Super Eggs Benedict

I can’t believe it’s 2016 already and nobody has yet invented the teleporter. I feel disappointed and embarrassed to be part of the humankind.   

When I was a child I always thought that 2015 will be a really exciting year with holidays in Mars, flying cars, mind-reading helmets and with all sort of futurist gadgets being used worldwide.

I gave for granted that by this time, people would have learned how to live together in peace, using natural resources wisely, enjoying life, love and friendship. 

Silly me.

Now seriously speaking, I can certainly wait for the teleporter to be invented for a few more years, but I cannot bear the dreadful status we have our planet. The only one we have. 

So this year, for the very first time in my life, I don’t have any new year resolutions list. Purely and simply because there are so many things that should improve that the list will be endless and unfeasible. Therefore, all I want to do this year is enjoy life. Simply that. I would like to feel raindrops in my face without feeling bothered; to sit down in my back patio on warm summery nights without worrying because the dinner is not ready yet; to hold long conversations with my husband up till late in the night regardless of what time the alarm clock is set by; to see my boys growing free and happy; to walk more and more slowly, greeting my neighbours and admiring their lovely gardens; to have my home open to all my friends and family and whoever that needs a cup of tea and someone listening; to prepare and eat tasty food. This year I am going to try not to live in a permanent rush.

I would like to reduce this stifling self-imposed stress and pressure to meet deadlines, to succeed, to exceed everyone’s expectations, to be everywhere. This year, I just want to live so when the 31st of December 2016 comes my thoughts are not, for fifth year in a row, “wow, is that time of the year already… where has the time gone?”

Because time will go and I will get older, and my sons will grow, and relationships will change, and the world would become a different place. And I’ve learned that there is nothing I can do about it apart from contributing small scale to change things a bit around me. No more great initiatives, no more failed attempts to buck the system. No big aspirations, no great goals, no idealism. So this year I promise to be more generous and thankful, to love more and deeper, to care more and worry less. This year 2016 I want to live slowly, in a more conscious, balanced and responsible way. Enjoying the small pleasures of life being aware of the world that blossoms around me.

This week recipe is just one of my favourite. Light but tasty and everytime I eat it I feel special.

WHAT YOU NEED

6 Soft Muffins
6 Duck Eggs
1tbsp White Wine Vinegar
100gr Waffer Thin Beef Slices
100gr Sliced Gherkins
50gr Salted Butter
70gr Lambs Lettuce

For the Hollandaise

3tbsp White Wine Vinegar
2 Egg Yolks
125g Butter
1tbsp Lemon Juice
1tsp Mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

WHAT YOU DO

To poach the eggs, fill a small pan just over one third full with cold water and bring it to the boil.  Add the vinegar and turn down to simmer. Crack the eggs one at a time into a small bowl and gently tip into the simmering water. Lightly poach for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels. Set aside.

To make the hollandaise, melt the butter in a small pan. Put the egg yolks into a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and whisk with a tablespoon of lemon juice and the mustard. Whisking constantly, very slowly (otherwise it will split) pour the melted butter into the egg mixture, until well combined, adding a splash of water to loosen, if needed. Whisk in a splash of vinegar and season to perfection.

 

Lightly toast and butter the muffins, then put a couple of slices of beef on each half. Add some lambs lettuce and a sliced gherkin. Top each with an egg, spoon over some Hollandaise and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve warm and enjoy.