Happy Eats!

Potatoes Anna done my way. This is an old recipe, and the traditional method calls for two sticks - yes, two whole sticks - of butter. Now don’t get me wrong, I love butter. But two sticks for this quantity of potatoes is overkill, even for me. My version of the recipe uses olive oil, and much less of it! It’s really delicious, and much less heavy.

In fact, this potato dish is so good, you’ll be tempted to serve it as a vegetarian main dish. Accompany it with a salad of mixed greens and finely chopped fresh veggies (I like chopped fresh beets, radishes, and grape tomatoes), with maybe a few slices of hard cooked egg as a garnish. Or serve it with a generous scoop of leafy greens steamed with a little fresh garlic. It’s also great alongside anything grilled: veggie kabobs, portobellos, salmon, swordfish, chicken, steak, etc.

NOTE: Don’t use baking potatoes in this recipe. You need a firm potato, like ordinary red potatoes. Yukon golds would also be nice, but they will cook quicker, so check them after the first 40 minutes.

• 6 medium size red potatoes (about 1 pound)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and put them in cold water so they don’t discolor while you chop the onion. Remove the potatoes from the water and wipe them dry (this is important). Slice the potatoes in circles, as evenly as possible, just like you would for home fries.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees (no higher). Take out a 1 and 1/2 quart casserole dish (Pyrex works very well). Brush the bottom and sides of the dish with with olive oil. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer, then brush with olive oil, sprinkle with a little onion, then lightly salt and pepper. Repeat, making layers until all the potatoes and onions are finished. Make sure you brush with oil between the layers.

Cover the casserole tightly with foil, and bake for an hour. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes more, or until the potatoes are soft and  the bottom is well browned and crusty.

If you want to impress your guests, let the casserole stand for a few minutes. Then invert it unto a big serving platter (you may need someone to help you, and be careful - the dish is very hot!). The potatoes should come out in a beautiful large cake, with a crusty top. Slice into wedges and serve.

Serves 4-6

Because they’re happy eggs! "Vegetarian" eggs are laid by hens who are fed an all natural grain diet, without added hormones, antibiotics, drugs, or additives. Believe it or not, some commercial chicken feeds contain animal by-products, including cholesterol, and hormones that contribute to cholesterol production. So "vegetarian eggs" come from hens who eat a zero-cholesterol diet!

Why are these eggs superior to mass market eggs? First, they look better. When you break one into a bowl, the yolk is nice and high and firm. The color is a deep yellow-orange.

Second, when cooked and eaten on their own, vegetarian eggs taste rich, fresh, and very "eggy." The texture is moist and tender even when they’re well done.

Third, vegetarian eggs are better for baking. Cakes made with them tend to rise better and have a more tender crumb, with melt-in-your mouth flavor.

Fourth, vegetarian eggs are better for you. They’re lower in cholesterol, and higher in the Omega fatty acids that actually help protect your heart.

Fifth, if you’re making hard boiled eggs for salad or deviled eggs, you’ll discover that veggie eggs are much easier to peel. Recently I decided to be cheap and bought mass market eggs, and I almost went crazy trying to peel them.

Believe me, it wasn’t my technique that was the problem, it was the eggs. I’m 71 years old, and I’ve been cooking for as long as I can remember. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s boil eggs properly. And every experienced cook knows that the fresher the egg, the harder it will be to peel. It’s a dilemma. The fresher the egg, the tastier the dish - but the harder it will be to peel the eggs! So when you’re going for both freshness and easy-peeling, you want eggs with very hard shells and firm membranes.

Well, the shells on those cheap eggs were so thin, the inner membrane was glued to those eggs! So instead of serving gorgeous, smooth white eggs, they were all raggedy looking. Take my advice, and always buy vegetarian eggs for hard boiling. If your technique is right, they peel much more easily because the shells are so thick and hard, they practically slide off the egg.

And finally, you can feel good about buying vegetarian eggs because they usually come from happier chickens! Look for eggs that are not only "vegetarian," but "cage free." This means the hens are NOT squished into cages where they can’t move, subjected to bright light 24 hours a day to make them lay eggs constantly. Cage-free eggs come from hens who get to run around and scratch and squabble and do, well, whatever chickens like to do all day! That’s why I call them "happy eggs!"