Gastroanthropology

The Backhandspring Sandwich.

You know you're onto something amazing when people start giving the foods you make special names. My best friend has a cake that has been dubbed the 'Get a Man Cake'. A cake so delicious men fall in love with you when they have a slice. I also know a chef in San Francisco that has a dessert so good it's been referred to as 'Panty-Dropping'. A dessert so tasty that women consider dropping their undergarments once she's tasted it. I'll work on getting them to let me reveal their secrets to the foodie blogosphere, but in the meantime I'll share with you one of my own.

The Backhandspring Sandwich...

A sandwich so good that a few people have be tempted to throw their bodies into backhandsprings upon taking a bite.

First make the sauce...3 parts full-fat or homemade mayonnaise to 2 parts good grain mustard. Add a touch of ketchup and a sprinkling of chopped chives. Stir together with a pinch of freshly ground pepper. Set aside. Cook up thick cut, meaty, smoked bacon. Slice and gently toast thickly sliced wholewheat or soft ciabatta. I toast my bread because it gives it a chance against the sauce, but only gently. Really toasted bread makes it difficult on the roof of your mouth when biting into this little monster. I always avoid baguette or dutch crunch when I make this sandwich because the crusts of those types of bread just seem to get in the way. Slice up tomatoes and avocado. You will also need good quality sliced turkey breast, cleaned mixed greens, including a not-to-peppery arugula. If you want a triple flip, followed by your backhandspring, add a fried egg.

Assembling the sandwich. Slather each piece of bread with the sandwich sauce. Layer all the ingredients...I always try to avoid the tomatoes touching the bread if it needs to travel any sort of distance. 

The Incredible Edible Egg

  Egg and Soldiers 

When you know its going to be a long day an egg is just what you need for breakfast. It keeps you going all day long till dinner. My new favorite breakfast is dark rye nordic bread (working on perfecting my bread recipe, which hopefully I will be able to post soon) toasted and lightly buttered, topped with an egg over easy or poached, and wilted greens on the side. Everything sprinkled with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. It's been known to make an appearance at dinner too.

There is a huge demand for eggs and that is no surprise. Let's see...how many ways can you enjoy an egg? Boiled - soft, medium, or hard. Scrambled - wet or dry. Fried - sunnyside up, or over hard, medium, or easy. Poached. Omelet. Frittata. Egg Salad. It's the virtually silent, but necessary, ingredient in so many baked goods. It's the key ingredient in souffles and custards. It also makes a fabulously rich bread, like brioche. An egg is really a thing where you are only limited by your imagination. Most eggs commercially bought are laid by hens. We are all aware of chickens living horrible existences in factory farming. Remember that many commercially sold eggs come from caged hens. Many grocery stores in the United Kingdom have made the commitment to only sell eggs from free-range birds, but if you can, go further and buy organic eggs. In Europe, eggs are sold at room temperature. If you have fresh eggs and plan to use them within a few days it is safe to leave them in a cool room. Otherwise, they should be refrigerated and consumed within a few weeks. 

While fresh hen eggs are great, my new found love is the duck egg. These ducks (Muscovy, Mallard, Indian Runner and Khaki Campbell) are enjoying their daily swim at the pond at a local London farm. They spend daylight hours here and at night are brought inside.

It's still pretty cold out so egg production isn't very high. The warmer the weather, the more eggs are laid. Most duck egg shells are white with tinges of blue or green. Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs. They are also tastier. Duck egg yolks are higher in fat which yields a super rich and more flavorful egg. Imagine a bit of melted butter mixed into the yolk. Duck eggs are also higher in protein. When baking with duck eggs, a richer, fluffier product is often created. It's great to substitute duck eggs for chicken eggs in cakes. As a general rule of thumb, substitute one for one (large chicken egg for duck egg), even if the duck eggs tend to be a bit larger.  

If you can, try a goose egg sometime. This is the first goose egg of the season at the farm (the large white one at the top). Geese only lay eggs from late winter to summer, and from 30 to 50 a year, depending on the breed and their age.

This Chinese Crested Goose laid that egg!

In the UK duck eggs are often found at farmers markets and sold at the Waitrose grocery chain.