by Paula D.
on April 24, 2018 6:48 am in Food / Recipes
Eggs, for thousands of years and in many cultures are symbolic of birth and renewal. Deviled eggs* are commonly made as an appetizer (pickys!) on Easter Sunday for this reason. My family follows this custom every year.
My mother has always used a traditional mix of mustard, mayo and egg yolks for her deviled eggs. She garnishes with a sliced black olive and paprika “for color”, as Flo always says. But there are many contemporary variations – you can use combinations of garlic, horseradish, pickles, turmeric, relish, chilis, salsa, thyme, cilantro, dill, you name it. Land-lovers can try chopped cured pepperoni, bacon bits or a thinly sliced tenderloin overlay. For mermaids and mermen, top deviled eggs with salmon, herring or a whole shrimp (talk about wow factor!). Eggs are so complimentary, I could go on and on with these suggestions.
This will be my second year hosting Easter Sunday. This go-around I want to switch things up, trying a modern spin on the traditional deviled egg. After consideration as to what my guests would like, I decided to go with mushroom, garlic deviled eggs and salmon eggs garnished with parsley.
Here are the recipes!
Ingredients for the base mixture:
6 eggs – makes 12 deviled eggs (I usually boil 1 extra in case I break an egg while peeling)
2 teaspoons Gulden’s spicy brown mustard
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste
Ingredients for Mushroom Deviled Eggs (makes 12 deviled eggs):
Pre-sliced shiitake mushrooms. 5 pieces diced
1 clove garlic, diced
Crushed red pepper
Ingredients for the Salmon Deviled Eggs (makes 12 deviled eggs):
Smoked Nova Salmon
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
Directions: Heat the eggs on high until they’re boiling (about 6 min). Turn the heat off and let the eggs sit for a few minutes on the burner. Remove from the stove and rinse with cold water several times in the pot. Let the eggs sit in the cool water until the water becomes room temperature or for longer. I find the shell comes off easily this way.
Carefully deshell the eggs. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks. Place the eggs on a deviled egg dish or on a flat plate over a decorative green lettuce.
Place the yolks in a bowl and add the mustard, mayo, salt and pepper. Mix. The filling should be smooth and have a medium to thick consistency. Taste and make sure it’s to your liking.
Directions for the Spicy Mushroom Deviled Eggs:
Finely chop the mushrooms and garlic
Add some of that mixture into each egg cavity
Then fill the egg with the base mixture
Sprinkle crushed red pepper over the egg
Cut the curly end of the mushroom and place on top of each egg in the filling
Directions for the Salmon Deviled Eggs:
Place a small piece of salmon in the egg cavity
Fill with base mixture
Sprinkle chopped parsley over the whole egg
Place a thinly sliced piece of salmon over the filling on each egg
If you want to impress guests, instead of slopping the base filling in with a spoon, use a cake icing bag with a decorative tip or if you don’t have that, you can get a similar effect using a kitchen ziplock bag. Cut one tip of the ziplock bag off. Spoon in the filling. Squeeze the filling out in the center of the egg working back and forth for a zig-zag look or use a circular motion for a spiral design.
I recommend filling the eggs right before company arrives for the freshest presentation or get a special deviled egg tray with a snap on lid for refrigerator storage.
*Why “deviled”? According to Wikipedia, the term “deviled” dates back to the 19th century, and refers to the use of particularly hot or piquant spices in the egg filling. The deviled egg is said to have originated in ancient Rome.
It’s mid-April: the time to slip out after dusk with your trowels, rakes, plants and seeds. If heavy rain is in the forcast, get prepared to launch your green grenades over your shoulder on the way to work. What? I’m talking about guerrilla gardening, planting in places that need a little love and wouldn’t otherwise get it– abandoned lots, under the el, unkempt street medians, every tree pit on the blvd. past 90th st. Rockaway Beach is the perfect target, and the result is aesthetically pleasing, enhanced public spaces, not to mention the benefits for birds and insects!
If there’s a location that isn’t accessible that needs some flower zhooj – e.g. a vacant lot behind a fence – guerilla gardeners use green grenades or seed bombs as they’re called. These organic mixtures are about the size of golfballs and can be thrown as far as your strength allows, to reach difficult locations. Seed bombing is easier than guerrilla gardening in that it requires no digging and less planning. There’s also no need to tow your arsenal of garden tools along.
If you’re tired of passing by that patch of dirt filled with empty nip bottles and cigarette butts, here’s your chance to transform it. On your way to the train, just toss a few seed bombs in there!
Seed Bomb Recipe
Takes about 30 minutes, makes 10 seed bombs
What you need:
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1 handful of flower seed – for our coastal environment, I recommend using Sweet William, Alyssum, Walker’s Low, Cornflower, Black Eyed Susan, Poppies or Cosmos. Northeastern wildflower mixes are often used as well.
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3 handfuls of Potter’s Clay powder (provides structural integrity for the bomb)
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5 handfuls of compost (provides moisture retention and nutrients for the seeds)
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Water
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Wooden spoon
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A bowl
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A baking tray
Instructions: Playing with mud is something the kiddos love, so get the whole family involved! Combine the clay, compost and seeds together in a bowl. Slowly add water, gradually mixing it together with a wooden spoon until you get a consistency that you can form into one inch balls. Roll the mixture in the palm of your hand (just like making meatballs) and place it on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of your mixture. Place the seed bombs in a sunny location for at least 3 hours to dry. Time your attack to coincide with heavy rainfall. Then, drop the bomb!
by Paula D.
on April 10, 2018 12:38 pm in Instagram
Here’s a recap of the best instagrams of last week. If you want the day to day follow me here!
I’ve been waking up with the birds these days. One morning I made my coffee and ran over to the beach to catch the sunrise. Not a bad way to start the day!
On another walk to the beach I came across this beautiful female (red tips) Chesapeake blue crab. Native to the western Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, these crustaceans are common and delicious to eat. I was happy to see this girl died naturally in the sand.
Last Sunday I started cleaning out the front garden. It took way longer than I expected. Unquestionably, the plants matured last year. It felt so good to get out there.
I’ll leave you with a picture of Johnny – he’s so serious all the time!
Here’s a recap of the best instagrams of last week. If you want the day to day follow me here!
I saw my moms favorite group Home Free on Staten Island with her and my sister at the St. George Theater (beautiful architecture!) this week. I’m kinda obsessed with Staten Island now (Shaolin!!), in particular the St. George area. There’s so much to say but I don’t want to give it all up because I’m planing on writing about it for my Wave Column, so stay tuned.
I woke up one morning this week and Fivey was on top of the fridge! As you can see, the refrigerator is free standing, no counters next to it. I realized he must have leapt at least 4 feet from the kitchen counter which is not pictured and far away. It was one of those proud cat parent moments.
On my way to CROM, I spotted Norman! If you don’t know him already, he’s a famous Rockaway cat that lives at Rockaway Beach Vet Services. He likes being on display in his window seat. Follow Normy and his pals on instagram @norman_of_rockaway
