Meatless Monday: Fry-poached egg with Pecorino and homegrown tomatoes

Redux. , originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

I've been meaning to do more meatless monday posts, especially as it seems that I'm eating more meatless meals worth writing home about (well, you know).

This week, I was looking for a quick dinner for one with the requirement of using up a couple of small tomatoes from our last terrace crop. Having learned about fry-poaching an egg over at thekitchn.com, I knew I had to try it.

The result was incredibly yummy and simple. To fry-poach an egg, start off your egg in a bit of oil or butter. When the white starts to firm up, throw an ice cube or a tablespoon or two of water into the pan and cover. The white steams lightly leaving a soft texture with just a hint of the fried-crunchiness that I love so much.

To put together the meal, I sliced tomatoes and layered them on a piece of warm wheat toast. I flopped the hot egg on top and smothered it with fresh black pepper and fresh-grated Pecorino Romano.

Poke the yolk so it runs, poached-style, over the sandwich and enjoy. Alongside this masterpiece of a meal for one, I sipped Vivallis Vigna Giere 2007, a Moscato Giallo with a hint of sweetness and citrus with some floral overtones. Overall, a nice pairing for a quick weeknight meal.

Impromptu Tea Party, or Dessert for Breakfast

 I've been determined to work my through The Greyston Bakery Cookbook over time to perfect my baking skills.  I'm generally an impatient (although I prefer to call it innovative) cook and so baking has been a particular challenge.  Faced with a few hours to kill and an abundance of eggs from our CSA (which has spurred so many of my recipe choices these days), I dug out the book and got to work. 

I decided to attempt the Earl Grey Tea Cake on a Sunday afternoon.  This recipe combines a not-so-obscene amount of eggs, butter, and sugar with the usual characters of salt, baking powder, flour, etc.  The secret to its greatness comes in the four bags of Earl Grey tea which get crushed into the batter giving off a beautiful aroma of bergamot and smoky tea.  

Even with my commitment to diligent recipe following, I made one minor adjustment which was to use Stash Premium Double Bergamot Earl Grey in place of your run-of-the-mill Lady Grey.  I was fairly confident that this tweak could not result in a change of chemistry.  And in fact, my gamble paid off.  The citrusy smokiness was gorgeous and made for a sweetly satisfying cake and removed the need for the brewed tea icing that the recipe also calls for (okay, that's two tweaks).   These adjustments also made the cake less indulgent when eaten over the next few mornings.