Monday, April 10, 2017

Eggs for Breakfast. Crab, Clams,

Interesting article on why we eat eggs for breakfast. Apparently eating breakfast was a Roman thing and once they left Britain, we stopped eating breakfast. We ate dinner at 9 a.m. I couldn't believe that when I read it. Then eventually dinner got pushed back later and later in the day and workers needed protein to carry them through the day. Eggs, of course, were a cheap source of protein which is why they became a breakfast staple. In one of the earliest known cookbooks (1669) poached eggs are recommended. It's a short article and worth reading.

I forgot to mention, talking of crab menus the other day, I checked in our supermarket and found they
do have cans of crab meat. Fairly large and something like $32 each. I did NOT buy one. They also have frozen crab legs too which I knew about. Once in a blue moon, but it has to be very blue, I treat myself to crab legs - Matt can't be bothered with them I'm pleased to say.  Incredible really, he loves seafood but can't be bothered to shell shrimp or crab or even clams and oysters. A friend in the States had a shrimp boat and every so often we would have a feast of back fin crabs in their back yard (as well as shrimp) and most of us would tuck in with gusto, not Matt. I don't remember now, but they must have had other stuff to eat. I used to peel him some shrimp on these occasions, but not the crab, if he can't be bothered to fiddle with them, and they are a fiddle to eat, he can go without. Oysters we used to buy - a bushel at a time - and Matt had built a small fire in the back yard especially for steaming them. We put them on a tin base and covered them with wet sacking. They would open themselves and I would feast on them. Matt used to take some and cook them in a sauce. He never really enjoyed clams an oysters after we had way too many clams one time and were cooking them every which way we could think of - in chowders, steamed, fried, you name it. Must have been half a dozen of us stuffing our faces on that occasion. None of the rest of us got tired of them, but Matt never ate clams again after that.

I absolutely love this kind of Vietnamese Soup. I'm sure I have some Oriental blood in me somewhere. This was posted by Bon Appétit. Kombu is a delicious seaweed. We used it when we were making sushi and the recipe said remove it. I left it in it was so tasty.

Vietnamese Chicken and Rice Soup

Sticky rice is worth using for this porridge-y, comforting chicken soup recipe; it releases lots of creamy starches and helps builds nice body as it cooks.

2 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 4x4-inch piece dried kombu
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled, crushed
3 star anise pods
1 2-inch cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
4 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup glutinous (sticky) rice or sushi rice, rinsed
1 Tbs (or more) fish sauce
1 tsp palm or light brown sugar
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
½ cup cilantro leaves with tender stems
¼ cup thinly sliced white onion

1. Bring chicken, kombu, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, stock, and 2 cups water to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Reduce heat to maintain a low simmer and cook until chicken is tender. Transfer chicken to a plate.

2. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard solids. Return broth to pot and add rice, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook until rice is very tender, 18–20 minutes. Shred chicken and return to pot; season soup with more fish sauce.

3. Divide soup among bowls; top with scallion, jalapeño, cilantro, and onion.

Servings: 4

Source: Elizabeth Street Café'

Have a great day
 

16 comments:

  1. I buy my crab meat at Costco. Last time it was about $25, so your pricing is about right. BTW, couldn't believe how expensive the gas was in Windsor.

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    1. I haven't checked Costco Denise, but if you pay $25 it is probably just as expensive for me. I'm not surprised you couldn't believe it.

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  2. There's no shortage of shellfish where I live! Although it's quite pricey. I miss it...I wish I could eat shrimp. Russell wants to start quahogging again and putting lobster pots in the Canal.

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    1. I know JoJo. I wish I lived near you. Matt used to go clamming regularly in NC but lobsters were not available in the local waters. Lobster is my all time favourite food.

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  3. Interesting article. We're vegetarian so we rely on eggs as an important protein source which means eggs in one form or another for breakfast every day.

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    1. I thought so too Helen. I number amongst my blogging friends, Vegans, Vegetarians and Pescatarians. Varied lot aren't we?

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  4. I love most kinds of seafood but I'm not an oyster lover. Crab is so expensive most of the time that we seldom have it. My children love it and usually get it at any restaurant where it's on the menu.

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    1. I never used to love oysters Susan. My parents used to devour them but not me. Then when we went to NC I learned to eat them steamed and loved them. Then one time in the UK I ate a couple raw and loved them too. Of course living at the coast, you can often catch your own anyway.

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  5. When I lived next to Mamam and Papam, we had dinner in the afternoon, around noonish. The biggest meal of our day.

    That soup does look good :-)

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    1. There are lots of people who still eat their main meal at noon Ivy. At one time, in England, we always had Sunday lunch, which was a special meal, at about 1 although other days our main meals were in the evening.

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    2. I usually still do now as well but not always. Today for example, my lunch/dinner was bigger than my upcoming supper (which is cooking now).

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    3. I generally prefer my main meal in the evening Ivy. Not sure why, just what I got used to I guess.

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    4. I go back and forth. I guess, it depends on what I'm doing and if I'm eating with Tim or not too. Some night he games and gets pizza, so I might eat less that night or more snacky things. If that makes sense.

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    5. I can see that would happen Ivy especially if Tim is eating pizza.

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  6. We have 3 dozen eggs sitting in our fridge atm despite us eating at least one a day and giving them to neighbours and family. I suppose I should appreciate them while the chickens are still laying. I've always thought eggs, bananas and avocados were perfect foods.

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    1. Oops, that's a lot of eggs Pinky. I have some good egg recipes if you want them. Omelets are best with 2 eggs which would use a few up.

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