I was waiting for the clock to strike 2, so that I might pick up my thesis from my professor for the second time. I felt anxious knowing that inside the yellow-orange manila folder their is a copy of my work, scribbled with the opinions of a man who is authorized by title to have them. One might say he is "entitled" to his opinion, which I imagine to be the climate of the landscape on his side of the mountain.
Halfway through my sandwich I began to regret that I was eating it. It tasted horrible, it needed salt badly. I remember when I learned to properly salt food, pinching with my fingers I rolled the granules from high above so as to evenly spread flavor into a simmering pan of onions. Salt added early enhances the flavor of food exposing some molecular structures which bow to the tongue offering a dancers embrace. Salt added at the table, just before eating of food rides on the back of flavor, and sneaks in its own flavor stealing the dance floor with a one trick solo show.
I remembered last night's dinner, which was such a stark contrast to today's lunch that it hardly feels as though the experience were real. After leaving the rutabaga, and leek perfumed glow of my apartment I went to see a friend for coffee. An evening sun had manifested and lifted the sky of moisture, after the rain. We sat outside sipping cappuccino on damp benches, and I told my friend about the artichokes, and the rutabaga, and the warm ghee with pepper.
"Wow." she said in regards to my dinner experience "You must feel just amazing eating all that wonderful food!" I checked in with myself. I did feel pretty energized.
Christina always accuses me of blaming the food for everything. Feeling good? It must have been the cabbage! Feeling sluggish? Probably too much fried food or sugar, or not enough red meat. I realized in that moment, that for me it is the food that drives my energy level sky high even before it is digested! My energy comes from imagining spices with squash, or coconut curry. It comes from grated carrots seasoned with vinegar and candied with raisins, or the browning edges of greased onions over fire. My energy comes from my passion for cooking, which is the light that shines on my side of the mountain.
As I left with my manila envelope, having spent minutes talking with my advisor about my thesis and an hour talking to him about my culinary endeavors, he congratulated me on the work that I have done thus far, and gently urged that I let my self roll down the path that feels most natural to me.
How to fry onions to improve an egg sandwich.
The problem with my egg sandwich is that it wasn't cooked properly. The egg was most likely heated in a microwave (I got the sandwich from a cafe) and microwaves don't get hot enough to produce the Maillard reaction. The Maillard reaction is basically the browning effect which occurs when amino acid meets sugar in the passion of heat (basically).
The bread was heated briefly in a waffle iron, which trapped the moisture of the bread further ruining the chances of any browning to occur on my lunch.
Their also appeared to be no trace of salt sprinkled on my sandwich, which meant the flavors lacked definition.
Vidalia onions have a high sugar content and are wonderful onions to fry if you are looking to add sweetness and some of that delicious browning effect to your sandwich. Yellow or red onions will work as well. Turn the heat up to high on your burner. Add an oil with a high smoke point, a thin oil like grapeseed or canola oil. When the oil is fluid, add a pinch of salt to the pan and toss in some sliced onions, shaking the pan to evenly coat the onions. The salt will help to draw out the moisture of the onions, and increase the speed of browning effect. Add some baking soda (just a tad) to speed up the Maillard reaction further. Remove from heat when the desired color has been reached.
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