Farm Fresh Eggs ~ Life List #49

One of farm fresh eggs frying in a pan

The thing about having a life list is that it’s written at one very particular time. As we all find out eventually, the only constant in life is change.

There must be something about May, because I wrote my life list back in May 2010. Well, a lot happens in six years. Some of the things on my list I have accomplished already. Others I don’t particularly care about anymore at all. Or they can happen in a way that I didn’t anticipate. Like #49 for instance.

Gather fresh eggs and cook with them.

I no longer feel the need to gather the eggs myself. But I have always wanted to cook with farm fresh eggs. As far as I’m concerned, #49 is now accomplished.

farm_fresh_eggs

This past week, I noticed that most of the eggs were gone and it was only the middle of the week. I sent a text to G asking him if he could stop and buy some. He texts back that he just passed a farm stand with eggs for sale. So he went back and bought a dozen. Talk about perfect timing!

One of the things that I noticed is that each egg looks different. Different shades, spots and speckles. Unlike the ones from the grocery store where they are all sorted to look exactly the same.

With these farm fresh ones, the brown ones are mixed with white ones. They are integrated! Bigger too. These seemed extra large. Also they were longer and less round. The yolk seemed bigger proportionately and the flavor seemed a bit deeper.

Now that it’s spring and summer is coming soon, I’m going to be on the lookout for more farm fresh eggs.

My Fake French Snack

fake French snack

It seems like something so simple shouldn’t taste so good. But it does. I picked up this brioche at Market Basket and slathered some wild blueberry preserves on it. What a great snack! I love Bonne Maman products, because they taste great and I keep the cute little jars.

The flowers have nothing to do with this snack, except for they are simple, pretty and giving me a French vibe too. So why not include them? Enjoy! 😀

pink flowers

Self-Care for Foodies: A Breakfast Board

Breakfast Board as self-care

The breakfast board is not my creation. But I do love the idea after reading about it on A Cup of Jo and if feels like self-care. Maybe it’s the next big trend for the picnic season? It would be kind of fun eating this outside.

Somehow if feels rather fanciful eating from a board. Maybe because it’s different. So it seems special. Like I ordered it from room service at a posh hotel, even though I made it myself.

While this is a normal breakfast, I did take more care with placement as I spread everything out — a boiled egg, a pear, a bit of avocado, vanilla Greek yogurt with granola, dates and walnuts.

As more of us focus on self-care, so that we can accomplish what we want in any given day, and remain happy, not just sane, we each find different ways of nurturing ourselves.

I think the breakfast board is a nice way. It’s probably not something we’ll do everyday, but it’s a nice change.

Sometimes we just need a change in order to be a bit more productive and creative. Last night, I attended a dinner meeting at the UMass Club. Dinner was wonderful and our group accomplished a lot.

UMass Club view of Mass State House

When we walked into our room and looked out the windows, we were all struck by the view.

While I’ve been in many tall buildings in Boston and seen plenty of gorgeous views of the city, this was not the same area as usual, so the view was different.

Umass Club view of Prudential and John Hancock buildings

I’ve walked around Center Plaza and Government Center countless times. But never seen them  from 32 floors above! The same for the Massachusetts State House. A change in perspective can gives us a new way to look at life. And sometimes, that’s all we really need.

A Favorite Coffee I’m Brewing at Home

French Market CoffeeHave you ever tried coffee with chicory? I’m a new fan.

The practice of mixing chicory with coffee has been a French tradition for centuries and is what gives New Orleans style coffee that special rich flavor.

I’ve been experimenting with new to me coffees lately, since sometimes I do my grocery shopping at Market Basket when I do my mom’s shopping at the same time.

Market Basket has a different selection of coffees than Stop & Shop, so I noticed the New Orleans’ Famous French Market brand as one to try. It’s only $4.99 at Market Basket.

Also, a random note, it’s on the top shelf, so if you’re short like me, you may have to stand on your tip-toes to reach it!

I love the flavor and have been buying it all the time now. So if you brew your coffee at home and want to try something new, I definitely recommend it.

The Book List: A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking

The Up South Cookbook by Nicole A. Taylor

Yesterday I compiled a summary list with links for the restaurants mentioned in the New York Time’s article, A Belle Époque for African-American Cooking. Now for the book list!

I figured I might as well summarize the book list too. The list below has the names of each book mentioned in the article, along with the authors’ names and links to their websites.

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The Up South Cookbook (Nicole A. Taylor)

Hog and Hominy: Soul Food From Africa to America (Frederick Douglass Opie)

High on the Hog (Jessica B. Harris)

Senegal (Pierre Thiam)

The Jemima Code (Toni Tipton-Martin)

Afro-Vegan (Bryant Terry)

 

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Screenshot: Amazon