In Ovis Apalis

(Roman Boiled Eggs)

April 21: Birthdate of Rome (753 BC)

Highlander chose to spend his 50th birthday in Italy (Rome, Florence and Venice) a few years ago as a most memorable milestone trip. We went all over The Eternal City (churches, piazzas, the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Roman Forum, the Vatican, cafes and more) and were awed by the history, art, architecture and culture!

On Capitoline Hill, we saw the famous statue of the she-wolf suckling twins Romulus and Remus, the mythological symbol of the founding of Rome. According to the popular legend, the unwanted twin sons of the war god Mars and a Vestal “virgin” were cast off into the River Tiber. A she-wolf found the babies and nursed them as her own, until a shepherd came and raised them. When the brothers grew up, they fought over a site where they were to establish a city. Romulus killed Remus and became king of the Italian capital that bears his name.

In observance of the birthdate of Rome, we ate an ancient appetizer called In Ovis Apalis (boiled eggs with a pine nut sauce). There is an old Latin saying “ab ovo usque ad malum” which translates to “from the egg to the fruit,” suggesting the courses of an Italian meal from the beginning to the end (or from antipasti, primi, secondi and all the way to dolci).

Do as the ancient Romans did and eat In Ovis Apalis to celebrate Rome’s birthday!

Recipe

(Adapted from PBS)

Ingredients

• 4 boiled eggs
• 2 ounces stone pine kernels (pine nuts)
• 2-3 tablespoons vinegar (we used white wine vinegar)
• 1-2 teaspoon honey
• pinch of ground black pepper

Directions

Boil the eggs. Cool down. Remove the shells. Cut them in half lengthwise. Set aside to make the sauce.

Toast the pine nuts by sautéing them in a pan till lightly browned (about 5 minutes or less). Remove to cool. In a measuring cup or little bowl, combine the vinegar, honey and pepper. Stir in the pine nuts. Place the sauce in a small dish or serving boat to accompany the boiled eggs. Pour the sauce on the eggs and eat immediately to avoid making the yolks soggy.

Notes

• In Ovis Apalis is also a good recipe to use up leftover boiled Easter eggs.
• Ancient Romans added a pinch of lovage (celery leaf) to the sauce recipe.
• We toasted the pine nuts to accentuate its flavor. Soaking them in the sauce somewhat tones down the acid in the vinegar.
• Highlander’s birthday is on April 20. Our trip to Italy for his 50th year coincided with Roman (and national) celebrations around the week of April 21. Several museums and public events were free or discounted then, allowing us to take advantage of what the country’s tourism industry had to offer.
• Search our blog for other Italian recipes.

HI Cookery is 3!

April 11: HI Cookery Blog Anniversary

What a difference a year makes! As we, Highlander and Islander, continue to cook our way through the calendar, we pause to post not a recipe but our reflections.

In the past year, Islander has returned to school recently to learn basic web design (perhaps she can re-design this blog someday?). She says that homework assignments are taking up her cooking and blogging time! Highlander travels constantly for business, especially with current corporate restructuring (hopefully we do not have to be relocated to another state again). So he has not been able to help her as much with the food photography.

Although we are posting recipes less frequently than before, it is also because we are closer to our goal of cooking something ethnic or eclectic for each day of the calendar year. We know it takes a lot of work to maintain a food blog. Some of those we follow have discontinued or have become less regular in their postings. We admire those whose food blogs are still going strong. They are an inspiration for us to finish what we have started three years ago on April 11, 2010.

We are thankful to Catholic Cuisine for including our feast day recipes on its blog this year. We are especially grateful to all our blog subscribers and readers who “like” or “pin” our posts. We are appreciative of our family, friends and co-workers (the guinea pigs) who continue to show their support by giving us recipe ideas and/or taste-testing our cooking. God willing, everyone’s encouragement will help us reach another blog-o-versary next year!

Chick-in-Eggs

April: Easter Week

We dress up deviled eggs as little devils after Halloween, on November 2, National Deviled Eggs Day. But around the Easter season, we make special spring chicks because they look so cute cracking out of their shells.

Eggs are festive food this time of the year as they are symbolic of transformations. The dead of winter is reborn into the hope of spring; the rising of Jesus from the dead represents new life; yolks turn into yummy appetizers.

Do deviled eggs differently during Easter Week and decorate them as spring chicks! Blessings to all our blog readers on Easter!

Recipe

Ingredients

• 4 hard boiled eggs, cooled and shelled
• 2-3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (or to taste)
• carrot sliver
• black food gel tube

Directions

Boil, cool and shell the eggs. Slice a little piece off the bottom of an egg so it could stand on its own. Slice the egg 1/3 from the top, making the bottom 2/3 larger.

Remove the yolks to a mixing bowl. Use a sharp paring knife to cut triangular “cracks” from the top and bottom of the egg whites. Set aside. Add mayonnaise and curry powder to the egg yolks and mash with a fork until smooth.

Generously fill the bottom of the egg whites with a mound of the yolk mixture (we used a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip). Cap off with the top egg whites. Peel a small part of a carrot. Cut out into tiny triangles for the beaks. Position them on the egg yolks. Lightly touch the tip of the black tube frosting to make the eyes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

• Thanks to Lisa L. for the idea of decorating our deviled eggs into spring chicks.
• Knead the black tube icing and squeeze out the excess liquid on a napkin before decorating the chick-in-eggs to avoid runny smears on the yolk filling.
• Search our blog for other Easter and egg recipes.