How to eat your Easter eggs.

So, it's Easter Sunday, you've dyed a bunch of fabulous and stunning hard-boiled eggs (and maybe even hidden them for your kids -- or yourself, if you really miss egg-hunts) and now, well, you have a big ole pile of hard-boiled eggs. "How much egg salad can one person eat?" you ask yourself. Well, if you dislike egg salad (or even if you rather like it, you just don't like it THAT much) and enjoy participating in exciting small-town traditions, this is what you should be eating for Easter breakfast every year. Yes, I know it's too late for Easter breakfast this year.

This recipe is for "Creamed eggs on toast," which is what I have eaten for Easter breakfast every year of my life. I did not grow up in a small town myself, but my mom did, and it's her recipe, so there you are. My mom used to make it from our carefully dyed Easter eggs, and when I moved out I started making it for myself (from my own carefully dyed eggs). It's really not something you want to eat all the time, as it is a cholesterol festival, but it's an unexpected, delicious way to use your hard-boiled eggs.

Creamed Eggs on Toast
(serves 3)
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp white flour
up to 1 1/2 c milk
3 hard-boiled eggs
salt, pepper, onion powder
1 demi-baguette, sliced (or 6 slices of regular bread)

Cut up the eggs into little bits -- my recommended technique, per my mom, is to just hold the egg in your hand and cut it up with a butter knife. As for the creamed part, we've all heard this song before; start by making a roux. I have typed this out so many times, so please just go to my biscuits and gravy 2 ways recipe for how to do this. Add about 1/2 cup of milk, until you're starting to get a gravy-like consistency, and season with salt, pepper, and onion powder. Add in your eggs, squishing the yolks so they blend into the gravy. Add milk until it reaches a thinnish-sauce consistency, then simmer for about 5-10 minutes. When you start simmering the creamed eggs, start your toast. These two things should coincide pretty well. When your toaster goes off, check your creamed eggs -- they should have reached creamy-gravy consistency, and are therefore ready. Generously apply creamed eggs to toast, and consume!

Vegetarian Sympathizers

The inspiration for this post started when I was driving to work one morning, and a certain obnoxious radio host felt the need to point out that he "hate[s] vegetarians," because whenever he goes out to dinner with them they make him feel guilty. "There's just nothing I can eat here," is their complaint, and he find this frustrating; in addition, he states that he doesn't want to go to "one of those vegan places" and end up eating some kind of "yeast-ball."

Frankly, I was under the impression that the vast number of non-yeasty vegetarian restaurant options was well-known. Apparently, I have been proven incorrect. True, if you prefer the family-style American dining experience (ie Applebee's, Chilli's, or the like) you will find no meatless options whatsoever, and your veggie friend will be sighing their way through the meal. However, if you have even the slightest taste for the exotic (and I do mean the SLIGHTEST) you will be able to find a restaurant that can suit all tastes, be they herbivorous, omnivorous, or any other-vorous you can think of.

Suggestions:
Italian -- this is the simplest option, and therefore the most successful for the individual who is too cranky to cater to his/her vegetarian friend. I mean geez, even if it's just cheese pizza it's better than nothing.
Chinese -- see also Italian, though I do need to note you need to find a somewhat more "authentic" Chinese place, as many take-out joints don't offer tofu as a protein option. Vegetable lo mein is great, but one can only eat it so many times.
Thai -- this is just a TOUCH more exotic, but I find that almost anyone can find something they like at a Thai restaurant.
Indian/Vietnamese (I know these are not the same, but they have the same explanation. Please don't jump all over me; I know they're different!) -- some may consider this a bit more exotic than Thai, but the same rules apply.
Ethiopian -- if you're ready for a real adventure, Ethiopian food is EXCELLENT. They offer a full range, from beef, pork and chicken, to seafood and vegetarian entrees. You may not understand or be able to pronounce all the items, but even the close-your-eyes-and-point method will most likely yield something delicious.

So go now, and feed your veggie friends, and stop whining about it! You don't have to go to some hipster joint to find something delicious (trust me, I'm pretty opposed to hipster joints myself).