A recipe

When I was in grades 7 and 8, I really resented having to take home economics or family studies as it was officially called in the late-80s Province of Ontario educational curriculum. I thought it was a sexist, past due left over of pre-feminism. And why, did we spend a double period making cream sauce when, using my mother’s method, I could already do it in less than five minutes so that dinner would be ready when she and my father got home from work.

To this day, I maintain that the best meals should be made in under fifteen minutes using one pot so that there is little stress in preparation and less to wash up. I remembered this philosophy long enough to make myself a decent breakfast.

Saag Paneer Scrambled Eggs.

Actually, it’s just scrabled eggs with spinach and cottage cheese, but I was thinking of both my iron levels and my favourite Indian dish when I made it.

Materials:

1 tsp butter

Dash of curry powder (if desired)

Handful of frozen spinach cubes

2 eggs

2 or 3 table spoons of cottage cheese.

Melt the butter in a pan.

To be honest, I used the same pan I’d used to make my son’s pancakes an hour before. It didn’t seem dirty enough to bother washing it out first and I am all about “energy management.” It may have added something to the flavour of the dish.

Add the curry powder, if using, to the butter so that it can become a bit fragrant.

Add the frozen spinach cubes and stir with a wooden spoon until melted.

Add the cottage cheese and stir. If you want to, press the cheese against the side of the container to drain off excess whey. If you don’t bother, the dish will be a little soupy, but I see that as a benefit.

Break the eggs over top of the cheese-spinach mixture and keep stirring until it’s the consistency of scrambled eggs. Salt and pepper to taste and serve to one hungry nursing mother.

Total preparation time: 6 minutes.

I also like to play what I call “The Home Economics Challenge” where I create a healthy meal for my whole family for a Euro or less. While I am not often successful, this recipe, even when doubled for Dad, falls into the success category.