Breakfast with Poached Eggs in White Wine

 Use a white wine here that you wouldn't mind drinking the remainder of.

1 cup dry white wine
1 cup water
2 shallots, minced
1 bay leaf
a pinch of thyme
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2-4 large eggs
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons flour
to serve: toasted bread, avocado, chives

In a large skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat combine the wine, water, shallots, bay leaf, thyme, and salt. Boil for five minutes. Dial back the heat a bit, before carefully cracking eggs into the skillet (you can crack each egg into a separate small bowl, and then transfer, if you're not comfortable going direct to the skillet). Cover and simmer for another five minutes or so - until the eggs whites are opaque, and the yolks are set to your liking. Once poached, remove the eggs with a slotted spoon from the skillet and set aside. Cook the liquid in the pan down a bit more, until you have about 1/2 cup of liquid left, then strain the liquid into a small saucepan. Whisk the butter and flour into a paste, then add this to the strained sauce, stirring until smooth, taste and add a bit of salt if needed.
Serve each egg on a piece of toast over a bit of smashed avocado, drizzled with a bit of sauce, and sprinkled with chives.
Serves 2-4.
Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 10 min

raw egg nog for the holidays

This stuff "rawks" - ha-ha, laugh away at my hilarity - especially with the sneaky addition of a little rum. I can confidently assure you will not miss the uncooked hen periods or puss-filled protein secretions from sad bovine mothers (that one normally experiences with conventional egg nog). oh, those are eggs and milk if  you didn't catch that. 

Nothing nasty here, just a bit nutty. I began by making pecan milk (you wouldn't believe how easy it is to milk a pecan, they're agreeable little guys!) then added cinnamon and nutmeg until it tasted right. I did use a can of coconut milk which is not strictly raw but it makes it so much better. If you're looking for a creamy, thick egg nog look-alike - do the coconut milk. If you just want a nice holiday drink, don't worry about it. I blended in a few dates for sweetness and finally finished it off with some rum to make it a REAL drink. I know, I know - rum is not raw, but it sure is fun. 

Following my pumpkin pie and gingersnap recipes, you may have noticed a holiday theme. That's right! I am theming myself now... although I don't think theming is a word. In any case - I'm am rawifying the holidays!

Also, not a word. 

Nevertheless, you will continue to see your holiday favourites magically morphing into wonderfully vegan, raw versions of themselves. Everyone will rejoice in the animal-free revolution of Christmas dinner! The turkeys are planning a rebellion and I suggest you get on their side, where there's raw egg nog, pie, cookies, gravy and alcohol. 

raw nog: makes enough for you and your friendly friends (about 4 or 5 people)

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup pitted dates
3/4 cup pecans
2-3 cups water
4-5 shots of rum (1 shot is about 44 ml) 
1 can coconut milk (optional but recommended) 

Blend everything together in your high-speed blender. Add the rum one shot at time to make sure you don't make it too strong and render all your guests unconscious by the end of the evening. If you don't use the coconut milk, just make up for it by adding 1/4 cup more of pecans and 1 cup more of water. But the coconut milk makes it really creamy and delicious... just saying. Change it as you desire... then CHUG! 

Kidding. 

One last thing - I want to take a moment to wish dear Dave Brubeck (I desperately hope you know who he is) a peaceful sleep in the afterlife... or wherever we go... or don't go. He was an amazing musician and his genius will be missed!