best scrambled eggs you'll ever eat

(I ate all of our eggs, so... Photo by avlxyz )

I'm very excited to share with you today a new technique I learned by watching Chef Michael Simon. The technique was included on The Chew the other day, as part of a recipe he calls "Moons Over Cleveland" - a take on the "Moons Over My Hammy" sandwich from Denny's. The show was all about comfort food/American style restaurant favorites made at home. Anyway, the sandwich, yeah, looks fine, but THE EGGS. Oh my. I don't even love scrambled eggs that much and I know why...because I was never cooking them like this!

For just a single serving, I use:

-2 eggs (organic please! seriously)
-approx. 1 tablespoon salted butter + a little extra if you want (use organic/grass fed!)
-spatula
-small saucepan

Crack the eggs into a cool, non-stick saucepot and mix with a spatula. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot. Place pot over a medium-high heat and stir continuously, taking the pan on and off the heat, until the eggs are creamy and scrambled. Season with salt and pepper.

Be sure not to overcook the eggs, but this technique helps prevent that better than in a skillet. I guess it's the constant stirring and the on-and-off the heat source (plus the butter) that keeps the amazing texture. Also, never add salt to your eggs prior to cooking. It apparently dries them out and then you get even drier scrambled eggs. Add seasoning at the end. Lastly, there's no cream or cheese in these. You don't need it! So they're 'healthier' (a little GOOD butter does NOT hurt you!)

I hope you'll try these. They are superbly delicious. I think they would be easy to make up in larger batches, too. Maybe 6 eggs at-a-time max though for even cooking.

This morning I had mine with cinnamon toast (even gluten-free bread tastes good toasted with cinnamon & sugar!)

Happy Breakfast!

today's goodwill finds

So, after seeing this cute idea on Design*Sponge this morning, I was inspired to stop by the closest Goodwill on my way home earlier today. Look at all of the great things I found! All for $20 :) Gotta love it.

Vintage pillowcases for my cocktail napkin project (see above)

A cool wall hanging handmade in Peru!

Awesome green glass dishes... set of 4 for $12 :)

A lovely painting of a giraffe. He is so handsome!

A great Ball mason jar with a glass lid

Thank goodness for thrifting. It's so inspiring. I didn't find what I was looking for, an enamel pot for my yarn dyeing, but I sure found really cool stuff for 20 bucks. Amazing. Now I need to go search out the other places. I think there are some good ones down the street...and one really interesting place that's only open on Saturdays. I need to be sure to TAKE some loads to the thrift stores, too :) I found this great coat and this awesome skirt a couple of years ago at a thrift store in Nashville.  What are your favorite thrifting finds?

getting settled

So we have been in Portland for over a week now. We are really enjoying it here, exploring our neighborhood, attending many street festivals, discovering great eating spots and breweries. I'm also enjoying (mostly) getting the house together. And even though we still don't have 1/3 of our stuff (ugh, moving companies) our kitchen is becoming one of my favorite spots already.

We bought a simple kitchen table at Ikea last week as there was a perfect spot under the window for a little breakfast nook. We have been eating most of our meals here family style, which we never used to do, and it has become really special and fun. No more eating in front of the TV for now at least. I love it :) We've also been taking daily walks after dinner, which is another habit I'm glad we're getting into.

Pictured above is my breakfast from this morning. I had most of these pieces already from Anthropologie, Pier 1 and elsewhere. I recently bought the table cloth and the egg cup on Etsy. I'm loving that I have a proper, separate kitchen here so I can decorate it like a kitchen. I LOVE Dutch and Northern European pottery and patterns. They're so bright and cheery for a kitchen but are still interesting and artistic. My favorite new purchase besides the egg cup is the egg topper! SO great if you enjoy soft-boiled eggs as I do. I recently discovered them and you MUST have an egg cup to enjoy one properly and the egg topper makes it loads easier to remove the top. Ah the simple pleasures of a great breakfast. What are your favorite dishes/routines for breakfast?