How to: Make Heart Shaped Deviled Eggs

I did make more than 2! I had to make them 2 at a time because I only had enough of the heart making supplies to make 2 at a time and they won't wait!

I did a little investigating and it turns out that shaping boiled eggs is a whole art form of it's own and it is popular in Japan.  They even have little egg molds to make animal shapes!

So step one - boil your eggs.  I like 12-13 minute eggs.  Actually if we are just eating boiled eggs, I like a soft boiled egg, but that won't work here!

Step two - not pictured! - after removing egg from the water, immediately peel the egg - I ran some water over the egg while I peeled, that helped, but don't chill the eggs first, they need to be very hot when you put them in the form.

I made my form by cutting the corners off of an orange juice container.  (Step three:)Wash and dry the corners and place a hot, peeled egg in the middle.  Balance a chop stick over the egg and secure in place with two rubber bands (rubber bands don't seem to last long in our house, so I used pony tail holders, it worked).  The shape of your chop stick will make a difference.  Mine was square and I turned the chopstick so the corner of the square pressed into the egg.  Don't press too hard or the white will crack.

Step four: wait for the egg to set.  I put them in the fridge and tried not to forget about them.  One tutorial I saw said 10 minutes, another said 30.  I was somewhere in there. 

Step five - cut in half and be amazed and all the eggy love!

You can leave them like this or take out the yolk and make deviled eggs - I thought they needed paprika for Valentine's Day.

I just couldn't stop with the eggs - behold - heart shaped tomatoes and pickles and cheese.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Homemade Microwave Popcorn

Rob likes to eat popcorn - I mean he likes to eat popcorn every day!  Microwave Popcorn is pretty unhealthy and expensive, so I made him eat the kind that comes in a big bag of kernels.  Unfortunately, stove-top popcorn is best popped in my pasta pot and finding my pasta pot with popcorn popping residue in it every morning was starting to get old.  I mean, this is the TWENTY FIRST CENTURY!  This has to be another way!

And there is!

Place 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels in

1 paper lunch sack

and fold over the sack firmly about 3 times.

Place the sack in the microwave and microwave on high for 3 minutes.  Remove when popping stops, season as desired.

I thought this was the neatest trick the first time I did it - but it took a little tweaking to perfect.  It is not sufficient to pour melted butter into the bag and salt won't stick to dry popcorn.  So we found the following modification to make popcorn adequate for every day consumption:

1/4 cup kernels in

1 paper sack

add 2 teaspoons oil

and 1/4 teaspoon popcorn (fine) salt

fold over

shake vigorously

microwave as directed

Rob says he will still make it in the pasta pot for movie nights, but this new trick is making us both happy!

Garlic Magic

I made 40 Cloves and Chicken for dinner this week - a recipe which calls for 40 whole cloves of peeled garlic.  I've made it before and tediously peeled each garlic by hand, but I figured there had to be a better way.

And there is!  And it is unbelievably easy!  I put all my garlic cloves in a big lightweight aluminum pot and put the lid on and shook it has hard as I could.  When I took the lid off - at least half of the cloves had fallen out of the peel.  I shook some more and more came out.  The website where I got this technique did it with two big metal bowls - one holding the garlic and one upside down as a lid.  I know there is some scientific explanation for how it works, but it seemed like magic to me!