Spring Herbs and Fresh Mayonnaise

Egg salad with homemade garlic mayo, fresh chives and raw asparagus

Overall my diet has improved since eliminating the things that were bothering my tummy. I also notice that rather than grazing throughout the day, my breakfast and lunch are more intentional along with being more nutritious. If there was homemade bakery in the house, which was often, I tended to snack on that throughout the day and then count on dinner to supply me with most of my protein and veggies. Now I find myself cooking rice at 8AM and chopping vegetables at noon. It does require more work than slathering some peanut butter on a bagel but the results are more colorful, flavorful, and nutritionally rewarding. When I have a carb craving the only thing that seems to satisfy it is a protein-dense meal or snack. I've been eating a lot of boiled egg salads and sardines! I open a can every day or two and last time I went shopping I bought all they had on the shelf. My previous sardine consumption probably averaged once every 5 years. As an aside, there is a funny scene in an animated film we watched a couple years ago with our son. The movie is called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and features a young scientist who grew up in a town that used to be a thriving sardine port until it was discovered that "Sardines Are Super Gross". It is a big joke with our family now. I must admit that you are better off not scrutinizing your sardines as you consume them.

Because of a lack of clarity on whether grain distilled vinegars irritate the gluten-intolerant, I've begun making my own mayonnaise again. When I first learned how easy (and tasty) it was to make, I made it all the time. Gradually, as I added family into the mix, I got away from it and bought Saffola instead. As I blended some up for this lunch salad I couldn't help but notice the lovely pale-yellow color of it brought about by the golden yolks of the eggs we buy locally. It made me wonder about the decidedly white color of store bought mayo. For the acid I used a little lemon juice rather than vinegar.

Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise

2 nice fresh eggs

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 minced clove of garlic

1/2 t. kosher salt

a bottle of preferably organic canola oil with at least a cup and half left in it

(Many different oils or a blend of oils will work to make mayonnaise. I enjoy the mild flavor of canola.)

Crack the eggs into a blender or if you have an immersion blender (on my wish list) crack the eggs into a jar. Blend on low speed. While blending add lemon juice, garlic, and salt. Now begin to pour a slow stream of oil into the blending mixture. Continue pouring slowly and watch as the mayo begins to take shape. It begins to thicken suddenly. Keep pouring until it looks quite thick like mayonnaise and then stop abruptly. If you continue blending much past this point it can lose its emulsification and become liquidy again. Done!

From when you start blending it will be done in less than a minute. Some other optional additions include a teaspoon of any kind of mustard, chopped fresh herbs, or a teaspoon of wasabe powder or horseradish. Scrape into a mason jar if not already in one. Use within a week or two. I love this garlic mayo for dipping artichoke leaves! 

On another day I brought my eggs out to the garden and cut the chives directly into the bowl.

 No sardine photos....

The iris forest beside our patio

And this last, a cartoon from a recent New Yorker that my dad cut out for me. So funny! I do feel strangely trendy telling people that I am avoiding gluten..........

From a recent The New Yorker magazine

Laughter and enjoyment to you.