Egg Toast with Chives
The simplest spring snack (or breakfast, or lunch)
Hello friends. It’s been awhile. As it turns out, life as a family of four is very full.
I formally ended my “maternity” leave on January 2 (which just means I went from juggling one job while caring for Isabelle full-time and Lilly part-time to juggling many jobs while caring for both Isabelle and Lilly part-time + coordinating complicated schedules of childcare to support our needs) and it’s been off to the races ever since.
We’re nearly eight months into life with sweet Isabelle and I still can’t believe how complicated it is to ensure all four of our family members’ baseline needs are being met — not to mention navigating the intricate balance of ensuring support and care for Isabelle while working for myself as a freelance contractor who’s work never follows a particularly regular schedule.
It’s been clunky - to say the very least - and probably not altogether efficient, but efficiency too hardly seems a reasonable goal for this phase of life. Who knows? If I could collect my thoughts long enough to make any sense of them, I could probably come up with a more efficient system. And yet, there’s no time.
I’ve said more than once that I feel rocked by this chapter. But I don’t think it’s just the added family member. The world around us seems wholly untethered. There’s a lot of unsteadiness, we all can feel it. Despite my inner strength and generally joyful disposition, I can tell I am affected by it. It takes more work than ever before to ground myself - to find stillness, quiet, PEACE. I’ve had to find new tools and strategies for “resourcing myself,” and it feels messy - to spend energy caring for myself when my kids, my husband, my work need so much from me - but it’s another dance I’m trying to learn.
Despite all this, the challenges, the unsteadiness, the lack of any any efficient system - lots of life is very good. There's sunshine and spring garden enthusiasm, nonstop baby giggles, gorgeous moments in nature, even more gorgeous moments with dear friends, weekend adventures, big meandering dreams, family outings, bonfires, and lots and lots of tenderness.
Our food life, however, is a total mess. We’re still eating tons of tasty things, but suddenly feeding our family feels like such a chore!
Days move quickly by. The fridge is never full enough. Leftovers always go way too fast. My meals are disjointed, squeezed into naps as quickly as possible so that I can get back to work. Mealtime inspiration comes and goes, but there is so little time to get organized in any tactical way that usually even my bursts of goodness disappear before I’ve turned them into gold.
Quick nourishing bites are essential for me these days. My favorite things are packed with fat and protein (I can’t seem to get enough of either while breastfeeding!) and ideally can be piled onto some sourdough toast. As always, there are bonus points if I can incorporate something fresh from my garden.
Currently, this egg toast with chives is checking all the boxes. And just in case you are one of the many people thinking about egg prices in your day to day life, may I remind you that egg prices at the farmers market have not risen one bit (in my experience) and taste 1000 times better anyways.
Happy spring everyone!
With love,
Lauren
EGG TOAST WITH CHIVES
I put a range of eggs here since I personally need a startling amount of protein to survive these days. My favorite egg toast has two eggs per piece of sourdough, but if that feels a bit excessive to you just decrease it to a more reasonable amount and start with half the salt (then season to taste).
Serves 1-2
Takes 25 minutes, 5 minutes active
2-4 eggs
2 pieces sourdough, toasted
2 tablespoons mayonnaise or butter
2 teaspoons capers
3-4 chives, minced
1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
2 grinds black pepper
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add eggs and boil gently for 12 minutes. Rinse under cold water and then peel and slice eggs.
Spread mayo on toast then top with eggs. Sprinkle with capers, chives, salt and pepper.
For a spring bonus, slice up some radishes and place them on top of the mayo (under the hard-boiled egg).