It's no secret that I am a complete sucker for film scores that evoke feelings of heightened emotions, nostalgia and a near state of euphoria-you know the one, the feeling where you're transported just beyond daydreaming and a sense of peaceful contentedness washes over you. You feel this when watching a film that possesses a expertly crafted soundtrack that punctuates the plot and visual aspects in all the right places.
Some examples are James Horner's "Meet the Ludlows" theme from "Legends of the Fall." Or Ennio Morricone's "Cinema Paradiso" from the film of the same title. Thomas Newman manages to make a plastic bag emotionally compelling with his theme "Any Other Name" for the film "American Beauty." I'm a massive Thomas Montgomery (I kid you not) Newman fan. Huge. Gigantic. The cousin of Randy Newman (a nice bit of trivia) is phenomenal at composing scores, often piano-drenched and rhythmically interesting or quirky, and tugging at one's heart strings with the first few notes. If you're a Newman novice, check out the soundtracks for "Road to Perdition", "Revolutionary Road", "The Horse Whisperer", "Meet Joe Black", "Little Women", "Finding Nemo" and the theme for television's "Six Feet Under." OMG. Sooooo good.
Back to Rachel Portman (not to be confused with Natalie Portman, who you've all probably heard of and who has just given birth to a baby boy-mazel tov). Rachel's work includes "Emma" (for which she won an oscar-the first female composer ever!), "The Cider House Rules" (which stars our favourite gal from Benoni-Charlize Theron....pronounced "Tron" with a rolled "r", FYI), "The Other Sister", "Chocolat", "The War of the Buttons", "Only You", and today's selection "Never Let Me Go." I read somewhere that she composes from the piano (a rarity in today's technological age) and she lives in London with her three daughters. I found this lovely interview with her and am even more enamoured-a bit of a girl crush have I.
Moving swiftly on to foooood, glorious food (everything has a musical number lurking under the surface). One of the reasons I've loved being home in Cape Town for a breather, is because my mum's kitchen has amazing counter tops. Sounds odd, I know, but having had to cook in a tiny kitchen with minimal chopping, stirring, pouring and tossing space, I am hyper aware of the luxury of granite surfaces, stretched out ahead of you, beckoning the putting down of a chopping board here, or a bowl there. Bliss I tell ya.
I've also been immersing myself in Heidi Swanson's book (I think this is the third of fourth consecutive post that I've mentioned it!) and she eats a lot of eggs which has only reiterated my love for the sunshine-hued things. I've also started reading this blog which I am smitten with. "Sprouted Kitchen" is written by another self-titled veggie fiend, Sara, and boasts delish recipes and, again, lots of yummy egg dishes. I love Sara's narrative before each recipe-this is the kind of writing I like to read and have, hopefully, adopted in my own blogging. Little snippets of and windows into other people's lives. Bookended my foodie talk. What could be better?!
Anyway, for a long time I was wary of the whole "don't eat too many eggs" mindset that was floating around blogs, books and nutritionist-heavy talk shows. Some sources say that the yolks are very high in cholesterol and should be avoided, while other sources say that consuming one yolk a day will not have an affect on one's cholesterol nor put one at risk for heart disease. According to wikipedia (I have no shame) "A 2007 study of nearly 10,000 adults demonstrated no correlation between moderate (6 per week) egg consumption andcardiovascular disease or strokes except in the sub-population of diabetic patients that presented an increased risk of coronary heart disease". Egg yolks are also a major source of vitamins and minerals-good for you stuff. The egg whites are incredibly high in protein and contain almost no fat-unlike the yolks which have a high fat value.
Jamie Oliver says eggs are brilliant breakfast grub and I agree. Patrick Holford says you can eat up to six eggs a week. If I feel I've consumed too many yolks or I simply want something a little lighter, I'll opt for egg whites only. And, as a vegetarian, you're getting great protein without having to be too creative. Often I'll simply use one full egg and add an extra egg white (save the unused yolk to glaze bread or something....ja, whatever, like I'm THAT thrifty). What I also like about many of Heidi's recipes is that she recommends adding an egg to many of them to create a complete meal (eg. adding a fried egg to a farro salad, or mixing in scrambled egg to a tomato barley recipe, etc.).
When I started cutting back on my avocado consumption I started eating more eggs. Yesterday's breakfast was rye toast slathered in Woolworths' sundried tomato pesto, topped with mushed up avo (only half...you avocado police you), and topped with garlic/lemon sauteed spinach. I also forgot about garlic for the longest time but have been reminded of it's wonderful flavour and ability to "oomph" up a dish. Yummeroo. A fellow musician who we shall call Aussie Sax Man, commented on my breakfast and so I took things to a new level this morning by doing exactly the same thing but substituting the avo for egg....genius, I know.
Egg & Spinach Breakfast Toast
-a handful of spinach
-half a clove of garlic finely chopped
-a squeeze of lemon juice
-one egg and on white, mixed together with a fork or whisk until combined
-a slice of bread (I used rye)
-sundried tomato pesto or pesto of your choice (coriander, basil, olive)
1. Put your bread in the toaster to toast.
2. Heat two pans and drizzle each with olive oil
3. When hot enough, throw the garlic into one pan and then the spinach, adding the squeeze of lemon.
4. Toss your egg mixture into the other pan and allow it to spread out evenly by gently lifting the edges with a spatula and swirling the liquid egg into the spaces created (as if making an omelette).
5. Carry on doing this to your eggs until they're thin enough to cook through.
6. Take the spinach off the heat (it'll carry on cooking)
7. Spread the pesto onto your toast, top with the egg folded over, add the spinach and sprinkle with sea salt.
Devour your breakfast while watching this:
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