Explore abundant joys of eating eggs at senior center

As you look at the Monday Munch menu for May 19, think about how you’d go about preparing deviled eggs for 60 people or so.

Some years back, people on my cooking team had heard a variety of theories about which were easier to peel: really fresh eggs or eggs that had been around for a while. We had both available and then argued about whether there was any difference.

We didn’t try other egg-peeling theories: add various things to the water in which the eggs are boiled like salt, baking soda, white vinegar, apple cider vinegar. Or put the boiled egg in a small Mason jar and shake the jar. Shake it hard.

Here’s Anthony Bourdain in his “Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking”:

Put your eggs gently in a small pot filled with cold water. Bring the water to a rigid boil. As soon as the water is boiling, shut off the heat and put a lid on top. After 10 minutes, remove the eggs and slide them carefully into ice water to cool. Here’s how to know if you’ve done it right: If the egg is cooked through, the shell peels off cleanly, and the yolk is not surrounded by an unsightly gray ring. Gray ring? Try again.

In his “The Upstairs Delicatessen,” Dwight Garner points out that James Bond liked eggs so much that a proofreader of Ian Fleming’s “Live and Let Die” noted that whoever might be following Bond need only walk into a restaurant and ask, “Was there a man here eating scrambled eggs?”

Calvin Trillin tells the tale of his small daughters announcing their refusal to eat any more of the scrambled eggs he made for them every morning before school. “I had just contributed the recipe — the only recipe I knew — to one of those cookbooks that are put together for charity. My contribution was called ‘Calvin Trillin’s Scrambled Eggs That Stick to the Pan Every Time.’”

Noted chef José Andrés taught a culinary physics course at Harvard and has received innumerable culinary awards, as well as the National Humanities Medal, for his work with World Central Kitchen, providing food relief around the world.

In his book “Change the Recipe,” Andrés advises that “My Microwave Omelet” is for when “you’re stretched for time, equipment and money.” He notes that one tablespoon of mayonnaise is “the genius” in this recipe. Yes, mayonnaise.

Andrés ends his book expressing awe for people “who volunteer all around the world for a day, for a week, for a month, for a year … just to try to bring comfort for other. … It’s never too early or too late to change the recipe and fix our broken world.”

One of the first two recipients of the $100 million Bezos Courage and Civility Award, Andrés used the money to expand World Central Kitchen which he started in 2010, following the earthquake in Haiti. In a moving tribute to the seven World Central Kitchen workers killed in Gaza, Andrés said: “These are people I served alongside in Ukraine, Turkey, Morocco, the Bahamas, Indonesia, Mexico, Gaza and Israel. They were far more than heroes. Their work was based on the simple belief that food is a universal human right. It is not conditional on being good or bad, rich or poor, left or right. We do not ask what religion you belong to. We just ask how many meals you need.”

Donald Trump sued Andrés for $10 million for withdrawing from a lease to put a restaurant in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Andrés, who became a naturalized U.S. citizen 27 years after entering this country, was very public about the fact that Trump’s disparaging statements about immigrants made it impossible for him to run a restaurant in a Trump hotel.

The Trump argument was, in effect, what’s new? He’d always disparaged immigrants, so why should anyone get suddenly upset. You can get more details at FindLaw.

Vermont Harvest of the Month for May points out that, besides being the core of the most popular street food in Tanzania, the egg is “one of the most versatile, nutrient-rich foods on the planet.”

In “Life is Meals: A Food Lover’s Book of Days,” James and Kay Salter provide details: “The egg is the food against which all others can be measured for efficiency. Loaded with protein … as well as all the amino acids, vitamins A, B, D and E, and most of the minerals essential for human life.”

On Monday, May 19, you don’t have to walk on eggshells or go fry an egg. Just stroll into the Charlotte Senior Center at 212 Ferry Road and enjoy a fine, healthy meal prepared by the friendly and talented cooks there.

Monday Munch
May 19, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Baked potato, ham, broccoli chowder, deviled eggs, homemade sour dough bread and Rice Crispy treats.

Monday, May 26, Memorial Day.
The Charlotte Senior Center is closed.
Note: The Monday Munch crew is always looking for more dishwashers. For more info, please call the Senior Center at 802-425-6345.