Lately: What I'm Listening To

Elliott Smith, Elliot Smith

InnerSpeaker - Tame Impala

 Gulag Orkestar, Beirut

And the new Arcade Fire tack - Reflektor!

Recipe: A Frog in the Basket and Why an Egg is Healthy

“wonder what day god created the egg' 'how should we know? we should not question. our stay on earth is not for long. let us rejoice and believe and give thanks'. 'eat a egg” 

-Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises

Lately, I've just been enjoying being outside and feeling the sun on my skin. I'm trying to do this as much as possible before ol' fall comes around (not that this is bad). There is just something about the sun sinking through me that lifts my spirits and warms me all the way to my core. So, of course I can't help but thinking about another warming friend who does just the same - the egg!

I LOVE eggs. Seriously. I'm going to tell you a confession that is actually kind of lame now that I think about but... whatever. First, an informative rant on why eggs are healthy for you:
 
An egg is really three separate foods, the whole egg, the white, and the yolk, each with its own distinct nutritional profile. A whole egg is a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-quality protein food packaged in a high-calcium shell that can be grounded and added to any recipe. The proteins in eggs, with sufficient amounts of all the essential amino acids, are 99 percent digestible, the standard by which all other proteins are judged.

The egg white is a high-protein, low-fat food with virtually no cholesterol. Its only important vitamin is riboflavin (vitamin B2), a visible vitamin that gives egg white a slightly greenish cast. Raw egg whites contain avidin, an anti-nutrient that binds biotin a B complex vitamin formerly known as vitamin H, into an insoluble compound. Cooking the egg inactivates avidin. An egg yolk is a high-fat, high-cholesterol, high-protein food, a good source of vitamin A derived from carotenes eaten by the laying hen, plus vitamin D, B vitamins, and heme iron, the form of iron most easily absorbed by your body. Many of the egg’s incredible nutrients are found in the egg yolk (so don't exclude this either!), including choline, folate, lutein, zeaxanthin and vitamin D. The yolk also includes healthy monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats and almost half of the high-quality protein found in eggs.

I've noticed it's a trend in some veganish circles to leave eggs out of recipe's - obviously (they're vegan, right?). Well, this perturbs me slightly because usually it's for a dessert recipe and almost always the egg is the healthiest thing in the ingredient list. Why take that out? Why take out nature's perfect little health food?? So, the confession; I've been known to comment on many a vegan blog post in a passionate sort of manner about how the egg wants you to eat it (don't hate). I've had conversations with vegans about this and usually they agree, there is no harm if the egg is from a happy, free-range chicken (preferably local). AND they're much better than processed crud in most packaged and sometimes homemade vegan food items. Even if you're a raw foodie eggs are totally fine to eat raw. Seriously! But don't take my word for it, research this stuff! So, without further adieu... the recipe.
Note: I really love some aspects of vegan and raw diets.

How to Make a Frog in the Basket

 

Step One: Get some farm fresh eggs. 

I used the lovely light brown one, back left

 

 

Step Two: Get a slice of bread, pull out the center, and put it in a heated skillet. 

The options here are endless. Here I am using a thick chunk of tomato and basil bread gifted to me by my lovely grandma. The BEST option for this step though is a good sough-dough (always the trump in this genre, let's be honest). Don't waste that pulled out center either... please :)

 

Step Three: Let the bread toast for a minute or two and crack that egg (aka frog) into the hole (aka basket).

If you're like me, you like to flip something as soon as it's in the pan. But let this sit a little. My husband is continuously slapping my spatula towin' paw from whatever it is itching to flip. I have to learn to just leave the room for 5 minutes or so. After it's to your desired wait time, flip! then repeat this until it's cooked to your liking. Don't forget the salt and pepper.

 

Step Four: (optional, maybe) Tomato from garden. 

*drools*

 

Step Five: Enjoy!

Also, enjoy the rest of this fine season!

Memories: The Great Falls via Difficult Run

 "A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered." -C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet

With September now here and fall close by, I keep reminiscing about one of our favorite hikes in Northern Virginia that is just lovely during the fall. Yes, there is actually some hiking in NoVA. No, you don't have to drive an hour+ to get there.

We lived just inside the beltway in Annandale and the parking for the Difficult Run trail took us approx. 20 minutes to get to. We followed the directions precisely on hikingupward.com on how to make this hike a loop. Okay, the first time wasn't precise at all as we went to the wrong side of the parking lot and started that trail, went almost 10 miles in the opposite direction, and didn't even suspect anything was up until we crossed 7 (super embarrassing). Just... make sure you are going towards the Potomac. The Difficult Run gets it's name from the creek (of the same name) that the trail closely follows as it flows out of the Potomac.  It is not named so because it is difficult. I highly recommend doing the suggested loop and not just an out and back. The loop takes you back through some mighty poplar trees that are a stately sight to behold. The ratings on hikingupward.com are pretty true, as well. It is not a tough hike at all and you get spectacular water views up until the Great Falls. You could just go to the Great Falls directly (at the Great Falls State Park entrance), pay a fee to enter the park, deal with hoards of people, and no easy (plus beautiful) hike vs. free parking, hoards of people, and an easy (plus beautiful) hike. I think the choice is pretty obvious.