Eggsperimenting: Loaded Frittata

I started this thing freshman year of college... It was sort of like a personal challenge. There are very few foods that I dislike, and I really just wanted to have ZERO foods that I dislike. So I started with cucumbers. I didn't like cucumbers, so I began slicing them very thinly and putting them on my sandwiches. Then I progressed to ordering dishes with cucumber and not asking for it to be removed. Eventually, I stopped hating cucumbers, and now I actually like them.

Well I hate eggs. HATE THEM. They're my second most hated food behind onions. I used to actually feel sick just from the smell of scrambled eggs. So about a month ago I decided to experiment with eggs to see if I could change my own mind. Here is my first eggsperiment: Loaded Frittata.

Ingredients:

• 8 organic eggs
• 1 organic egg yolk
• 1 cup sliced crimini mushroom
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
• 5-7 kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 tbsp parmesan
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Parsley for garnish

1. On the stove, heat garlic and olive oil in a large oven-safe pan until slightly golden. Add sliced mushrooms and sautee on high. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. While mushrooms are cooking, beat eggs with a whisk. Add tomatoes, olives, parmesan, and a generous amount of salt and pepper

3. When mushrooms are almost done, lower heat and pour the egg mixture into the pan.

4. With a rubber spatula, slowly push the outside of the egg mixture in, bringing the cooked bits of eggs to the middle.

5. After about two minutes, transfer the pan to the oven. Cook for about 10 minutes, then begin checking for doneness. Don't let it overcook!

6. Let cool for a couple minutes, then cut and garnish with parsley and extra parmesan.

- See why it's called a LOADED frittata? -

Coming from a person who really hates eggs, I actually liked this frittata. A lot. Probably because it was SO flavorful and full of ingredients. But I still got the protein from the eggs! In the future I will probably add more eggs to make it a little thicker. I would really recommend this recipe as a base to make whatever kind of frittata you'd like. Experiment with your favorite ingredients and see what works best! As for me, there will definitely be more eggsperiments to come.

Are there any ingredients that you absolutely hate? Would you be willing to try them in a new way?

This is How it Works

You're young until you're not

You love until you don't

You try until you can't

You laugh until you cry

You cry until you laugh

And everyone must breathe

Until their dying breath.

No, this is how it works

You peer inside yourself

You take the things you like

And try to love the things you took

And then you take that love you made

And stick it into some

Someone else's heart

Pumping someone else's blood

And walking arm in arm

You hope it don't get harmed

But even if it does

You'll just do it all again.

On the Radio - Regina Spektor

Happiness hit her like a train on the track...

Let me preface this entry by saying I've been stressed lately. And I mean really stressed. October is the month of class projects, midterms, mock trial craziness, law school applications, and the dreaded LSAT. Deadline upon deadline upon deadline. Those deadlines have been wearing on me...

- - -

So Thursday I stopped by Fresh Market for the first time in months. As silly as this sounds, it was probably the best part of my week. I walked down the aisles mesmerized by the different cheeses, the heirloom tomatoes, the olive bar... I forgot how much I loved this place!

That's when I realized what I'd been doing to myself for the past few weeks. I'd gotten so caught up in my future that I deliberately neglected the things that make me happiest right NOW: cooking, farmers markets, reading, going to church, exercising, spending time with friends, going home for the weekend. For what? An LSAT score that will probably be mediocre at best?

Sometimes we get so caught up in reaching goals and being productive that we feel as if personal happiness isn't important. The goal is what matters, and we don't deserve to be happy until that goal is achieved.

But what kind of life is that?

I guess the point of all this is that we need to remember that the little things that make us the happiest matter. Our happiness matters. Yeah, the LSAT and law school and future employment all seem HUGE. But we shouldn't hate our lives right now in an attempt to make a better life in the future.

So go read a book or lay out by the pool or bake a cake.

Do whatever it is that makes you happy, and do it without regret.

Happy National Coffee Day!

- Hand-pulled Latte from Zibetto -

In celebration of National Coffee Day, I'm going to tell you about the best coffee experience I've ever had. Zibetto Expresso Bar in New York City has both the best coffee and the most interesting coffee-shop atmosphere I've ever experienced.

I guess the reason it has the most interesting coffee-shop atmosphere is that it's not really a "coffee shop." It's an expresso bar. You open the door and walk into an etremely narrow, extremely white room. There's one long marble bar along the wall and no seating at all. Customers stand at the bar and sip their expresso.

It's evident from the hand-pulled expresso and homemade croissants and paninis that Zibetto really cares about quality. If you want a break from the fast-paced streets of NYC and generic ubiquity of Starbucks, do yourself a favor and check out Zibetto on 6th and 56th.

Happiness

- Pensacola Beach, Dec. 30, 2009 -

"People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you're fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly."

- Eat, Pray, Love