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Bantam of the Opera – the EoMEoTE#4 round-up

by Jeanne Horak on March 7, 2005 16 Comments in EoMEoTE

You may well ask what the title of this post has to do with anything…  Well, nothing, apart from the fact that this months’ EoMEoTE has been marked by the proliferation of chicken and egg-related puns, ballets, operas and films.  So I thought I’d pick my favourite and use that to headline the round-up!  I was thrilled when this month for the first time, before the official announcement of EoMEoTE#4 had even gone up, I had already received two entries!  And neither one was from a person related to me in any way!! I was also most gratified to read the following description in one of the posts:

“Ahhh, EOMEOTE, my favorite foodblogging event! I love the story behind it, i love the low-rent spirit of it, and i love the eats. *contented sigh*”

You’ll have to read the entries to see who our Number One Fan is!  With a record-breaking seventeen entries you may have more reading than you bargained for…

The first eggy entry was already waiting for me in my inbox a week ago – Julia of Aroma Cookery in Singapore was soooo keen to get going that she could not wait another minute to share her mini flossy eggs on toast with us.  These looked delightful and featured an ingredient that I’d never heard of before – pork floss (although it looks as if it could be the distant cousin of the grated biltong you can buy back home in South Africa).  Go and check out her post (and beautiful pictures!) to get the full story.

Hot on her heels was Helen of Grab Your Fork in Sydney, who saw Julia’s post, “shrieked and raced to the fridge to see what was available”.  Great mental picture!  What she found in the fridge was quickly turned into toasted ciabatta with scrambled egg, chorizo and rocket. Her description of the spice sausage and the silky eggs and extra yummy picture had my stomach rumbling in an instant. And Helen, in answer to your question, it’s never too early for sangria!!

The Foodnerd over in Boston was up next with an explanation of why waffles count as toast.  The argument was a winner on two fronts – firstly because the waffles were in fact toasted in the toaster, and secondly because their use was born out of necessity and what was left in the fridge at the end of the month, in keeping with the spirit of EoMEoTE.  Foodnerd’s offering was eggs and bacon on toasted waffles with boiled cider.  Boiled cider was another new ingredient to me – apparently it looks and acts like maple syrup but retains its appley taste – together with some meyer lemon marmalade it was the perfect foil for the fatty, salty eggs and bacon.  Mmmm – sounds like a great combo!

Santos from The Scent of Green Bananas in Guam brought us her goldenrod eggs which (she says) are a staple of home economics classes.  Why?  Because they “teach an addled adolescent how to boil an egg, how to create a cream sauce, temper an egg yolk, and use a grater efficiently” – all indispensible skills, you’ll agree!  The end result is a creamy, eggy sauce on toast topped with grated boiled egg and sounds delicious.  Now what I want to know is why we only ever made lousy cornflour mould and rock cakes in my Home Ec classes!!

Zoe from Crazybrave in Australia, egged on by Anthony, cleared out her fridge and presented us with her scrambled egg, English muffin and rainbow trout creation. My award for Quote of the Month goes to Zoe for saying “I know Foucault about post-modernism but I do know how to scramble an egg”.  Marvellous stuff – go read it.  And I struggle to think of a nicer combination that scrambled egg and trout…

Julie from A Finger in Every Pie in NYC goes for a high-protein breakfast and presents us with dilled egg salad on prosciutto bread.  Egg salad sandwiches were one of my childhood favourites and I adored my mom’s ones, so this dish easily finds a place in my heart.  All I have to do now is find a bakery around here that makes bread studded with nuggets of prosciutto – what a heavenly idea.

From there we go to visit Elizabeth at Blog From Our Kitchen, who seems to be disappearing under a blanket of snow!  But luckily they laid (heh heh heh) down some provisions and were able to join in the month’s EoMEoTE to present their delicious bacon, cheese and spinach omelette with a side order of toast.  It may be cold outside, but it sure is warm & toasty & eggy inside!

Stephanie of The Happy Sorceress, over in Tennessee, produced one of the prettiest entries we’ve ever had for EoMEoTE – tamago toast nigiri.  Intrigued?  I was – I’d never heard of tamago before!  But let me assure you that if you’ve ever wanted to serve hors d’ouvres before breakfast, check out this post!!

Moira of Who Wants Seconds here in the UK wrote a post eggceptionally full of poultry puns, but in between constructing these she still found time to put together a proper cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs, pork chipolatas, home fries and toast.  Hurrah for the cooked breakfast, especially with the chilly weather we’ve been having…

And award for egginess beyond the call of duty goes to Sam of Becks & Posh in San Francisco, who spent the first night in her new home spectacularly cleaning out an oven and then whipping up a simple meal of Gruyere cheese omelet with toasted Pain au Levain.  Me, I would have collapsed in an exhausted heap and called for pizza.  Yes, you are right – Anthony and I are very proud of you!!

Andrew of Spittoon here in the South of England outdoes himself with a “breakfast dessert” – Cinnamon and Star Anise crèmes and Toasted Brioche. This post has it all – imaginative food, a wine matching suggestion and an Oscar Wilde quote…  Now that’s what I call cluck for your buck!

Welcome to first time EoMEoTEer Christina from Peasprout Spouts (who I gather is a medical student in the US??).  She stayed true to our low-rent spirit and concocted an end of the month meal of a “square egg” on home-made desem bread, topped with havart and sriracha sauce.  Check it out – I rather like the polka-dot effect of the sauce on the pale, creamy background of the eggs & havarti…

This month’s EoMEoTE also sees the arrival of a brand new food blogger in our midst.  In between studying for exams, Tanvi of From the Pantry in LA found time to start her food blog and to whip up a cilantro and cumin seed omelette on honey wheat toast.  The combination of the cumin seed and fresh cilantro leaves with eggs sounds like a wonderful idea to me and gives the whole dish an Indian twist.  Thanks Tanvi and hope to see you again next month!

Next up was Lyn of Lex Culinaria in Canada who (like me) wakes up full of good intentions on Saturday morning about early rising and exercise, but who (like me) ends up lolling in bed and making slap-up breakfasts instead.  I like her already!!  Following this month’s unofficial theme of using wine and eggs together, the breakfast she threw together was the incredibly delicious sounding wine poached eggs on Emmenthal toasties with mushrooms on the side.  In my book, a breakfast like that would win over a run any day!

Anthony, co-founder of the EoMEoTE, over at Spiceblog in Australia was another one who attempted the tricky task of matching eggs and wine with his fried eggs in red wine (with hash browns, bacon, tomatoes and New Norcia sourdough toast).  All was well until he chose *those* words and *that* picture and that set off a storm of comments most unsuitable for a family blog!!  But the end product looked and sounded quite delicious!

And last but not least, there’s me, the Cooksister.  I departed from my usual breakfast theme and decided to make this month’s contribution a light supper.  Clearly I’m dreaming of summer because the end result had more than a taste of the sunny Mediterranean – scrambled egg, olive and feta pita pockets.  We had these with a bottle of Chardonnay, good company (my friend Bronwyn) and a lot of laughs – what more could you want on a Saturday night? There’s also a picture of a hot chick at the end of the post, especially for the guys 😉

And that’s it for this month – I continue to be amazed at the inventiveness that you have all employed with the same basic ingredients!  And who knows, some of you may have taken my “no deadline” stance so seriously that there may still be more eggy adventures to come!  I’m off on a business trip for the next 2 days so don’t be alarmed if you send me an entry and nothing happens – I’ll be checking mails & blog again on Tuesday night.

Coming soon to a blog near you – EoMEoTE#5!  Watch this space…

More deliciousness for you!

  • Amarula cream and caramel fleur de sel chocolate truffles for SHF#25Amarula cream and caramel fleur de sel chocolate truffles for SHF#25
  • Low-fat banana walnut muffins – the Muffins of GoodLow-fat banana walnut muffins – the Muffins of Good
  • Cheesy vegetable potjiekos and our annual Big SA braaiCheesy vegetable potjiekos and our annual Big SA braai
  • Saturday Snapshots #201Saturday Snapshots #201

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  1. AugustusGloop says

    March 7, 2005 at 2:32 am

    Wow. Love the eggs-hibition of varied eggs-ecutions of the humble egg.
    And great wrap-up Jeanne. You’ve done an eggs-emplary job!
    Great things transpire from fleeting embryonic thoughts.
    Ok. I’ll stop now! 😛

    Reply
  2. santos says

    March 7, 2005 at 2:53 am

    i see no evidence of this nor spiceblog being a family blog, as you claim, wicked leddy.

    Reply
  3. Stephanie says

    March 7, 2005 at 5:48 am

    Wonderful…so many recipes to try!

    Reply
  4. anthony says

    March 7, 2005 at 11:01 am

    16! Things that happpen when you go away for the weekend. Thanks Jeanne and all. Bravo Bravo
    Santos – sure ‘kin eggs and ‘kin toast innit?

    Reply
  5. johanna says

    March 7, 2005 at 12:53 pm

    sorry for missing out on this great event this time – but I can proudly say that I have already prepared my entry for the month of March and am looking forward to posting it in a few weeks’ time!

    Reply
  6. ejm says

    March 7, 2005 at 7:53 pm

    Great round up, Jeanne! I’m so looking forward to seeing what people come up with for EoMEoTE#5. -Elizabeth
    P.S. I can’t believe that cornflour mould is a real thing! We never made anything that advanced in our home-ec class!

    Reply
  7. Moira says

    March 8, 2005 at 11:04 pm

    Your round-ups always rock, Jeanne! Thanks and see you next month…

    Reply
  8. Jeanne says

    March 10, 2005 at 11:58 am

    Thanks Augustus (or should that be Eggustus??), both for the compliment and for basket of eggspressions…
    Santos, of course when I mean “family blog”, the family I am thinking of is the Adams Family. 😉
    Stephanie & Anthony – 16 new ways with eggs & bread!! Now we truly are an extravaganza!
    Johanna – we missed you this time round 🙁 But I have every confidence that your next EoMEoTE contribution will be a masterpiece!
    EJM – I know, I can hardly believe we made it. I certainly didn’t bloody eat it!! It always amazes me how somebody who truly despised Home Ec at school loves food and cooking so much today… Doesn’t say much for my Home Ec teachers, does it!?!
    Thanks Moira! And may I take this opportunity to say your compliments rock!

    Reply
  9. AromaCookery says

    March 10, 2005 at 3:48 pm

    EoMeoTE #4: Mini Flossy Eggs on Toast

    My first encounter with the End of Month Egg on Toast Extravaganza (or EoMEoTE for short), started by Anthony and Jeanne, was through reading Reid’s post and his participation in the third installment of this event. It immediately got me

    Reply
  10. Julia says

    March 10, 2005 at 3:56 pm

    Hi Jeanne, eggs-cellent roundup of EoMEoTE #4! And wow, how’d you come up with all those eggs-citing puns? 🙂

    Reply
  11. Reid says

    March 13, 2005 at 9:06 am

    Jeanne,
    Thanks for the round up…sorry to say that I wasn’t able to participate this time. Does it look like this is becoming a habit for me? =(

    Reply
  12. Jeanne says

    March 13, 2005 at 5:53 pm

    Aaah, Julia, I just pluck them out of the deep recesses of my mind. Sometimes I don’t know myself how I pullet off. Thanks for the compliment!!
    Reid – we are beginning to think you don’t love us anymore 🙁 Next month we’re accepting no eggscuses – we want to see a creation from you! 😉

    Reply
  13. ejm says

    March 14, 2005 at 9:56 pm

    I wasn’t wild about home-ec either – but who could be when you consider the dreck we were told to make?
    My younger sister is a wonderful cook and very experimental in spite of the idiot who taught her home-ec classes (the battleaxe who taught me retired before my sister could be subjected to her). This new ninny told the class categorically that there should be NO GUESSWORK in the kitchen – everything measured down to the gram and no substitutions.
    Needless to say, my sister now eschews measuring devices and invariably exchanges at least one ingredient in any given recipe….
    Hmmm, maybe I should get her to contribute to the next EoMEoTE, although, who knows how many of the rules she’d break and scramble??
    -Elizabeth

    Reply
  14. Jeanne says

    March 15, 2005 at 2:11 pm

    Hi Elizabeth
    Yup, it’s a miracle that people who have had to endure Home Ec classes turn out to be good cooks… Maybe it’s just school in general – my mom was sent out of her high school English class for not concentrating and told not to come back until she was ready to concentrate. So she spent English periods reading in the library from then on, while the teacher thought she would fail the subject. Not only did she pass, she went on to get a Masters Degree in English literature – so it just goes to show…
    Do invite your sister!! Our rules are pretty robust and can take a lot of bending… 😉

    Reply
  15. ejm says

    March 18, 2005 at 7:11 pm

    I’ve just read about how EoMEoTE came to be in spiceblog’s November 20, 2004 post. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been agonizing about having to confine myself to actually making toast for my first entry and would definitely have stuck with submitting the potato pancakes made with one egg! (I now know that my sister neeeeeeeeeeeeds to do an entry. Her unwillingness to follow a recipe exactly cries out for her to join. I’ll make every attempt to egg her on.)
    -Elizabeth

    Reply
  16. AromaCookery says

    April 19, 2005 at 7:55 pm

    EoMeoTE #4: Mini Flossy Eggs on Toast

    My first encounter with the End of Month Egg on Toast Extravaganza (or EoMEoTE for short), started by Anthony and Jeanne, was through reading Reid’s post and his participation in the third installment of this event. It immediately got me

    Reply
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"Spring fever, my heart's beating fast. Get up, ge "Spring fever, my heart's beating fast. Get up, get out, Spring is everywhere" - Elvis Presley

What better way to celebrate the day when the clocks go forward to British Summer Time than with  a glorious photo of St Paul's Cathedral shyly peeping out from a cloud of pink cherry blossoms against a perfect blue sky! 🌸🌞

London is awash in glorious blossoms at the moment, from Greenwich Park in the east to Kew Gardens in the west, and the fun part is trying to catch each type of tree just when the blossoms are at their best.

The cherry plums have been exploding into clouds of small white blossoms and sweet fragrance for a few weeks already; and the early flowering cherry trees, camellias and magnolias are coming into their own right now. Plus we still have the late-flowering cherries, rhododendrons and wisteria to look forward to!

Do you have a favourite Spring tree or park for blossoms in London? Let me know in the comments 🌺

And please remember to share, save or like my posts if you want to see more of me in your feed 🙏
"The essence of being human is that one does not s "The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection" 

I wonder what the author if those words would have made of the age of Instagram? We are fed an endless stream of perfect images of perfect bodies and perfect lives. In the back of our minds we KNOW this is not reality, but still the subconscious yearning for this imaginary world of perfection persists. Humans are funny that way.

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Falling short of perfection is part of life. The big question is how you deal with it. Do you throw your hands up in despair and berate yourself for failure? Or do you find the positives in the imperfect outcomes of your plans? 

This photo taken almost exactly 4 years ago was meant to be a "perfect" Instagram shot of me in my signature pose, on a perfect sunny day on snowy ski slopes. Instead, as @explorista snapped the photo, our ski instructor decided to throw handfuls of snow at me - but as it turns out, this "imperfect" shot turned out to be my favourite of the day 😍

Do you find joy in life's imperfections?
What's your favourite way to eat cauliflower? Up What's your favourite way to eat cauliflower? 

Up until about a week ago I would have said cauliflower cheese... but all that changed when I made this low-carb cauliflower steak Welsh rarebit... I first made cauliflower steaks years ago, before cauliflower started enjoying its 15 minutes of fame, as a main course for vegetarian friends. But it wasn't till last week when I wanted to make Welsh rarebit for St David's day and discovered I had no bread that it struck me that cauli steaks would make the perfect base for Welsh rarebit! It's totally indulgent - like pouring a beery cheese fondue over your cauliflower - and totally addictive. You can find the full recipe in the link in my profile,  or SAVE this post for basic instructions! Remember to tag me if you try it -I'd love to see 😊

* Slice two 1cm steaks vertically from the middle of a large cauliflower, season and fry in  butter and oil till browning slightly.

* Oven bake for 10 mins at 200C while you mix grated cheddar, melted butter, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and beer. (The Duvel Belgian ale works a charm, BTW!).

* Spread the cheese mix generously over the 2 steaks and pop under a medium grill until golden and bubbly

You're welcome 🤩
Dyed Gwyl Dewi Hapus - or happy St David's Day if Dyed Gwyl Dewi Hapus - or happy St David's Day if you don't speak Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

March 1 is the day on which the Welsh people celebrate their patron saint, St David, and one of their traditions is to wear a daffodil, the national flower of Wales. Here are five daffodil facts to impress your Welsh friends:

🌼 There's no difference between a daffodil and a narcissus. Daffodil (or jonquil) is simply the common name for members of the Narcissus genus, so all daffodils are narcissi.

🌼 There is only one species if daffodil that is native to the UK - Narcissus Pseudonarcissus, or wild daffodils. You can spot them by the fact that their outer 6 petals are a paler yellow than the central trumpet, and they are usually smaller than the showy, giant yellow commercially grown daffs. 

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🌼 Daffodils are the official 10th wedding anniversary flower.

🌼 Daffodils contain a poisonous sap - keep away from pets and if mixing daffodils in a vase with other flowers, let them stand in water separately for 24 hours first I case they affect the other flowers. 

Are daffodils your favourite Spring flower? Or do you prefer something else?
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Are you making a special dinner for your sweetheart tonight? This potted hot-smoked salmon with a pretty pink apple and red onion pickle is easy to prep and oh-so-delicious! It's also gluten-free if you serve it with GF crackers. Full recipe now on the blog - tap the live link on my bio to view. 

Are you doing anything special to celebrate today? Let me know in the comments! 💖
Ready for a wine tasting? 🍷 [Press trip] Back Ready for a wine tasting? 🍷

[Press trip] Back before Covid put our lives on hold, I spent a few days in the Languedoc-Rousillon wine region of France learning about (and tasting!) Pays d'Oc IGP wines. 

Want to learn more about the region's wines? Read on, swipe through the images (remember to  bookmark this post to refer back to later) - and click the live link in my bio for the full blog post! 

🍷 The Languedoc-Rousillon region is the largest wine producing region in the world, and produces about a third of all French wine. Pays d'Oc IGP is a classification region within Languedoc-Rousillon, with vineyards that take up over half the total vineyard area in the Languedoc-Rousillon region. Pays d'OC IGP wines account for about 20% of the total of all French wine produced.

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New year's resolutions: waste of time or the way f New year's resolutions: waste of time or the way forward?

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🌈  ACT THE WAY YOU WANT TO FEEL 🌈

And this photo is a reminder of how I want to feel on so, so many levels: hanging out with friends; dancing in the sunshine; wearing my favourite red dress; travelling (this was in Carouge, Switzerland); and surrounded by a rainbow of colour. I can't travel and I can't see friends, but I can dance in my kitchen, singing at the top of my voice wearing my brightest clothes. 

What strategies do you use to lift your spirits? I'd love to hear! 

📸 by @tasteofsavoie
If you, like me, are mssing your Pret-a- Manger Bi If you, like me, are mssing your Pret-a- Manger Bircher muesli during lockdown, you will want to bookmark this post right now! 🔖

I have learnt a few things during lockdown. I have learnt that I am more comfortable spending long periods alone than I had ever imagined; that I suffer a lot more from FOMO (fear of missing out!) than I would like to admit; and that pre-Covid I spent rude sums of money on commuting and barista coffee...! 

I also learnt that although I miss travel and social events and meals out, it is often the smaller things that you miss most acutely - the freedom to call up a friend you haven't seen in a while and inviting them over. Hugging (or even seeing) my family. And grabbing a macchiato and a Pret Bircher muesli on the way to work. Don't ask me why, but it became a small obsession of mine to create a fakeaway Pret Bircher during lockdown - and I think I have succeeded! Here's how:

For 2 servings you will need:
100g rolled oats
200ml milk or water
1 Tbsp sunflower seeds
1 Tbsp pumpkin seeds 
1 Tbsp shelled pistachio nuts
1 Tbsp dried cranberries 
2 small apples
175g plain yoghurt
Honey
Pomegranate rails

Mix the oats, seeds, nuts and cranberries together then add the milk/water and a pinch of salt. Mix well, cover and refrigerate overnight. 

When ready to serve, grate the apples and mix them in with the oats and yoghurt (add a little extra milk to loosen if needed). Stir in honey to taste and serve topped with pomegranate arils and pistachios. Full recipe and more photos are available now on the blog - click the live link in my profile.

Did you try any fakeaway recipes over lockdown? Please let me know in the comments - I would love to hear about it!
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli
Brussels sprouts with chorizo & hazelnuts
Plum upside down cake
plum flapjack crumble
Sesame ginger Brussels sprouts
Jersey-royals-salmon-salad2 © Jeanne Horak 2019

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© 2004 - 2021 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

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