A Penny for them – Another in my Looking Back Series

During the Covid-19 pandemic I was tweaking a few things on the  website and quite often during my coffee break whilst sitting there my mind would drift back to the early days when I was still living in the UK and thinking about some of the characters who frequented my my families Pork Butchers shop and of some of the conversations I over heard from the waiting queue of the gossiping women.
It’s strange how certain things stick in one’s mind and one of those were the certain superstitions the women would discuss with each other, like eating raw vegetables would give you the ‘worms’ and eating watercress even if thoroughly washed could cause tadpoles to grow inside you. I remember my mother telling me as a child that if I swallowed chewing gum it would wrap itself around my inside. I also heard it said that if you drank whisky after eating grapes you could get the hiccups for a week.

The list was endless, for instance, water you had boiled eggs in would give you warts if you got it on your hands and if you ate bananas when you were pregnant (although that actual word was never uttered,  you would have a bow-legged baby.  There are still people today who believe if you swallow an apple pip it will sprout inside you and possibly end up with a fruit tree growing out of your ear.

Also,  If ever Mother caught me sitting on the cold stone wall, I was told “It’ll Strike Up”. You’ll be relieved to know, whatever it was that was likely to strike up, never did!.

There was a time when  I was quite young, we acquired a couple of hens with whom I became great friends, I would often sit watching them for hours, fascinated by their wobbly comb and the way they looked at me as much as to say “what are you staring at?” then off they would go striding out like a soldiers in a hurry. If you’ve never been close friends with a hen then you wouldn’t realise what rewarding companions they could be in my solitary rural childhood.

Although hens haven’t played a part in my adult life their wonderful product ‘the egg’ has been a part of me, almost every single day. There’s nothing like better than a large, brown, absolutely fresh egg, although science says there’s no difference between Brown or White eggs.

Here is one of my favourite egg dishes; Eggs in Onion Sauce

I personally cook these in individual dishes, they are rather like a coffee cup without the handle, I can’t for the devil remember where I got them, I just seem to have had them forever. Funny how one can remember some things and not others. Back to the recipe, boil the eggs a little longer than your breakfast egg, yolk should still be soft but the white firm enough to peel.

I put 6 eggs in a pan pour boiling water over them and allow 5 minutes from the time they come back to the boil, that’s usually OK. Out them into  cold water for  couple of minutes, peel them and set aside.

Mr. Paul’s Tip:  If you add a teaspoon of Bi-carbonate of Soda to the water before boiling the eggs, they will peel much easier, plus eggs that are not so fresh will also peel easier too.

Meanwhile cook 200 g of peeled, sliced onions gently in 40 g Butter for about 7 or 8 minutes on a low heat, keep the lid on this will prevent them browning, stir them occasionally then stir in a dessert spoon of flour, a pinch of ground nutmeg, salt and pepper to your taste and then gradually stir in 250 mls milk, keep stirring to avoid lumps. I find warm milk goes in easier. Heat gently, stirring until the sauce is smooth and thick. Place the eggs in an oven-proof dish, or individual ones like mine, pour the sauce over them, sprinkle the top with a little grated cheese and place in a hot oven 200ºC, 400ºF, Gas 6 just long enough to brown the top. If I’m not using the oven I pop them under the grill, but then that’s because these are one of my favourites and I can’t wait for the oven to heat up.

I’ve enjoyed our little chat, I hope you enjoy the Eggs in Onion Sauce too.

Until next time

Mr. Paul

Tags: Eggs

Category: Blog, British, Cuisine, Recipes, Starters, Vegetarian,, Vegan & Free From