Poached Egg with Polenta, Green Garlic and Asparagus; an Award

The rules (there are always rules) are simple: Tell seven things about yourself and then pass the award on to other beautiful bloggers.

This has actually been sitting in my mental in-box for a bit....

Seven things?

I assume they should be somewhat interesting.... not stuff like what I had for breakfast.

I've been feeling very boring lately.

No, not bored; boring.

Here goes:

Seven Scintillating Snippets

1. I like words.... playing with them, reading them, writing them, learning about them. I'm a word nerd. I'm rather fond of punctuation, too. I love alliteration - but the person who named their restaurant the 'Koffee Kup Kafe' should have their license to speak revoked.

2. I don't use electric kitchen toys. I have a food processor that I've used once. It was fun, but a sharp knife works as well and is much easier to clean.

3. I'm very squeamish. I can't bring myself to gut a fish - but, if you forced me, once I made the first cut I'd be just fine. It's the 'thinking' more than the 'doing' that bothers me.

4. Some have said that I think too much. Now, we all know that's an impossibility, but my mind has been known to ramble down the road less traveled more often than most. I like to think it makes me interesting or eccentric. I think using the adjective 'weird' was rude.

5. I was told 10 years ago that I should wear glasses. I bought them. I rarely wear them. I do eye exercises instead and am determined to not ever need them. (I wear the driving glasses on rainy nights - I'm not foolish.)

6. I try not to wear synthetic fabrics or synthetic jewelry. Nothing has to be expensive, just natural. I don't care what other people do, just personal preference.

7. I started smoking in college as a way to stay awake during class. A quiet room with a quiet speaker is nap-time for me. I ate candy in church. I did get really good at hiding the, inevitable 'nod-jerk' sequence.

Now the difficult part - passing it on....

Zoomie Station

Blog from OUR kitchen

Taste of Beirut

Eats Well with Others

Once Upon a Feast

My Kitchen in Half Cups

Living in the Kitchen with Puppies

Mele Cotte

Never one to practice restraint when it comes to my favorite things....

Here's my new favorite: (Sorry, Elizabeth)

The Polenta: Heat chicken stock in a small saucepan until simmering. Add polenta, stirring constantly until thick, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in chives and cover to keep warm.

The Vegetables: Trim green garlic and slice, using as much of the green tops as reasonable. Trim and roll-cut the asparagus into 1" (2.5cm) lengths. Heat 2 tsp olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the green garlic, asparagus and stir-fry until crisp-tender.

The Eggs: Fill a medium skillet with water. The water should be at least 1 1/2 inches deep. Heat water over medium-high heat. Add vinegar. When water is softly boiling poach eggs: one at a time break egg into a small saucer. Swirl a spoon in the water where you will put the egg - off to one side. When water is swirling drop egg into center. With slotted spoon try to keep the white together. Do next egg. With regular spoon scoop some hot water over tops of eggs. Poach for 2 - 4 minutes or until white is set but yolk is still very soft. (Or hard, as you like...)

The Finish: Spoon polenta on to 2 plates, spreading it out into a circle. Top with a poached egg. Spoon asparagus and green garlic around the egg, drizzle with truffle oil and serve.

Isn't spring wonderful?!