Chickens, Mama + Joy

When I came in, I’d decided that I wanted eggs but I wanted them a specific way. I wanted them the way Mama made them.

HerbalTarot_6Cups001Today’s card is because of my breakfast. Strange, I know, but oh so true. I have today off due to swapping shifts with someone at work. Instead of my mad dash out the door, I made myself breakfast after walking the dogs and after a soak in the hot tub.

I know, right? Decadent.

When I came in, I’d decided that I wanted eggs but I wanted them a specific way. I wanted them the way Mama made them.

Now, I have to confess that my mother was no amazing cook when I was growing up. She was a single mother who worked her ass off so breakfast was haphazard some days. I tended to want rice and soy sauce for breakfast.

I’ll pause while you mull that one over.

Done?

But on those rare days when the three of us didn’t have to dashing off hither and yon, she might ask if we wanted hens in a basket. That was pretty much always a yes from me.

I’ve found myself missing my mama lately. Strange since she’s been gone 11.5 years. I’ll always know how long she’s been gone since my niece was nine months old when she passed. I’m happy she got to have those precious few months with AM.

So I decided to indulge my nostalgia and my belly by making hens in a basket. This is such an easy dish and has many different names. But because it is tied so tightly to a memory of my mama, I’m assigning it to the nostalgic Six of Cups.

I should also point out that this was my first working deck. The first one that I truly studied. Did my first paid for reading with this deck. So yeah, nostalgia all around.

Six of Cups Hens In A Basket

1 Sandwich Round
2 Eggs
2 TBS butter
salt
pepper

Take a wine glass and cut out the center of each side of the sandwich round. If you like more bread, use regular slices.

Melt the butter in a skillet. I prefer cast iron. Just make sure you don’t burn the butter.

Put the bread in the skillet. Don’t forget the centers you cut out. What do you mean you already ate one? LOL

Let that cook just a minute or so–not too long. Then crack an egg into the center of each piece of bread.

Salt/pepper to taste.

When the edges of the eggs start curling up a bit, carefully turn the egg and bread over. Let it cook to your preference. I’m an over-easy gal (HEY! I heard that snicker. RUDE!) so I don’t let it sit for very long.

Serve it up and dig in!

I told you it was super easy. And there are dozens if not hundreds of variations on this one.

Six of Cups, Herbal Tarot, U.S. Games

Your journal prompt today is, “What food makes me nostalgic? Who does it make me nostalgic for? How can I best remember them today?”

See the index for this ongoing Tarot&Food project here.

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16 thoughts on “Chickens, Mama + Joy”

  1. Ha, I’m not a big fan of eggs, but this post made me think of French Toast. For a while, I lived in France, and had an American roommate. Bizarrely, she was the one who taught me most about cooking, including how to make French Toast (which the French don’t consider French, surprise surprise). So, it makes me think of those first months of living independently, in a different country, and feeling grown up πŸ™‚

    1. And, Kerry, I have to tell you that the smell of French Toast cooking is not one I love. I’ve never eaten French Toast because I can’t get past the smell. I may try some baked varieties. πŸ˜€

      1. Huh, I wonder what it is that puts you off in the smell? Just makes me think of butter and cinnamon and sugar – mmmh! πŸ™‚ Now you’ve got me wondering how a baked version would work… a bit like bread and butter pudding, maybe?

  2. Okay, I’m still stuck on the rice and soy sauce! πŸ˜€ My mother was a late riser, so I made my own breakfast from about the age of 4 (doesn’t take much to pour milk on cereal). I guess one of my most nostalgic foods would be birthday cake. My mum also didn’t do cakes, so it was about the only time she ever baked. But she felt birthdays were important, so she’d bake a cake, and take hours giving it a chocolate glaze and fancy decorations. And I got to eat it for breakfast on my birthday! Decadent πŸ˜€ So, though she wasn’t a great cook, I really appreciated that she’d make the effort, make things special. Hurrah for mama’s!

  3. Yes that is indeed a lovely way to eat you eggs. My nostalgic food is my mothers vegetable soup with small meatballs.We used to top a slice of bread with the thick part of the soup, fold it in half and ate it: Yummy
    Thanks for letting me relive this memory πŸ™‚

  4. So at first I was wondering..”Did she eat watermelon for breakfast?” Ha… I love your Hens in a Basket. My mom never made that for me, but I used to make it for myself, a recipe in one of the kids cook books she gave me as a child. It was called “eggs in a frame” but I like your name better. In fact I think I will make this for my own kids this weekend! What makes me nostalgic? I think Chicken and Dumplings – my mom used to make this every Halloween night so when we got back from trick or treating we could warm ourselves up with a bowl. And it’s one of my favorite comfort food dishes to make still πŸ™‚

  5. Nostalgia? Sure is. When I was a little girl I had a Betty crocker cookbook with this same recipe, but it was called Eggs in a Frame (like Hens In A Basket better). There was a colour photo of the eggs and I always wanted to make it but never did. Maybe I’ll try it out this week. πŸ™‚

  6. That sounds lovely. I’m craving an egg now, but I’m not willing to drag myself out of bed in the middle of the night for it, so it’ll have to wait. Lol.

    It’s funny you should ask about food nostalgia. I made chocolate custard for my children (and us adults) tonight. My mum made it for my sister and I when we were children and it was a wonderful treat. We called it “Chocko” and would sprinkle raw sugar on top where it would melt as the custard formed a perfect dark brown skin on top. For years I didn’t realise it was just custard. I thought it was some magical exotic desert. When I moved out of home, I asked Mum for the recipe, because if something ever happened to her, Chocko might be lost for all time. It was then she laughed and explained that it was just made from boxed custard powder and cocoa. I was a little crushed. I still love it though and will no doubt pass the family recipe down to my children one day. πŸ˜‰ She died in August, so our Chocko tonight was like a little hug from her.

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