Thursday 28 January 2016

Let's Talk About Food: EGGS!

Hey everyone :)

If you follow my blog then you will have seen recently that I've gone a bit crazy on the baking front and my blog has been full of cupcakes and other odds and sods! This in turn got me thinking about all the ingredients and what I'm putting into the cupcakes which leads on to what my post today is about - EGGS!


Eggs are very versatile food and ingredient when it comes to baking or eating. You can make just about anything with them - on there own you can have them fried, scrambled, poached or boiled and mixed into things you can have amazing meals such as carbonara, quiche, pancakes, cupcakes, muffins ... I could go on but we'd be here all day!

Nutritionally eggs are a great source of protein - if you know anyone who frequents the gym then they probably eat lots of high protein foods and eggs are probably one of them. More than 3/4 of the protein of an egg are in the white - which probably explains why you can buy just cartons of egg white in the supermarkets. The whites also contain Vitamin B2, D, B6 and B12, Selenium, and minerals such as Zinc, Copper and Iron. Let us not forget about the yolk (my favourite part) - you could say the yolk is the unhealthier part of the egg as it contains more calories and fat. It also includes a source of cholesterol, Vitamins A, D, E and K, and Lecithin.


When it comes to buying eggs (unless I'm visiting my parents in Scotland - then I get eggs from their chickens - they are AMAZING compared to supermarket eggs!) then I always buy free-range. I don't know why - it may stem from a documentary I watched years ago about the horrible conditions caged hens were put through and since then I've never bought caged eggs again. There are a couple of things I look for when buying eggs - that they are free-range or organic, and that all eggs look good and are not broken or cracked. All eggs should also be stamped with the British Lion Eggs logo - this is a food safety mark scheme that nearly 90% of eggs in the UK are produced under. Egg producers have to follow strict rules and procedures to attain and hold the mark.

I was recently contacted by British Lion Eggs and asked to produce a recipe that I enjoy and post it here on my blog - which I obviously jumped at the chance to do so - as who could turn down a cooking/baking post. Since I have done several cupcake posts I thought I'd try something different today.

Scrambled Egg and Bacon on Seeded Batch Toast



Ingredients:
2 x eggs
1 x tub of double cream (or milk if you prefer)
3 x rashers of smoked bacon
2-4 slices of seeded batch loaf
salt and pepper to taste
knob of butter

Method:
1. In a glass bowl - add the 2 x eggs, a glug of double cream, the butter, and the salt and pepper. With a fork stir/whisk this until incorporated together. Set to one side. To butter probably won't mix as its hard but don't worry it will melt when you cook them.



2. In a frying pan - fry the 3 rashers of bacon until cooked how you like them. I like mine well done.
3. Toast your bread - depending on how hungry I am - I will have 2 or 4 slices - the loaf is quite small.


4. While your bread is toasting - pop the glass bowl of egg mix into the microwave (yes I'm cheating) and pop on for 1 minute. Take it out and check it's cooked. If not pop it back in for another 30 seconds and keep doing this until it's ready. I like mine on the verge of just cooked so its quite sloppy still.
5. Get your toast, bacon and scrambled egg and pop it on a plate.
6. Pop the kettle on and make yourself a cup of tea or have a glass of orange juice.

If you want a healthier option - as let's face it my scrambled eggs are not healthy then I sometimes also make:

Poached Egg with Avocado on Toast




Ingredients:
2 x eggs
2-4 slices of seeded batch loaf
2 x avacados
1 x lime
salt and pepper to taste
2 dash of vinegar

Method:
1. Put a pan of water on to boil. Add a couple of dashes of vinegar.
2. Cut the avocados in half, remove the stone, scoop out the inside into a bowl and discard the skins.
3. Squeeze some lime juice into the bowl and add some salt and pepper. Using a fork mash the avocado until mushy but still lumpy.
4. Pop the bread into the toaster.
5. For the eggs, you want to get a spoon and start swirling the water (like a whirlpool) and then crack (one at a time) the eggs into the middle of the whirlpool. Cook them for about 3-4 minutes - I find this the exact amount of time for the yolks still to be runny. You can find a definitive guide of cooking times online for poaching HERE.
6. While the eggs are poaching, smear some of the avocado mix on top of the toast and place on a plate. Then take out the eggs and drain as much water as you can and them pop on top of the avocado-covered toast.
7. Get a glass of apple or orange juice and eat your healthy meal :)

These are just a couple of recipes I've been making for the last few years on and off - however if you are looking for any more you can find lots and lots here @ Egg Recipes. Let me know if you do make anything and send me a link here or a picture on Twitter.


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Disclosure: I received a free gift in exchange for writing this post. All opinions are my own and are not influenced in anyway.
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