sábado, 28 de noviembre de 2009

Ode to the Egg


Ode to the Egg

Today calls for an ode to the egg. That little oval being that patiently graces your breakfast table, waiting for you to slice off its little head, sprinkle salt over the gleaming white flesh, and gobble it up. Soldier Toast sits alongside, ready to dive headfirst (after having been covered with a thin layer of Marmite...) into the yellow swimming pool of goodness. This is, as they say in Spain, a 'Señor desayuno'.

I eat a silly amount of eggs. I buy a silly amount of eggs, a dozen a pop. They are up there in the line of my perfect foods.
Doing life on an empty stomach is not something I'm any good at, so even though we stop working at 10am for breakfast in the pastelería, I need to have eaten a little something. So each morning, as I scuttle along the dark roads, wishing the sun would get up, I crack open a hard-boiled egg on the stone walls of Spanish government buildings, eternally wishing I had had the foresight to bring a little pot of salt and pepper.
At home on days off, either breakfast or lunch is probably going to be some kind of egg-concoction; yellowy flesh wobbling and jolly when it's been scrambled; or browned and dotted with vegetables and cheese in an omelette, or proudly waiting to have the yolk popped after a visit to the flying pan. Eggs, with their orange sun hidden in the middle, bring a smile to my day.

But the egg deserves an ode not just because I rather like it, nor just because it makes the basis of quick and easy meals. But rather, because it is damn good for us. Beneath that brittle shell lies a mountain of goodness for our bodies. The cholesterol they contain is the kind we need for memory function and cell repair. Their yolks hold omega 3 fatty-acids, beta-carotene, and vitamins A, D, E and K2, and they're an important source of good-quality protein that should play a starring role in our diets.

lunes, 23 de noviembre de 2009

Un batido de plátano para empezar de nuevo...


Llevo casi un mes sin comprarme la leche que me encanta tanto, por una lista de razones tan tontas; me quemé la frente, tuve gripe, se cayó me teléfono en el váter, me quedé encerrada en el ascensor (claro que estas son razones válidas para no comprar leche...).
Para celebrar mi vuelta a la compra de la leche tan rica, y su bajada de precio, hice un batido, con un plátano, pasta de cacahuete, y leche. Ya empezamos de nuevo...