Happy Early Birthday to Me!

My aunt just sent me this ten-days-early, very grim birthday card. By "grim," I mean darkly comical, and inappropriate for any of your vegetarian loved ones. Lucky for her, I do eat eggs. I laughed.

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Happy Birthday!

Soufflé for One

When Chris is out and I'm on my own for dinner, I often take the opportunity to cook something he'd never eat. Tonight was just such a night—I made a soufflé. It sounds really fancy, but it's actually quite simple.

I adapted a recipe for making 1 serving. That way, I don't have to do math every time I want to make this dish. Here is my recipe below:

Soufflé for One

Ingredients

• 2-1/4 teaspoons butter or margarine
• 2-1/4 teaspoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese (I actually used parmesan tonight)
• 1 egg, separated
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard and cayenne until smooth; gradually add the milk. bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Pour into four greased 10-oz. souffle dishes or custard cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Less-Egg-More-Vegetable Frittata

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a few days since I found it while scrolling through the New York Times blog Bitten.

I don't love eggs—I usually order egg whites if I'm having anything besides sunny-side up, but egg yolks are a great source of protein and other nutrients. Sometimes my quasi-vegetarian side gets a little squeamish about the baby chick thing, but honestly, I really do love omelets and frittatas. I'm big into curious combinations of ingredients—throw a bunch of good-tasting stuff with some eggs in a pan, cook—awesome.

For this recipe, author Mark Bittman recommends using two or three eggs with three or four cups of vegetables instead of the usual proportion of six eggs and a cup or two of vegetables.

Sounds good to me.

Photo by Evan Sung for the New York Times

The Perks of Eating at Home

Learning how to cook has totally changed my life. Seriously! Being able to make something healthy that also tastes good can be very rewarding. And it's nice not to have to spend a lot of money at restaurants and convenience stores. Why hand over a wad of cash for something you could make very easily yourself?

I just made this lovely little souffle for lunch, and I have to say, it was pretty awesome. Plus, it was really cheap to make—only a couple dollars if you break it down. Sure beats cold cuts.