Slow Moving Saturday

I woke up early Saturday morning (about 3:00 AM) to the sound of rain hitting the windows. I tried, but couldn’t fall back asleep. So, I went back to reading my book. I’m reading “The Janson Directive” by Robert Ludlum. It’s a taut thriller but, like most of his books, very long (like 600 pages). So, I read and I read...

I took out a pound of bacon from the freezer to thaw. I was hoping to make “Pasta ala Carbonara” for dinner. But, instead of the six eggs I need, I only have two. And, it’s too crappy to go out.

I used the last two eggs to make poached eggs on toast. Now, I have spent YEARS perfecting my poached eggs: How much water? To add vinegar or not (I always do) Swirling the water first? And so on. And, I ended up making them perfect. But, I saw something in a cooking magazine that caught my eye.

So, I measured 1/2 cup of water into a microwave-safe bowl. I added one egg and swirled it a bit to make sure the egg was under the water. I covered it and set the timer for one minute (while I toasted the sourdough bread.) I took out the perfectly poached egg with a slotted spoon and put it on the buttered toast. It was so excellent, I repeated it again with the last egg.

Satisfied, I went back to my book, this time on the couch. My daughter Melissa called about 3:30 PM and we chatted for a “Melissa moment” (which is usually a lot longer than you would believe.) I went back to my book after we hung up. I did take a break (when it wasn’t raining), to go out and plant some sugar snap peas in the raised bed garden.

Then Jake called around 6:00 PM and we firmed up our Easter plans. They will be bringing a potato and fennel gratin, so I need to decide on the entrée (leg of lamb, rack of lamb or lamb chops?) and a side dish (spring peas with onions came to mind, but Carla doesn’t like peas). So I think I’ll keep the spring theme and make asparagus or something).

Disgusted about the Pasta ala Carbonara, I opened a can of Campbell’s split peas with ham and ate that, with crackers, for dinner. I watched a little TV, but then went to bed.