Going Green?

No, I'm not about the environment today, I am talking about hard boiled eggs and that nasty green ring that forms between the yolk and the white of the egg.

Let's start by talking about the nutritional value of an egg. This is the highest biological value protein you can find. It is complete with all the essential amino acids needed for protein synthesis within the body. An egg has 7 grams of protein, but the white is more protein rich, containing 4 grams, where the yolk only contains 3 grams(therefore 2 egg whites provides just a tad bit moer than a whole egg!). The yolk is good for other things though. That is where you will find the fat soluble vitamins (Vitamin A & D), and some other nutritients. Remember biologically what that yolk (and really the whole egg!) is there for in the first place. It only makes sense that this would contain good nutrition and all of those essential amino acids we need(yes, yes, it is a chicken egg though).

If you are concerned with cholesterol there are a few things to keep in mind. First, do you have high cholesterol and what are you currently doing to manage it? Are you at a healthy weight? How many egg yolks are you eating a day? What does the rest of your diet look like? Recent studies show egg yolks do not cause heart disease. Most important in managing cholesterol is the intake of saturated fat as this has an effect on the cholesterol production within the liver. A diet high in cholesterol and saturated fat can be a problem. In the end, if you can bypass the yolk and enjoy just the white you will be getting a great low cal source of protein, but it is ok to throw the yolk in on occasion for the additinal nutrients.

In our house sometimes the egg situation can get out of control. It's like goldilocks and the three bears, too much, too little, but we can never find that just right amount of them in the fridge. Since our neighbors brought us fresh eggs we still had these in the fridge.

Fresh eggs do not make the best for hard boiled, so I always wait until they are at that point where a few more days I will probably need to throw them out.

So what is the key to a perfect hard boiled egg without that green ring. The ring forms from the sulfur in the white oart reacting with the iron in the yolk. The end result is that greenish-grey layer between the two. And while this does not look appetizing, it is not harmful. If you want to make really nice hard boiled eggs, here are some tips and the MASTER secret of all to a greenless hard boiled egg:

First, place the eggs in the pot and then fill with water to cover an inch above the eggs

Then bring the water gently to a boil. This gentle nature of boiling the eggs will help ensure perfect eggs. Once boiling has occurred start the timer for 12 minutes (15 for a jumbo sized egg!) and make sure you are on low to medium heat, still keeping a gentle boil going.

Ok, here's the SECRET: As soon as they are finished remove them and place them in a room temp pan/pot and immediately run cold water over them. The cold water stops that chemical reaction from occuring, therefore stopping the end result of the green ring.
I keep them sitting in cold water until they have cooled to the touch. Yesterdays batch seemed to all crack for some reason and I think because the shells were thinned a lot more than usual. I am not actually an egg expert so I do not really know what happened, but this is the first time this has happened to almost all my eggs.

I then remove them from water and quickly place in the fridge for a few hours before peeling and eating.

The shell peels so nicely.

Here you go, no GREEN ring! It stayed perfectly yellow and perfectly white.

I love hoe nice they end up looking on the inside.

I personally prefer the egg whites, so i do discard the yolks on most occasions. Ok, sometimes I give half the yolk to my dog since I know she loves the taste. but you can see here how nice that yolk looks. I always joke that I can't cook, but the one thing I can do is boil the perfect egg (thanks to some basic food science).

Now those eggs are just for a snack, so we needed to do something for dinner. Have you ever been at work and just gotten a craving for something and really really want that. About 30 minutes before Ryan's work day was over he called to let me know he had a craving for Kono Pizza, pizza in a cone. This place is located in Angra, but with the Via rapida in place it takes no time at all to get there. What is nice about this place is that it is near the water and it sits on a cobble stone street which gives it this awesome, old-world feel.

While we waited for our meal (it was a combo meal so it came with a beverage) we enjoyed these bottle of Coke zero. You will always pay for water, which I always get, so since a drink (water or otherwise) came with my meal I splurged on this. Plus, who can resist a Coke in a glass bottle.

Our combo meals came with a salad to start. This is the cheese (quijo) version. The white pieces on top or quijo fresco, which is soft, mild goat's cheese. This salad also comes with pineaplle or ham in place of the cheese. Honestly, this cheese is so good and I get it whenever I can despite some warnings to avoid as it is fresh and not pasturized.

Then our pizzas came. The difference between the two is that one here is hot and one is cold. The one on the left is ryan's can this is a hot pizza cone. The dough/crust is shaped like a cone and you hold it to eat the pizza. His was the barbeque version. It contained sauce, cheese, BBQ chicken and corn. he said it was really good. Mine is on the right and is a cold pizza. The crust is warm, but my top layer ingreadients are cold. I love this one and I have yet to give myself any variety here. I have ordered this 3 times since it is so good. This is called the Norugeus (Norwegian in English). It is basically like a bagel with lox, cream cheese, tomatoes and lettuce, but then also a pizza at the same time. Yes, this really is cream cheese and smoked salmon.

It is so ymmuy and there is no other place around to get a bagel with lox so this works for me. The very bottom is not what you would imagine. It is pizza sauce and some melted cheese. Great combo, believe it or not. Yes, if you have been reading my blog for a while now, this will look familiar to you!

We decided AGAIN to go for the funny desserts they have here. These are served in the same cute little cone crusts. Ryan had this one with cream and peanuts, and I think a dab of jam.

Mine was the Kono Chocolate. This is like a custard and then has chocolate pieces melted on top.

Mmmmmmm...

Here is where I hit the chocolate jackpot:

To end the meal, as well as provide much needed caffeine since I was going to be teaching at midnight and 2 am, we ordered some coffee beverages. Apparently meia da leite (the larger drink here) is a morning drink, but it is the only way I will drink coffee, so I always order it. Ryan got the smalled drink, a cafe, AKA espresso. Look, his baby drink got a baby sugar packet and my big drink got a big suger packet!

How cute! Actually I read what the labels had printed on the back (in Portugese of course) and realized the tiny packet was actual artifical sweetener. This is the first time I saw a zero calorie sweetener offered with a coffee drink. I was so excited that I snagged some for my purse for my next coffee drink out.

I think the design made when they pour the espresso into the milk looks really cool. I am not a big coffee drinker, but this is such a local custom that I was starting to feel really odd by not joining in. I only drink it with sugar, which is a bad idea, but it makes me feel like I am fitting in with the locals at the cafes which are everywhere here.

And the drink worked, I successfully taught both my online seminars last night. What a great way to kick off my week. This week is a busy one too. I am getting ready to head back to the States to visit family and not only do I need to pack and clean, but there will be a bull fight in front of our house this weekend. We are hosting a party here (if all goes as planned) and we will have a lot of food prep and cooking to get done before then. I am sure this week will just fly right by.

QUESTION: What are you most looking forward to this week? What is your favorite coffee indulgence?