Julia Child is always right.

So we had a three day reprieve from sickness before C came down with croup.  Seeing my child gasping for air, choking, coughing, and crying all at once is the most terrifying experience I've had as a parent. Thankfully the four day steroid treatment helped tremendously. And we made it through without any toddler roid-rage. She's 100% now. Whew. 

Oh and I didn't post last week  because I thought I was going to have my gallbladder removed. Weeeee!  I had intense upper abdominal pain for three days but thankfully my gallbladder was not the culprit. So now I'm on a temporary bland diet, cut out acidic food and beverages (no coffee..le sigh) and I'm on meds until my stomach heals. Thankfully I have a back log of photos. I don't think anyone would want to see pictures of the gruel I'm currently eating...steamed vegetables anyone? nom. nom.

So the good news is we're all finally healthy. The even better and actually, what I consider FANTASTIC news, is that I made MAYONNAISE yesterday. Yes! Finally, I. MADE. MAYO.

Why is this such a big deal? It's because I have tried no less then six times to make mayonnaise. And every. damn. time. it splits. Most people would have just given up. But, I'm a special kind of crazy. I took not being able to make mayo personally. I've never not been able to make something in my kitchen. So I couldn't let the mayo thing go. After the last attempt, I went online and read everything I could find about making mayo. I watched a couple YouTube videos. And all that did was further piss me the eff off because by all counts, I was doing everything right!

Then it dawned on me. What would Julia Child do? I don't know why this didn't occur to me sooner. I think my obsession was clouding my mind. Of course Julia would have a method/recipe! Duh!  And does she ever. She has not one, but four pages dedicated to making mayonnaise.

So yesterday I took out two eggs and brought them to room temperature. Two eggs because I was convinced my first batch would split, and I wanted an second attempt.  I followed her method and my god, I nailed it on the first batch! I tried again with my second egg and sweet mother I nailed it again! Turns out I could make mayonnaise all along, I just needed the correct method. And oh does it taste so good. I'm never buying store mayonnaise again.

Blender Mayonnaise
Adapted from Joy of Cooking



Ingredients


1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup light tasting olive oil
3 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar (or lemon juice)


Method

1. Put egg, mustard, salt and 1/4 olive oil in blender. Cover and blend on high until combined.
2. With the blender still running, slowly add 1/2 cup olive oil (think thinnest drizzle).
3.  Then slowly add vinegar.
4. Again, slowly add the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil and blend until thick and creamy.
   
   Notes: I lowered my blender speed before starting step 2. I was nervous from my previous attempts, but Julia keeps it on high for the whole process. Also, you may need to stop and start the blender to scape down the sides. I didn't (again, afraid to stop because I was scarred from previous attempts).

Sinus Infection. Eggs. New cook book.

Two weeks ago I started feeling sick and quickly came down with an awful head cold. I passed it onto my daughter (I'm a good Mom like that). So last Friday I took her to see her Pediatrician because I suspected she had an ear infection. After looking for Elmo in her ear and not finding him, her Pediatrician turned to me and said "She looks fine. But you sound awful. Have you seen your Doctor?" I had not. I thought I was starting to get better. Apparently, I was kidding myself.

I went to our walk-in clinic that evening. The receptionist told me I had to wear a mask because I was coughing. I told the receptionist "Had I known it was going to be a masquerade, I would have dressed up." She didn't find that as amusing as I did...



The Nurse Practitioner that examined me gave me the best news ever; I had a sinus infection! No sarcasm here. I was happy. This is my [crazy] train of thought... a sinus infection means I'd be prescribed an antibiotic which means I'd be feeling better in a couple of days. Opposed to feeling like a bag o' shit for another week or more if it was just a cold! My night got even better when she prescribed the Z-pack. I've taken it before, so I KNEW I'd be feeling a lot better the very next day. Yesterday I took my last antibiotic and I feel pretty much 100%. Happy days are here again.

Eggs also make me happy (I know, nice segue). The American Egg Board says that eggs are incredible and edible. I have to agree. I eat them for breakfast every. single. day. I guess you could say I'm a fan.

What's not to like? They taste frickin' awesome. Each large egg provides 6 grams of all natural and high quality protein. They are a natural source of Choline.  Provide 41 IU of Vitamin D. Yes, they have 185 mg of cholesterol. But there is a lot of research/data out there that shows an egg a day will not make a significant impact on your health. Especially if you're eating low cholesterol foods to begin with. Still don't believe me? Health Canada and the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation both include eggs as part of a heart healthy diet. Canadian's do not lie. So don't fear the egg.

I normally make a spinach or kale omelet for breakfast (2 eggs + 1/4 cup egg whites). I recently got a new cook book that I am love with. It's called The Paleo Recipe Book by Sébastien Noël. The book includes a recipe for a Cinnamon and apple omelet that I love. It had too much healthy fat in it for my liking, so I made some reductions. It turned out awesome!




Cinnamon and apple omelet
Adapted from The Paleo Recipe Book
   
Ingredients

2 eggs + 1/4 egg whites (I like All-White brand)
1 apple, thinly sliced
2 tbsp coconut milk (best if canned and chilled)*
2 tsp cooking fat (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. In a large bowl whisk the eggs and egg whites with 1 tbsp coconut milk.
   
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat, add 1 tsp of the cooking fat to the pan. When the pan is ready add the apple slices, sprinkle with cinnamon and  sauté until they are tender. Put the apple slices aside until later.
    
3. Add the reminaing cooking fat to the pan. Add the egg mixture. To make it fluffy, use your spatula and stir the eggs gently while it cooks. This lets the uncooked egg run underneath and you get a fluffier omelet. Fluffy = nummy.
    
4. Flip the omelet over when it's almost cooked. Add half of the apples. Fold the omelet in half. Serve it on a plate topped with the remaining apples and coconut milk.

*In place of the coconut milk in the omelet you can use milk or heavy cream. For the topping you could whip some of the heavy cream. I wouldn't advise making it super sweet if you do this.