. Set the ball aside to rest for at least five minutes. Fifteen is better if you have the time.

Preheat the oven to 400F. (Our oven is fast, so we set it to 390F)

Form the crust: Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil onto the center of a cookie sheet. With your hands, smear the oil around the pan, a few inches from the center. Oil on your hands will help quickly make the crust. Place the dough ball in the middle, and press it out into a larger circle, working from the center out, until you have about a fourteen inch circle. Press the circle so it is it uniform with extra at the edge. Fold up and pinch the edge all the way around to make a ridge, three-quarters of an inch deep. Set the crust aside and allow it to rise while you prepare the rest of the pizza.

Prepare the quiche: Either drain a can of unsalted, chopped tomatoes or chop up two medium tomatoes. Slice the green peppers to half-inch cubes, and dice the mushrooms. Crack the eggs into the bowl you used to make your dough. Whisk them then stir in the veggies, grated cheddar, basil and oregano. Pour the mixture into the pizza crust and top it all with mozzarella.

Bake for about 19-20 minutes. If your oven is uneven, turn the pizza after 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

[If you are using canned tomatoes, you can drain them ahead of time and use the juice to make the pizza dough. Yeast does not mind a bit of acidity. Just add enough water to make three-quarters of a cup of liquid total. Warm the juice up before adding the sugar and yeast.]

[Unbleached white flour can also be used. Allow extra time to rest, at least ten minutes, before forming the crust on the pan. Allow it half an hour to rise, if you have the time, before baking.]


I shared this recipe at Meatless Mondays and Make Your Own Monday,  Fat Tuesday, and Real Food Wednesday,  Healthy 2Day Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday,  Full Plate Thursday, the Ultimate Recipe Swap, and the Friday Vegetarian Potluck, weekly roundups of natural recipes.

www.stealthymom.com

Raspberry Custard Pie

Raspberry Custard Pie with Omega Crust

Did you give up cheesecake this year? Let me introduce you to Raspberry Custard Pie. The Omega Crust contains no lard, shortening or butter. Flaxseed meal contributes 1900 milligrams of Omega-3 oils per serving. The creamy custard has the goodness of eggs and milk. There are no artificial ingredients, and a generous slice has 9 grams of protein, 4 grams of fiber, and fewer than 300 calories.  All "diet" talk aside.... This pie is a smooth, tart-n-sweet  treat. Go for it.