How do you like your eggs in the morning?

Unfertilised, fertilised? Fried, scrambled, boiled or poached?

I like all of the above (especially with a runny yolk!).  Well, the food related ones in any case.  My favourite being poached.  But, and this is a big but, (hence why I'm on the diet!) I'm still striving to find the method that makes the perfect poached egg.

I don't like to microwave them - they go rubbery. In a pan of water they go watery and separate.  Though, admittedly, this is better than rubbery, as at least you can catch all the bits of egg and get some sort of nutritional benefit from it without feeling like you're chewing gum.  A few months ago, we bought a couple of those little silicone egg poaching cases - they're designed to look like half a cracked eggshell and the idea being you put your egg inside one, pop it into the boiling water and approximately 5 minutes later you have your perfect poached eggs.  Sounds simple, yes?

Yesterday for lunch, we decided to have poached eggs on toast.  I made Hubby's first and was quite impressed with the result (even if I do say so myself).  He had 2 perfect poached eggs.  I encountered difficulties when it came to getting them out of the water - trying to do so without burning fingertips on the steam or water from the pan. I eventually cobbled together a clumsy method using a ladle and my hands.  Glamorous it was not, and I really can't imagine Nigella keeping her bulging bosom and breathy undertones free of curses were she to be in the same situation (then again she can probably make them okay without the need for said silicone moulds).

Having sorted the Hubby's lunch, I set about making the same for me. EPIC FAIL! The first 2 eggs & their moulds, toppled over into the water and emptied said contents all around the pan.  So, in the bin they went. Attempt 2: turned the power down on the hob a little, put a little less water in the pan, popped the eggs in & covered (as per instructions).  This time I wasn't going to be fooled, oh no! I kept taking the lid off to check that the moulds hadn't toppled over.  After the elapsed time of 4-6 minutes, I checked them, but found because of my lid-removing checking, the whites were still partly raw.  Left them in for a while and ended up with solid yolks (see above: I like runny yolks) and partly cooked whites.  Two more eggs for the bin. 

At this point it was fair to say that I was disgruntled at the unfairness of it all - I had made Hubby's lunch without issue, which by this time he had eaten and come to "supervise" me in the kitchen - you know since I was obviously incapable unless I was under his watchful eye.  I was hungry and just wanted my poached eggs thank you very much.  At one point the Hub did suggest I might be better opting for scrambled egg.

1. I had just binned 4 eggs in my quest to get a good poached egg.
2. He had has his lunch of poached eggs on toast - he didn't need to compromise with the poor cousin, scrambled eggs.
3. I haven't yet thought about a way to make healthy scrambled eggs (my scrambled eggs usually have lots of butter/marg in)
4. I WANTED MY EGGS POACHED!

So, I think you can imagine my reaction at this.  You may have also figured that I can be quite stubborn/obstinate when i want to be.  So we went for attempt 3.  The moulds tipped a little bit & let a little water in on top of the egg, but I think this only served to help cook the top of the eggs cook.  This time we had success.  It's a good job, because I had no more eggs left at that point and I dread to think what I would have done had they not worked.  Probably gone in to a petulant sulk for an hour or so! Ha ha.

So you see, eggs may be "good food, fast & simple" (or words to that effect from the advertising campaign), but they can be more complex than you could ever imagine!  I think it will be a while before i have poached eggs again.  I need to get over the stress of it all.

Aside from the egg drama, yesterday was my first weekend day on the new regime.  I was a little apprehensive about how I'd get on with it being a slightly different routine, but I did okay.  I stuck to the plan, made a lovely sausage & veg casserole (out of the supercharged slimming book that's in the SW starter pack - if you're going to make it, be cautious with the chilli flakes, I put 1.5 tsp in & it was quite fiery!) and had a jolly good day thank you very much.  I had lots of veg & sauce left over from the sausage & veg casserole, so I'm planning on cooking some pasta later to mix with it & have for lunches this week.  I think I'm going to attempt the chunky minestrone soup later (also in the supercharged slimming book I think) and see what that's like.

So, coming up to the end of my first week.  On reflection, not at all difficult.  In fact, I can quite honestly say, that this has been incredibly easy.  I think I've interpreted everything right (I hope so), and I'm looking forward to making more changes (and hopefully progress) as the weeks go on.

I'm baking double chocolate muffins, iced with vanilla buttercream icing this week for my Goddaughter's birthday.  And I'm not even bothered that I won't be having any.  Of course, that may be a more difficult thing to say when they are in front of me, but I'm sure I'll get through it.

I'll report back with the results of the weekly weigh in.  Until then, keep smiling!

Love,
Hippy xx