I didn't think it would happen, however today as I gathered ingredients to bake Chocolate Snowball Cookies for dad's Christmas party tonight, I was actually nervous to use a substitution of wheat flour in place of my usual gluten-free flour mix. I was careful not to get any flour into the bags of sugar and in my mouth, which I imagined would be hard, however, as I mixed and brought ingredients together, I was not pleased by the look of the concoction forming in the bowl.
A sticky, gooey, stretchy, elastic...
That's not how those little cutie cookies were meant to look!
They didn't even hold their form as well as the cookies baked with coconut and sorghum flours, a surprise to me, and instead, as soon as I placed the little ball forms on the baking sheet, they melted down, oozing outward and flattening out. I had to add more flour a couple of times just to bring them back to a kind-of-desirable shape.
It's interesting to look back on this cooking "adventure" today, because as I mixed with a big wooden spoon, my arm slowly aching from the sticky dough pulling and grasping at each tug from my end, I had to add more and more flour just to get it back to the perfect moisture - it was eating away at the dough.
And yes, I do mean to personify it like it were a beast, but it shouldn't be really, it can be overcome like anything, it's not scary, just look at all the recipes I've been so lucky to try!
So each day, I take enjoyment with every meal, cooked or eaten, and love when I find something new, as if it were buried beneath the layers of an onion's skin, or inside the shell of a recently cracked egg. Perhaps even buried so deep, it remains locked up in the seed of a mango. It's an exciting and endless search, one that I hope to continue, and with a thirst for knowledge in the same manner that my hunger for irresistibly delicious and healthy food grows.
I trust the simple flavours in my food, those rich delicacies of home baking, as well as the subtle taste of raw ingredients carefully paired to complement each other.
Just like friendships, the best pairs are born from a base of truth, and only then can you really know the person. I'd like to know what really is in my vegetables as well, why can't we have that truth as well? I'd like to be aware of other products that may be in my eggs, and the past of the fish, even if its history consists of only a statement of its diet. Although even that's hard now.
However in our best effort, and in our best interest, mum and I opt for the freshest vegetables and eggs from chickens that are free-range and organically fed. At least that way we have a small indication of how the chicken lived, but I still hope that some day I'll raise my own little coop of chickens, with the benefit of farm fresh eggs each morning. A perfect start; protein; nutrients; truth; knowledge.
Baked Eggs with Tuscan Roasted Vegetables
Print recipe here.
The flavours of this oven baked dish are warm and fresh, a beautiful and colourful array of tastes and vegetables in the serving platter. No spices or herbs are needed with the fresh, organic vegetables used in this recipe, as their flavours are strong enough to be enjoyed as they are. It can be served on its own, a perfect dose of protein, or accompanying a few roasted potatoes or spiced couscous at dinner. However, enjoy this to start the morning, to keep you going at lunch time, or as a healthy and satisfying dinner.
The vegetables can also be roasted beforehand, sealed and then stored in the fridge until you're nearly ready to eat. Baking the eggs only takes a few minutes, so this can be prepared very quickly this way.
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 tbsp grape seed oil, or other oil suitable for frying
1/2 white onion, sliced
2 tomatoes, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
2.5 oz (70 g) fresh baby spinach leaves, whole
4 fresh, organic eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, fry the onions until they soften, then add the peppers until they too begin to soften and the onions to brown.
Transfer to a wide baking dish, and add the sliced tomatoes and baby spinach. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes.
Crack the whole eggs over top the vegetables and return the dish to the oven. At this point you may wish to increase the heat to 400°F for a faster cooking time. At 375°F the eggs should bake for another 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for 2 - 3 minutes, this will also allow the eggs to harden slightly.
Serve and enjoy!Labels: baked, breakfast, broil, dinner, eggs, healthy, onion, protein, red pepper, spinach, tomato, vegetables
