a peek inside the fishbowl

Tonight is the night (well, one of two anyway).

It’s not too late to get in on the movie pass giveaway!

26 Feb, 2009

My perfect boiled egg

By andrea tomkins in Recipes and Food

 the perfect boiled egg

I used to hate boiled eggs. Scratch that, I hate most hard boiled eggs … the kind that are tinged with green, are are so dry and pasty it feels like I’m chewing on an old egg-flavoured sponge. *shiver*

Being of of Czech descent I grew up a world in which sliced eggs graced many food items, most notably, open-faced sandwiches. The concept of the open-faced sandwich doesn’t really exist here, which is why someone invented that special designation of “open-faced” so it cannot be confused with the regular term of “sandwich.” Seems like most people are all about slapping that second piece of bread on top.

I grew up eating these open-faced things, called chlebícky. The word actually translates to “little sandwich.” (I was going to write out the phonetics but the first syllable sounds like a blocked airway and I can’t think of how to write that out). Chlebícky almost always had a sliced egg on top. Chlebícky also feature different combinations of ham, egg or potato or crab salad, gherkins, salami, and cheese on a thin slice of baguette, maybe with adorned with a tomato or bit of red pepper for decoration. When I was in Prague there were special lunch counters devoted only to chlebícky.

But this post is about the eggs. I thought I hated them, and then, realized I didn’t.

This is the only way I like to eat hard-boiled eggs.

  1. 1. Pierce a tiny hole at the very top of your egg. (Our egg-piercing tool has disappeared, so we use a corn holder.) Mark insists this cuts the risk of the egg cracking, but I’m not so sure. This is tricky business and takes practice. 
  2. 2. Place egg into pot of rapidly boiling water. There should be enough water to cover your egg. If you’ve pierced the eggshell you’ll see a stream of bubbles come out of the egg. I guess that’s air escaping and that’s a good thing.
  3. 3. Turn heat down to a simmer (#3 on our stove). 
  4. 4. Set timer for 10:30. (This ensures the egg is exactly how I like it, softly hard-boiled! Picky? You’re right.)
  5. 5. Rinse under cold running water. 
  6. 6. Enjoy with a sprinkle of sea salt.

How do you like your eggs? And what are your feelings about open-faced sandwiches? ;)

25 Feb, 2009

Toughest meme ever

By andrea tomkins in Memes/blog awards etc

BeachMama, local blogger/mom/photographer/awesome lady posted the answers to a Q&A-style meme on her blog recently. At the end of her post I took her up on her offer to have her ask me some questions too.

BeachMama came up with some great questions. Tough ones! Click to read on.

Read the rest of this entry »

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  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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