I love eggs, so much that I’d prefer them to be center of every meal. Especially farm fresh, pastured eggs. I’m sure I’ve ranted about them before, but I swear there’s nothing better. Perfect yellow-orange yolks that stay intact until disturbed with a fork or whisk. You could probably even play a nice game of catch with them, but I’d test it outside, just in case.
You’d never go to a 4 star restaurant in jeans, right? So why would you make a beautiful salad of local greens or heirloom tomatoes, or cucumbers and destroy it with bottled salad dressing filled with high fructose corn syrup? Sorry, I’m not here to judge, but I don’t think people realize how easy it is to make your own dressing, especially a vinaigrette. I don’t think I’ve bought a pre-made store dressing in years! Some basic tricks to keep up your sleeve.
You notice in the title, there’s no traditional “chip” anywhere between the chocolate and the mint. That’s right. There’s aren’t any! To be completely honest, there isn’t actually any chocolate either. But wait, wait, wait! Don’t go yet! Just because there’s no actual chocolate, doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Read on. I promise you won’t be disappointed.
One of the first weeks of our Tribeca CSA share, we got pint. Great, I made mojitos. Another week, I got orange mint, again, drinks. Two weeks ago we got “mint” but it was very different from the first one. In my Mint Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies, it was amazing. However, when tossing it in a watermelon salad, it tasted a bit like toothpaste (I think it was peppermint). So it’s fair to say I’ve received three different types of mint. Then last week I got chocolate mint. First off, who knew there were so many types of mint? Apparently there are over 20 species of mint and hundreds of varieties to choose from now, thanks to modern science and hybridization. Anyway, back to the chocolate mint.
Really you can even serve this for dinner too if you’d like. It all depends on how hungry you are. I’ve probably been making my version of Croque Madame before I even knew what it was called. Who doesn’t love cheese, bread and a little runny egg to blend it all together? Then, more recently I started localizing and the flavors were amazing.
There is just really nothing like a farm fresh pastured egg. Yes, you’re paying a bit (a lot) more than you would your standard white eggs, but I’m telling you once you try one, you’ll never go back. The yolks are so rich, a rich yellow-orange, almost neon color. Now I know my mother always taught me not to play with your food, but when you get a really fresh egg (I mean RIGHT from the farm), you can’t help it. You can easily separate the yolk from the white by hand, and you can literally toss the yolk up and down a bit without it breaking. The eggs I bought while we were in Maine required me to poke the yoke with my finger, rather forcefully I should say, before it broke.
Our trip to Maine was extraordinary–food, hiking, mini golf, canoeing, wine, beer, more food. Yet, no matter how amazing a vacation might be, there’s nothing like being back home, in your own (steamy!) apartment, sleeping in your own bed. There are always things I miss about Brooklyn when I’m away…but that’s not to say I won’t miss things about Maine too.
Brooklyn Locavore 