All 'Eyes' on Halloween

Garlic chives make up the eyelashes on these Deviled Eggy Eyes.

Last Saturday night, I had a dilemma — bring a side dish to our homeowner's association traditional Halloween soirée that typically features a roast pig, pulled beef brisket, ribs and every kind of fattening pot luck side dish you can imagine from an expansive Halloween-themed cupcake display to dozens of salads, mac-and-cheese, baked beans, potato salads and au gratins.

I wanted to bring something I could eat that would be festive, so I decorated some Deviled Eggs with thin slices of pimento-stuffed olives and gave them eyelashes from the garlic chives growing in a pot on our back porch. Not exactly completely original to use the olives to make eyes, but I haven't seen anyone else do the chive eyelashes.

My most-used appliance — the Cuisinart egg cooker.

I hard-boiled a dozen plus eggs in my favorite appliance — the super-cute Cuisinart egg cooker (yes, it trumps my Cuisinart food processor, although it's a close race.) The reason I like my Cuisinart egg cooker, besides looking like it could be a Star Trek pod person, is because the eggs cook perfectly with none of that nasty gray exterior you get on overcooked yolks. The eggshells peel off easily, no matter how fresh your eggs are.

I mashed up the egg yolks in another bowl, mixed them with light mayonnaise to the right consistency, a tablespoon of Dijon mustard, about a teaspoon of Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic seasoning and then made them smooth and creamy by hitting them with just a touch of an immersion blender. Then I folded in about three tablespoons of capers for some savory texture. 

Filling eggs with a quart-size plastic bag filled with the creamy caper and egg yolk mixture. Roll the sides of the plastic bag down to make it easier to fill, then squeeze the mixture down to a corner and cut it off.

I put my creamy egg yolk mixture in a quart-size plastic bag, cut off one of the corners and piped the yolks back into my egg yolk whites. I gave the eggs a light sprinkling of some smoked paprika, cut a pimento-stuffed green olive about 1/16-inch thick and my garlic chives. I arranged them so no matter how you approached the platter, they were looking at you.

They were flying off the buffet table and onto partygoers plates when we left to go watch the University of Oklahoma football team lose terribly to our long-time nemesis Notre Dame. Oh well — at least the eggs were good.

I'm in the middle of a diet "reboot," which seems to have gotten me moving downward on the scales again. For most weekday meals, I've been substituting protein shakes or drinks and snacking in between meals on a protein bar or snack. On weekends, I commute to meet my hubby who is working back in the States, and I let my sleeve limit my eating and just try to make good choices.

I'm down to 196, a 77-pound loss. Finally moving again. I'm looking forward to my first-of-the-month Measure Down Day on Thursday.

For Halloween, I plan to buy some puckery Skittles (or another candy I don't like) to give to my spooks and goblins, so I won't have any trouble staying away from it. 

Onward,
Carol

Happy Huevos -- or the Perfect Food I Can't Live Without

If I could only have one food forever, the one I'd probably choose is the super versatile egg. And not just any egg -- tasty local eggs from Ivy Acres Farm in Shawnee, Okla., about 40 miles from our home in Norman, Okla. I buy them at Norman's Native Roots Market.  The egg carton label notes they were packed May 20, and I purchased them on May 23. Another favorite egg source from Native Roots is the Chicken Shanty, which even has the most beautiful light turquoise eggs.

I'm big on using the best quality ingredients. If you can't eat a lot of food like I can't after my Dec. 27, 2011, gastric sleeve surgery, you sure want to eat the good stuff.  

Huevos Rancheros - salsa, cheese and eggy goodness without beans or tortilla

And local eggs taste infinitely better than the ones you buy in the grocery store and cost $4 a dozen -- about the same as a brand like Eggland's Omega 3 eggs. That may sound like a lot, but if you think about it, it's about 33 cents an egg. 

One of the ways I like to fix them is my version of Huevos Rancheros without the tortilla underneath -- breaking a couple of eggs into my about 4-inch round metal ring to keep them from running all over my griddle. When they start to set, I flip them over and cover them with about 1/4 c. of shredded low-fat cheddar cheese and Salsa with Roasted Chilies from Cocina San Pasqual, which says on the label that it's from Perkins, Okla., but is really from the tiny nearby town of Tryon. I purchased the salsa at Native Roots Market also. About the time the cheese melts and gets gooey, the eggs are perfect. I don't even add any salt or pepper -- the salsa gives more than enough kick. 

Cocina San Pasqual's salsa is home-style canned, made with fire-roasted chilies, vine-ripened tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lemon/lime juice, sea salt and garlic. The texture is just right to go on your eggs, but not fight them or upstage them. 

It's a simple, sumptuous dish I often eat for breakfast, but I've been known to eat it for lunch or supper too. 

Onward,

Carol 

'Mild' Salsa with Roasted Chilies
from Cocina San Pasqual in Tryon, Okla.