I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #31
happiest when cooking and eating eggs
I eat, I read, I watch — dining solo #31
Today’s post is the 31st of “I eat, I read, I watch,” my column highlighting a solo dinner and my reading and watching accompaniments. Don’t just eat alone - dine solo! You’re worth it. And it’s not hard to do.
Missed earlier instalments? Check out the list at the bottom of the post.
I eat: Eggs, Eggs, and More Eggs!
Funny that the thing I eat every morning, and that often appears at other meals too, just for its sheer versatility, hasn’t yet appeared in this column. Yes, I’m talking about the humble egg. Damn, I love them!
Ninety percent of the breakfasts I’ve eaten in my life have involved an egg. These days, it’s typically fried, sunny side up, served on toast with cheese or sometimes a little peameal, or sometimes a drop of chilli crisp, or even avocado slices. On the weekends, I might spend the time to prepare a perfect soft boiled version. Regardless of the cooking method, I prefer the result slightly undercooked to what most like — yolk runny for sure but also the white just at the moment of turning white. That’s what I aim for.
Eggs show up later in the day too, though. Sometimes it’s a fried egg atop a noodle soup, or one poached in the soup liquid. Sometimes egg gets scrambled into rice fried with some veg. Sometimes the hard boiled version finds its way into a salad. The possibilities are nearly endless. I love them all.
If you bought into the bad rap eggs got decades ago, those days are over. Every health site I found says you can eat at least one a day without any ill effects. So there.
Prep Time: nearly no time at all
Origin: Always Canadian - often farm-fresh
Cost: doesn’t matter - worth every penny
What do you do with eggs? In the Comments below please!
I read: The Alternatives, Caoilinn Hughes
A few columns ago, a reader suggested this book. I’d never heard of the Irish writer or the book and I don’t read much fiction anymore. But I thought what the heck, order it from the library and if you don’t like it, you can return it unread. And I DO like it.
The characters are four sisters, each very different from the other. Their relationship is interesting, formed as it was when their parents died when the eldest was only 17. Think Party of Five, but set in Ireland, without the irritating Lacey Chabert, and with a more interesting plot.
The writing is more erudite than what I typically read and certainly more dense than my own writing. There are some intriguing stylistic things the writer has chosen — no quotation marks, for example, to denote dialogue. And a couple of sections written in play form. I can’t figure out why she’s done these things, but it caught my attention, so mission accomplished I guess?
I’m not quite finished the book. But I will. I care enough to find out what happens. High praise? Well, cautious praise, I’d say.
Taken a total flyer on someone’s recommendation lately? Let’s hear about it in the Comments below.
I watch: Karen Pirie
Again this time, I’m turning to BritBox for viewing fare. This one, Karen Pirie, features a young female protagonist who is a detective in the Scottish police force who’s assigned cold cases. Both seasons released so far have only three episodes, each one 90 minutes long. A commitment for sure. What I particularly enjoy about Pirie’s approach to solving crime though is her disregard for protocol, an unusual quality in a woman. Sure, we see rogue male cops, rogue male lawyers, and so on. But have we seen a rogue female cop before, especially one so young? I don’t think so (although posing the question has made me start watching Prime Suspect again. Helen Mirren’s character was, however, much older) Pirie regularly puts her career on the line for an idea that, of course, always works out in her favour! She’s also having an affair with another detective who also happens to report to her on these cases. Again, it would be unremarkable in a male character, but not so much for a female one.
Of course, all her risk-taking is the complete opposite to the way I operate in my life, so it’s intriguing to me to see what crazy shit she’s going to do next!
What fictional character is the opposite of you? In the Comments below please!
Missed the earlier instalments of this column? Click:
#1 (pork chop & green beans)
#2 (trout & veg)
#3 (shrimp pepper bisque)
#4 (rice & peas with coleslaw)
#5 (ramen)
#6 (burger & fries)
#7 (duck sausage & salad),
#8 (shrimp & veg with pasta)
#9 (Wigilia)
#10 (mushroom shepherds pie)
#11 (roasted veg and sausage)
#12 (leftovers)
#13 (garlic shrimp with rapini on egg noodles)
#14 (beef stew)
#15 (salmon mac and cheese)
#16 (salmon cakes and ragout)
#17 (pork tenderloin, red cabbage, potatoes)
#18 (pulled turkey and salad)
#19 (almond butter chicken korma)
#20 (lobster tacos with asparagus)
#21 (rainbow trout, garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted asparagus)
#22 (pork tenderloin and black-truffle infused egg noodles with fresh asparagus)
#23 (grilled halloumi with roasted asparagus and mushroom salad)
#24 (savoury bread pudding)
#25 (Kung Pao chicken)
#26 (tofu, pepper, and shiitake stir fry on rice)
#27 (stuffed zucchini)
#28 (pulled duck tacos with cauliflower-stuffed red pepper)
#29 (Slow Cooker Chicken and Creamed Corn)
#30 (Beef stew with apple juice)
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