The topic of careers doesn’t come up often here on the blog. It didn’t come up often on Tokyo Terrace either. I didn’t omit this information on purpose, it just didn’t seem to work it’s way into my thoughts as I wrote. Today, however, there is a direct connection: eggs.
Allow me to explain. In Japan, Brad and I were teachers at an international school. I was a substitute for the first two years while I worked on getting my Masters in Elementary Education. Then, for the last two years, Brad and I both taught 2nd grade. Last spring, Brad was offered the opportunity to found a new school here in Denver and we packed up our belongings and left our Tokyo home to begin a new adventure.
It has been a crazy year with lots of changes and adjustments. Not only are we living in a new country, but I am staying at home full time while Brad works to create a school from the ground up. I am so proud of Brad for all the work he’s done to make sure his students have a great school to attend. He already cares so much about each one of them.
Brad does home visits with each and every student that will be attending his school in the coming year. The other day, during one of these visits, he received a dozen fresh eggs. Literally, they were the freshest eggs can be. They were gathered from a family’s chicken coop, placed in an egg carton, and sent home with Brad. We enjoyed them every day until they were all gone. I posted a photo of the eggs on facebook, twitter and instagram asking what we should do with them and the consensus seemed to be mostly to use them straight up poached or fried. So we did.
These photos are of my lunch the day after we got the eggs. A simple spinach salad with cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette, and a perfectly poached egg. The yolks were so rich and deep yellow, which is sometimes hard to find in store-bought eggs. I told Brad that having these eggs made me want to have chickens. He didn’t agree. Maybe someday...
The wonderful part about the simple gift this family gave was this: in a year that has posed many challenges and changes, this simple gesture brightened our day. It’s hard not to be in a good mood when something this simple and lovely is shared.
So, we are in the midst of our new adventure: figuring out how to be parents, starting a new career, and learning how to live in a new place. If simple pleasures like these eggs continue to pop up, we’ll do just fine.
Poached Egg with Spinach Salad
Makes 1 salad
1 egg
handful of baby spinach
5 or 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
balsamic vinegar & olive oil
course salt & black pepper
Begin by poaching your egg. Bring a medium pot of water to a gentle simmer. Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar (this helps the white remain intact). Use a spatula or wooden spoon to swirl the water, creating a funnel in the center. Drop your egg into the center of the funnel, turn off the heat, cover and let sit for 6 or 7 minutes until the egg white is firm and the yolk is still soft. You can check the egg by taking it out of the water with a slotted spoon and pressing on the yolk gently. If it seems very, very soft, you may want to poach it for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
In a salad bowl, add the spinach and tomatoes. Drizzle with balsamic and olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the egg and serve.