Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Egg Salad on French Bread

It snowed a lot of inches here today, so it was the perfect day to have egg salad.

Egg salad makes me think of outdoor fun. Growing up, we had egg salad sandwiches for picnics. We had them at the beach. We had them in the boat when we went fishing or skiing. And we had them for lunch when we went downhill skiing. And egg salad is another one of those foods that my mom just makes the best.

But for some reason, the ski trips stick out to me the most. When I think of eating egg salad, I go back to the days of sitting in a crowded ski chalet in my snowpants and big klunky ski boots. My cheeks are bright red and freezing cold, but the rest of me is warm from a full day of invigorating runs down the mountain. And I am inhaling an egg salad sandwich.

So today when my guys came in from building their igloo,






with their snowpants on and bright red cheeks,






they got hot chocolate...






...and they got egg salad.






It just made sense.


This is my mom's egg salad recipe, of course.

6 large eggs
3/4 c mayonnaise
1 tbsp mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped dill pickles

Put the eggs in a deep saucepan and cover them with water, to 1 1/2 inches above the eggs. Bring to a rolling boil and cover. Remove from heat and keep covered for 29 minutes. Drain water, and fill pan with very cold water, continually changing the water as it warms. Chill eggs in the fridge. Peel eggs under cold, running water. Chop them both ways in an egg slicer and dump into a bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients.











We ate ours on gluten-free, sugar-free, yeast-free french bread tonight.






I was eager to try a recipe using psyllium seed husks as a binder in something and this recipe does it. You put just three tablespoons of these tiny husks into a cup of liquid and they turn it to a gelatin-like substance really quickly. It's so weird. How God created the chemistry of everything just amazes me. After letting the psyllium husks sit in the almond milk for just five minutes, it was solid gel. I dumped in the applesauce and oil and they just sat on top of the mixture until I stirred them in. So cool!






Here's how I made the french bread:

1 cup almond milk
1 tbsp cider vinegar
3 tbsp psyllium husks
1 tbsp canola oil, plus extra
1 tbsp applesauce
1 c sweet rice flour
1/4 c amaranth flour
1/4 c teff flour
1/4 c quinoa flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350. Stir almond milk and vinegar in a two-cup glass container. After a minute, stir in the psyllium and let it sit for five minutes. Then stir in the oil and applesauce. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle and pour in the wet mixture. Mix on medium-low speed with a dough hook, until the dough forms into one big ball. Form into the shape of french bread, about eight inches long, and place on a baking sheet. Brush the loaf with oil. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing.






I hope you all enjoyed your snowy day!

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