Fried Egg Porn, On A Horse

One of my favorite treats as a kid was so simple it is almost laughable. The dish that sent an electric charge up and down my spine and tickled my tummy was simply white rice topped with a fried egg.

This is a simple pleasure that works to this day. Fluffy, buttery rice topped with an egg, with slightly crispy edges and a runny yolk that gives the resulting mixture a heavenly, savory creaminess (rich and velvety). In terms of seasoning, a pinch of salt and pepper is sufficient.

The dish, called huevos montao’ a caballo (roughly eggs riding a horse, but mostly it means riding saddle). All my grandmother had to say was a caballo and I’d fly to the table!

I wasn’t a particularly finicky eater – mostly because there was no such thing in her house, you ate what she gave you or you ate it once it got cold but you did not dictate the menu in her house, especially if you were under three feet tall.

She was concerned that I wouldn’t eat the eggs because she was feeding me eggs every day. I had iron deficiency anemia and this is what the doctor ordered. So I had eggs at least twice a day for quite some time. I was not consistent in my love of the soft-boiled egg – sometimes pushing them and her away and rejecting the very idea (but I suspect this owed more to her heavy-handedness with the salt shaker).

I never, ever rejected anything a caballo.

Of course, I always assumed my grandmother invented a caballo, but I know better as an adult. The trend has returned with a vengeance and there is not a week that goes by that I do not find some food blog with some comfort food with a fried egg on top of it – from veggies to pasta to meats and fish to pastas and grains. The hamburger with the fried egg I saw a couple of weeks ago left me breathless and a little nostalgic.

It is not a new thing, no matter how they try to sell it to you and it is not exclusive to one culture or another:

Brazilians do it over steak.

The French adorn a ham and cheese with a fried egg and call it a Croque Madame.

Germans top schnitzel with sunny side up eggs.

Indonesians make nasi goreng, fried egg over stir-fried rice.

Koreans serve it over kimchi fried rice or bokkeumba.

There is a Moroccan delicacy called kefta tagine that consists of lamb meatballs and a fried egg.

Spaniards serve over rice and tomato sauce. (And Mami did a variation of rice, stewed cod, and then fried egg.)

The Taiwanese make cong you ban mian, flash fried scallions over noodles topped sunny side up.

I’ve seen them over noodles and in pizza! On top of some hash. Over beans in a tortilla, and on a leafy salad!! In a cup made from bacon. Over spinach or asparagus. Over French fries!!! 

And for you fans of “Moonstruck”, there’s the ever lovely eggs-in-a-hole that Italian Americans make to lure us into their crazy breakfasts!

Doesn’t matter how you fry your egg, it’s pure comfort, baby! Comfort and (food) porn.


UPDATE: If you enjoyed this article and the recipes in it, you can link to its companion piece, a dedicated Pinterest board you can refer to any time.

https://www.pinterest.com/amapolapress/food-goddess-fried-egg/

Homemade Ice Pops

When I was a little girl, any time one of our neighbors or my godmother and her husband went to the country, they'd bring back all the fresh produce they could pack in their cars. Every conceivable fruit on the island of Puerto Rico made it to my lips in one form or another.

My grandmother made jams, candied the fruit, she juiced it. If she did not know of an alternative way to serve a fruit, she asked (that was her research), she kept recipes for later experimentation. Her goal was to have me get a healthy serving of fruit but also not to get bored with it.

Of all the things she did with fruit, my favorite was the “icies”. She'd take fruit pulp, usually processed in the blender, mixed with juice and milk or cream, and frozen in ice trays. Depending on the fruit's water content, the texture varied, but it was always delicious and a fun summer treat.

Of course, I grew up in Puerto Rico, so by “summer treat” I mean an every day treat.

She always wanted me to place each cube on a small plate, and use a spoon. At the very least she preferred that I use napkins. But I was a kid and the fun thing to do was eat it with my fingers, let the juices run down my hand, and lick it slowly after I devoured each cube.

That poor woman! She was horrified people would witness this savagery and think she did

not know how to properly raise children. At least that's what she'd say after she'd hit me upside the head and tell me to eat like a “civilized human being.”

Of course, she did not know about ice pop molds and their sexy wooden sticks—mostly because I doubt they were available anywhere near us. Today, ice pop molds can be bought at most supermarkets, drug stores, and online at a cost of $5-15. The molds are reusable.

(I understand the concept of broke and if you don't have it right now, small beverage cups work just as well. Cover with foil and freeze to a slushy consistency about 30 minutes before you insert sticks through the foil and into the pop.)

It is fairly easy to make your own, keeping the ingredients fresh and local – if that is your wish. Generally, you can pour the mixture into your mold and insert sticks. Most pops freeze in 4-6 hours, so you can make them overnight and have them ready for the next day. Run some hot water over molds to free up the goodies inside and enjoy!

Papaya Pops

Puree cups of papaya in food processor. Mix in ¾ cup water or seltzer for a tingly finish, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of honey, the juice of one lime, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Berry Yogurt Pops

Puree 2 cups of fresh or frozen mixed berries and sliced bananas, 2 cups of plain or vanilla yogurt, ¼ sugar (or substitute with honey).

Tropical Pops

Blend 1 cup of coconut water, 3 ripe bananas until it makes a milky mixture. Add sliced or diced mango, cherries, kiwis and a little honey to bind the sweetness (you can add a little lemon or orange juice).

Strawberry Pops

Blend until smooth 2 cups strawberries, ¼ cup apple juice, the juice of ½ a lemon, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of honey.

Strawberry Cream Pops

Blend until smooth 2 cups of cut up strawberries, ½ cup sour cream (or yogurt) 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (or honey), 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

Virgin Colada Pops

Blend 1 can of coconut milk, ½ cup fresh chopped pineapple (or peaches), ¼ cup sugar, 1 cup pineapple juice, ½ teaspoon coconut extract.

You can make ice pops out of your favorite smoothies too. There are plenty of recipes online, but this will give you some idea of the basic ingredients you can use to get started. You can make adult pops with a dab of alcohol – just don't use a lot because most alcohol freezes at extreme temperatures and will affect the texture of your pops.

You know your tolerance for sweet and sour, and you'll have to adjust the “seasoning” to your taste buds. In lieu of water, you can use tea for slightly different flavorings. You can add espresso to half and half, and sweetened cocoa for a more robust (and caffeinated) treat. 

Have fun! Stay cool. Enjoy "summer" any time you wish, because it is as much a calendar thing as it is a state of mind.