Blogtober 2022 : Day 5
It’s not a very nice day here.
It’s been raining since before we got up, heavy rain that shows no sign of letting up. I had to drive not so small daughter to college today as a van driver thought it would be funny to drive through a puddle and soak her as she walked to the bus stop. I did think that she might be exaggerating when she phoned me to tell me she was drenched and on her way home to get changed, but she honestly looked as if she’d got into a bath with her clothes on, and as we left to drive to college later, it was quite obvious that the driver had gone out of his or her way to drive through the puddle. I said some very rude words about the driver.
The cats are disgusted with the rain. They haven’t really experienced weather like this before and they keep miaowing at me as if I can turn it off. They’ve also tried going out of different doors and are surprised to find that it rains on both sides of the house. It doesn’t seem to have stopped them, though – they’ve been in and out several times and not once wiped their feet when they came back in.
In happier news, I bought a new egg cooker the other week as our old one had packed up … this, my friends, is what we’re reduced to on wet days during Blogtober – a blow-by-blow account of my lunch, so be warned. It could be a very long month! 🙂 I had never really looked twice at what I assumed was yet another kitchen gadget that I’d have to find a home for but we were on holiday in Spain a few years ago and the guest information in the house we were staying in was very encouraging about using their egg cooker so we thought we’d give it a go. Wow! No more boiling pans of water and trying to time the eggs right by the clock, this thing did it for you! Well, we were easily pleased as we like a nice dippy egg with soldiers, and when I saw one on offer in a supermarket when we came home, a purchase was made and we’ve never looked back in the dippy egg department.
This is the replacement egg cooker I bought. It boils up to seven eggs and it apparently also poaches eggs and makes omelettes. And it was on offer. Bargain!
I’m partial to a poached egg and I wanted to know how it was going to work so I got the instruction book out. Pretty straightforward – you grease the little bowl and crack an egg into it …
Then add water up to the mark – there’s poached egg and omelette on one side of the measure and hard, medium and soft for boiled eggs on the other ..
and you pour that onto the boiling plate underneath the bowl with the egg in it. Then you put the lid on, press the button and wait for it to do it’s thing …
Toast at the ready, I was all set for my poached egg lunch and this is what it looked like …
Er … I’m not quite sure that was what I was expecting, although it makes sense when you think that it is more steamed than cooked in water. It looks like it’s the sort of thing that would go in a breakfast burger from a fast food restaurant and although it was well-cooked and wasn’t watery as my poached eggs can sometimes be, it wasn’t a dippy egg either. I’m not sure whether to try again another or just go back to my pan of boiling water!
The cooker does make a good boiled egg, though.
I think we should move swiftly on and I’ll show you some knitting instead! I’ve finished the first sock of my Carousel socks pair (it’s surprisingly quick knitting once you get past the lace pattern at the top of the leg) and I’ve cast on my second sock.
I took this photo on a high gloss coffee table and I really liked the shadows I got with today’s rainy light. The little dish has wax melts in it, not chocolate (I do have to remind myself not to eat them!). Big daughter’s friend Kate makes candles and big daughter brought some of the latest Autumn scents over to share with us – they’re called Apple Strudel and Cosy and they smell amazing in the dish together. At some point I’ll put them in the wax burner but for now, they’re keeping me company at the kitchen table whilst I write and very welcome they are too!
The pink yarn of my socks is lovely to knit with but it’s quite fine so the stitches look tiny – although I am switching between this and chunky yarn so any 4ply is going to look tiny! I’ve still not found the needle tips to switch to my long circular needle, although I haven’t looked very hard to try to find them. I should probably add that to this afternoon’s list 🙂
I own that exact egg cooker and the boiled egg works the best for me as I only like them with runny yokes.
I think that’s going to be my favourite way to cook them too 🙂 xx
I thought it was a police matter if a vehicle deliberately drove through a puddle to soak someone. did your daughter get the reg?.
No, she was too busy getting home to get changed but I’ll mention it to her in case it happens again xx
Oh how I am loving your blogs!
On the subject of the dreaded To Do lists – I recommend the book “Four Thousand Weeks” – a great read that insists life is short, and we should essentially be more selective what goes on the To Do list and live with the disappointment that we can’t (and shouldn’t try) to do everything. Good advice for us folk who think we’re super human!!!!!
I keep going through phases of not having to-do lists at all and that is very liberating – until lots of things don’t get done! I’ll look out for the book, thank you! 🙂 xx
I’ve been soaked so many times. So annoying. The pink yarn is so pretty.
Mum bought me an egg cooker and it was a while before I used it. The boiled eggs are fabulous. The omelette tastes right but are so different to what you expect. I haven’t tried poached.
It’s ace, isn’t it? Definitely one of our best gadgets. The instructions do say that the omelettes aren’t what you might expect so I may give that a miss 🙂 xx
Oh your poor daughter and what a mean driver. I remember that happening to me once many years ago walking to work. I remember feeling damp all day. I’ve never seen an egg cooker quite like that. I have a tried and trusted egg poacher that is positively ancient. I do love a good runny poached egg! B x
I can remember my Mum having an egg poaching pan years ago with four little cups that sat in the hot water but I have no idea what happened to that. I’ve tried the little pots and bags that sit on the side of the pan but still get the best results from cooking the egg directly in the water. I think that might be on the menu for lunch now! 🙂 xx
I haven’t had a runny boiled egg for ages, the salmonella thing got the better of us I s’pose. And they do make a good addition to a ham sandwich! I’ve never tried a poached egg, I’m not really sure what you do with them. I think eggs are under-rated! Big-up to the Eggs!
Poached eggs are good on toast – I love eggs Benedict and eggs Royale which is a poached egg on a muffin with ham or smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce (a bit like mayo but not quite the same). Also brilliant with bacon, mushrooms … anywhere you might have a fried egg instead (but not on sandwiches as that would probably end up down your front 🙂 ) xx
I love my egg cooker. I have eggs frequently since I have chickens out rainy season in the PNW hasn’t started yet.
That’s great! It’s so easy to get eggs the way you like them, isn’t it? 🙂 xx
Oh that’s not on is it poor daughter. I think it’s fair to say you can definitely see the puddles and the humans – such a shame they didn’t slow right down and avoid the unnecessary soaking!!! I’d never seen an egg boiler until recently too when son was wondering how best to best cook his daily does of eggs at work (I keep telling him that too many eggs a day is not good for his cholesterol but to no avail!!!). I haven’t tried a poached egg thought – I’m very tempted to give it a go. Your sock yarn is absolutely gorgeous too xx
I have muttered darkly about karma and what goes around coming round, but not so small daughter seems to have recovered from the experience and it’s been dry today so she was OK. I’m not sure I’d have an egg boiler poached egg again, to be honest, but you could always try and see what you think! 🙂 xx
Are you using the 25cm knit pro mindful needles for the carrousel socks?
No, I’m using a 30cm Addi needle for those as that’s what I started with and I didn’t want to change needles part-way through a sock (it can affect the tension). I’ve started a mitten with the mindful needles but it’s a bit tight with the chunky yarn so I’m planning to swap to magic loop. I will get round to a sock on the mindful needles, though! 🙂 xx
The egg cooker looks like a very handy thing, I do like a perfect runny egg. It rained here today, which was lovely because it’s been so dry, but the dog was unimpressed like your cats. He does not approve of rain at all and hates getting his fur wet. Gorgeous-coloured sock yarn by the way. CJ xx
How does that work with the dogs? Ours will go into any scuddy puddle when we’re out for a walk but show him the rain from the doorway and he’s, “Nope, I’m not going out there!” They’re daft, the lot of them! 🙂 xx