By far, my favorite pregnancy food this go round has been eggs. I know, I know…it may seem bizarre…as the smell of hard-boiled eggs is well, you know, stinky.
But I can't help myself. I eat them twice a day. Usually, in the morning as an omelette and then again in the afternoon scrambled with cheese wrapped in a warm corn tortilla (one of my favorite foods in the world).
The other morning, however, I was feeling a bit nostalgic for my Mama's cooking. I remember being young and eating soft boiled eggs often – most likely because they were simple and easy to cook for a crazy busy family.
Oh wait – that's sounding familiar.
Whatever the reason, and even though this is hardly considered a ‘recipe', it is no doubt a delicious meal to add to the repotoire of your kitchen. For breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. Or all three, if you'd like.
I would also like to quickly remind you of how important it is to source pastured eggs. Currently, we purchase our eggs from a friend who allows her chickens to roam. Whenever we go to pick up our milk, we can see them all scratching in the green grass, chasing around the ducks, and flapping around in the sprinklers. They are happy chickens. And happy chickens, my friends, produce eggs that are much richer in vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and minerals.
Even though I didn't take this picture (I didn't have a battery egg to compare to!), I think it does a good job of demonstrating the difference (battery egg on the left, pastured egg on the right). See the vibrant color? That's all nutritional goodness. The yolks of our pastured eggs are neon orange – and the flavor is out of this world. I'm always surprised how much oomph an egg can have when it's raised properly.
Imagine!
And for you thrifty Mama's out there, we might as well point out there is a small cost difference between these pastured eggs and battery raised eggs. Our current supplier charges $3 a dozen (we eat about 2 dozen per week). But here's how I see it: if we're looking at paying for minerals, vitamins, and nourishment – there is no comparison. The pastured egg is by far a much richer supply of these things. So while the battery eggs may cost less, you also receive far less nutrition from them.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
And with the amount of eggs the average person eats, upgrading to pastured eggs will hardly break the bank.
And man, oh man, is it worth it.
All that to say, let's make some soft boiled eggs.
Soft Boiled Eggs
You will need:
– 2 eggs, per person
– Water
– 1 tablespoon of butter, per person
Step One: Place the eggs in a small pan and cover with water.
Step Two: Gently heat the water to a boil (let this happen slowly, or the eggs will crack!) – I usually allow mine about 10-15 minutes to come up to temperature.
Step Three: Once the water begins to boil, cover the eggs, and turn the temperature to low. Then, set the timer for 8 minutes.
Step Four: After 8 minutes, remove the lid, and run the eggs under cold water to quickly cool the shell down. You don't want to make the eggs cold, but you want them to be cool enough to peel the shell off before the insides get cold! This is very important. Don't screw it up. I mean it.
Step Five: After the eggs are peeled, quickly add your butter, a pinch of sea salt, and some freshly ground black pepper. Then, mush the eggs with the back of a fork until they're broken up.
Like this. See?
You may also notice that we're still enjoying that SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT bread I made last week. It works wonderfully for toast – especially when it's smeared in Kerry Gold butter. I's just sayin'.
Yum, yum, yum. I love these eggs. Just like my Mom & Dad make them. I can't ever eat them without thinking about my dear parental units.
I love them even more than I love soft boiled eggs.
And that's a lot.
Oh, and I'm sorry for getting all egg-snobby on you. But there are some things I'm passionate about in this world, and one of those things is the incredible, edible, egg. Baby. If you don't believe there's a difference, come over for breakfast sometime and have Stuart make you some eggs & grits.
Then you'll know what's up.
Egg-snob. Out.
This post part of Simple Lives Thursdays!
For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.
Jackie @ Crest Cottage
May 17, 2012 at 1:29 pmI was all about eggs when I was pregnant, too! In the summer we get them for $3/dozen, but in the winter they are $5 from a different source, and of course, I craved them most in the winter. It was worth it, though, when I didn’t have the energy to look at anything else.
Karin
May 17, 2012 at 2:04 pmI am excited to try your soaked whole wheat bread recipe you mention in this post. When I went to look at the recipe it calls for oats. Do you mean oats that have been flaked (i.e. oatmeal)? Or is this steel cut oats / oatmeal? Or just plain oats – not ground or flaked?
-Karin
Shaye @ The Elliott Homestead
July 4, 2012 at 12:29 amKarin, I use rolled oats. I think steel cut might affect the texture of the bread too much, though it may be worth a try!
RiverBend Farm
May 17, 2012 at 2:23 pmOh..I want me some fresh farm eggs..
Missy
May 17, 2012 at 3:16 pmMy Bradley teacher told us to eat two eggs a day while I was pregnant because of the protein and all of the nutrients, so good job mama!!
Jody
February 26, 2013 at 8:01 amSoft boiled eggs have a runny yoke like over easy eggs would. We bring our water to a rapid boil and then gently put the eggs into the water. Boil rapidly for 4 minutes then rinse under cool water quickly. Crack the egg and scoop out the wonderfulness inside and serve on top of bread. YUM! I would say your eggs are more like hard or medium boiled. ;=)
Emily
June 15, 2014 at 12:53 pmI’m with Jody- those look delicious, but not soft boiled! Soft boiled the yolk is runny and gooey, very liquid. For soft boiled we use a veggie steamer and steam them for ~5min then run under cold water. =) Gonna try the butter and smashing though! Hadn’t thought of that.
Sarah
February 6, 2015 at 4:39 pmMy new breakfast nirvana! Thanks for changing my view of hard boiled eggs 🙂