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| Roasted cauliflower, asparagus, kale and eggs topped with a little finishing salt. Yum! But at 9 p.m.? Not PK's favorite time for dinner. But....he was away. |
PK was out of town recently and I failed to mention to him how ecstatic I was to have a whole week to myself. I love the guy. Been married going on 40 years. I would be diminished without him. But damn, I sure do enjoy it when he vacates. He feels the same when I take off. Such is the mature modern marriage. Flight or fight? Maybe.
My mother never understood this as she and my father took few vacations without one another, and every get away was family-related. I can't remember how many Sundays we drove the 40 miles to grandma Ella's home in Jackson, Minnesota. My parents took few vacations, period. Those were different times, post-Depression era when most women didn't dare venture forth on their own and didn't have the resources anyway. Plus a women on her own would have been unseemly and bold. Not the identity sought by my mother.
I think they would have enjoyed their times apart as much as PK and I do. One of my best gifts was what he gave me for Christmas the year I was pregnant at age 40 (surprise!) with our second child. It was a mock-up of an airline ticket to "anywhere in the world."
Knowing our bank account wouldn't accommodate my wilder dreams, and that traveling far afield when seven months pregnant might be foolhardy, I opted for a week on the Yucatan Peninsula in company of my sister, Monette Johnson. We had a hilarious time, one I will never forget. One of the more convulsive-laughter-producing lines in a Mexican budget hotel: Don't look too closely at your pillow. Thank you, PK.
Enough on that. PK was gone. I meandered without a meal plan through the days and nights, dining on huge garden salads and a vat of homemade chile. After five days, the chile no longer appealed (PK finished it off when he returned) and around 8 p.m. one night, stomach rumbling, I began clicking through what I had on hand.
Cauliflower. Asparagus and kale in the garden. Lemons, garlic, olive oil, eggs. Parmesan cheese. A little cooked bacon. What else could I possibly need? What ensued was a simple yet elegant meal that I knew I would repeat. And I have, except we eat closer to 7 p.m. than 9 p.m. And I've added much more, ta da! Bacon!
I LOVE roasted veggies, and cauliflower is especially deluxe. It shrinks, browns, and becomes nutty sweet. Asparagus too, is superb roasted. Roast whatever veggies you have on hand, but don't skimp on olive oil or lemon.
This recipe would feed two people. I loved having the leftovers.
Cauliflower, about half of a medium head sliced or divided into florets. Make the pieces more or less the same size.
Half a pound of fresh asparagus, trimmed
Fresh kale, half pound or less, trimmed and torn
2-3 T fresh lemon juice (or more)
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2-3 T olive oil (at least)
salt and pepper to taste - try finishing salt at the end!
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2-4 eggs
Clean and trim the veggies into similar-sized pieces. Toss the cauliflower with half the olive oil and lemon juice. When the oven reaches 450, roast the cauliflower for 10 minutes. In the meantime, toss the asparagus with oil, lemon and mashed or finely diced garlic. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Add to the cauliflower and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Toss the torn kale with olive oil and lemon juice to coat. Add to the cauliflower and asparagus, which by now should be browning. Yes, this is a meal that requires attention for a half hour or more. Drink wine to help pass the time. It isn't complicated, but cauliflower takes longer to roast than asparagus, asparagus takes longer than kale. And so on.
Roast for another 10 minutes. The kale roasts quickly, so you may need to stir. When it looks like the photo above, kale wilted but not crispy, remove from oven, shove veggies to the sides, and crack in two or more eggs and lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle on a little grated Parmesan and crumbled bacon, if using, and return to the oven. Check back in a few minutes.
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| PK and me in 1996. This photo was taken by son Chris Korbulic, then age 10,who has since become a pro. |
I think they would have enjoyed their times apart as much as PK and I do. One of my best gifts was what he gave me for Christmas the year I was pregnant at age 40 (surprise!) with our second child. It was a mock-up of an airline ticket to "anywhere in the world."
Knowing our bank account wouldn't accommodate my wilder dreams, and that traveling far afield when seven months pregnant might be foolhardy, I opted for a week on the Yucatan Peninsula in company of my sister, Monette Johnson. We had a hilarious time, one I will never forget. One of the more convulsive-laughter-producing lines in a Mexican budget hotel: Don't look too closely at your pillow. Thank you, PK.
Enough on that. PK was gone. I meandered without a meal plan through the days and nights, dining on huge garden salads and a vat of homemade chile. After five days, the chile no longer appealed (PK finished it off when he returned) and around 8 p.m. one night, stomach rumbling, I began clicking through what I had on hand.
Cauliflower. Asparagus and kale in the garden. Lemons, garlic, olive oil, eggs. Parmesan cheese. A little cooked bacon. What else could I possibly need? What ensued was a simple yet elegant meal that I knew I would repeat. And I have, except we eat closer to 7 p.m. than 9 p.m. And I've added much more, ta da! Bacon!
I LOVE roasted veggies, and cauliflower is especially deluxe. It shrinks, browns, and becomes nutty sweet. Asparagus too, is superb roasted. Roast whatever veggies you have on hand, but don't skimp on olive oil or lemon.
Roasted Asparagus, Cauliflower, Kale and Eggs
IngredientsThis recipe would feed two people. I loved having the leftovers.
Cauliflower, about half of a medium head sliced or divided into florets. Make the pieces more or less the same size.
Half a pound of fresh asparagus, trimmed
Fresh kale, half pound or less, trimmed and torn
2 cloves garlic, mashed
2-3 T olive oil (at least)
salt and pepper to taste - try finishing salt at the end!
1/4 cup crumbled bacon
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
2-4 eggs
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 450. Line a large roasting pan with parchment paper. This will save annoying scrubbing later. Use foil if you're out of parchment.Clean and trim the veggies into similar-sized pieces. Toss the cauliflower with half the olive oil and lemon juice. When the oven reaches 450, roast the cauliflower for 10 minutes. In the meantime, toss the asparagus with oil, lemon and mashed or finely diced garlic. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper. Add to the cauliflower and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Toss the torn kale with olive oil and lemon juice to coat. Add to the cauliflower and asparagus, which by now should be browning. Yes, this is a meal that requires attention for a half hour or more. Drink wine to help pass the time. It isn't complicated, but cauliflower takes longer to roast than asparagus, asparagus takes longer than kale. And so on.
Roast for another 10 minutes. The kale roasts quickly, so you may need to stir. When it looks like the photo above, kale wilted but not crispy, remove from oven, shove veggies to the sides, and crack in two or more eggs and lightly salt and pepper. Sprinkle on a little grated Parmesan and crumbled bacon, if using, and return to the oven. Check back in a few minutes.
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Those eggs don't look done, but with another minute in a 450 degree oven, they will be. As soon as the eggs form a whitish film, they're perfect—way past runny and a tad shy of well done. This combo is delicious, seasoned with lemon, garlic, olive oil and, perhaps, crumbled bacon. A little chipotle or dill sauce never hurts, nor does "finishing salt." By the way, the first yoke broke upon pan entry, so I broke the other one, too. Repeats of this recipe include eggs with unbroken yolks roasted until a thin whitish film formed on top.
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The eggs got a little too done, but still tasted great! The red stuff on top is chipotle "finishing salt," one of several flavored coarse natural salts made in Southern Oregon. They're great and you can
order them online at Salinity Salts.
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| Two of my favorite flavors of finishing salts. |
I'm dubbing this dish Eggs Mary in your honor. I've never roasted cauliflower. Can't wait to give it a try. Always looking for new things to do with eggs. I think I'll try sprinkling some crumbled sheep's milk feta or chevre on top as a change from Parm. Gonna go look at those seasoned salts.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to work out how to broach the topic of time apart to Noel. I must do it when we are feeling particularly close so it's not threatening. I'm sure, if you asked him, my husband would say he's terribly liberal-minded. And, in many ways, he is. But when it comes to doing anything on his own it's no dice. Talk about 1950's traditional. He thinks we're joined at the hip. I've always been an independent spirit and his attitude, after nearly 20 years together, is starting to make me feel claustrophobic, smothered. Some of this, I'm sure, is due to the fact that he has never had a driver's license. He promised me he would get one when we were contemplating moving so far out in the sticks. 5 years on and he still hasn't done the deed. I'm going to have to put my foot down. What would he do if something happened to me? He'd be stuck. Often, neither of us goes to a local musical event because we have dog boarders we can't leave alone. I keep urging him to get his license so we can take turns going out for music when that situation arises but he is just not interested in it. I know he'd enjoy himself if he'd do it. What guy doesn't like a Boy's Night Out occasionally?
Yummm about sheep's milk feta or chevre. The salts are wonderful. Salinity has about a dozen flavors. However, they are expensive! You will love roasted cauliflower. Do you ever make faux mashed potatoes with cauliflower? That's great, too.
ReplyDeleteAs for persuading your mate to get his license, sounds like you're preparing to put your foot down, which can only benefit you both, in my opinion. No license eve....Does that mean he'd have to learn to drive? I guess that could seem daunting.
Ah, yes, I remember well the Sevilla Hotel in Merida with its ancient,crumbling but undoubtedly once elegant courtyard, its scary, wobbly ceiling fans, its don't-try-to-turn-around-in-it shower and, of course, its highly questionable pillows. I also remember the sensation you (tall, blonde, beautiful and pregnant) caused in our evening stroll across the zocalo where dozens? scores? hundreds? of men lolled about on the benches loudly lusting after you. Later we came to understand that Mexican women, especially in an old city like Merida, did not venture out after sundown unless accompanied by a male. Also, Mexican women may be beautiful but they're not blonde. We did indeed have a hilarious time and the trip still ranks at the top of my all-time favorites. So, thanks to PK from me, too.
ReplyDeleteMonette - I think you exaggerate about the lusting men, although I do remember a few. Funny how when I remember that trip, they do not come to mind. What I remember most, after the Sevilla hilarity:
ReplyDeletebuying fresh-squeezed orange juice at street stands
eating the best pork ever, cooked for hours wrapped in leaves of some sort in a pit and served on fresh handmade corn tortillas
traveling across the peninsula on a bus that was decidedly not intended for tourists, cause for more hilarity and bladder challenges, but it also delivered us to the great Mexican fare mentioned above.
hiring a guide at Chichen itza and wondering why I wasn't smart enough to do that on earlier trips
near constant laughter.
I'm so glad we did that trip and thanks again to PK.
That was also the trip, however, when my flight out of Mexico City was canceled, throwing my entire itinerary off by hours. No cell phones or computers then (1986). I had about five dollars in cash and NO CREDIT CARD! I also ended up "sharing" a ticket with a woman who disappeared with it; waited for 15 minutes at the wrong gate, then RAN with my big belly to a distant gate where the woman was wondering what happened to me. Then our plane got hit by a truck on the runway; we had to wait for a busload of tourists for takeoff; seatmate predicted (loudly) that our plane would crash; my dear friend Laurie Gerloff waited for me for hours and hours at the SF airport, refusing to leave until I showed up, which was around dawn. Now that's a friend. I was so exhausted when I finally got home, but the vacation was OVER. I immediately went to work baking a dessert for a Boy Scout party (Quinn was quite the scout) and then was a good mommy and attended the party with him.
Yes, the pit-cooked best-ever pork which I have tried to describe to people repeatedly for years and the wonderful juice. Not to be forgotten also, the thong bathing suits worn by both men and women at the pool in our Chichen Itza hotel; they were speaking French so we decided that explained the scanty swimming attire and the total lack of self consciousness about flabby butts and bellies. I also remember you somehow managed a lemons-to-lemonade moment when you used your nasty trip home for your pre-blog newspaper column that actually had an amusing twist. Another memory that just floated in: we decided to go shopping at the open market one afternoon in Merida, except nothing was open. We were the only people there or anywhere for that matter. It was siesta time and all the smart people were out of the heat taking it easy.
ReplyDelete