I’m strong to the finich ’cause I eats me spinach—Popeye

When Daphne responded to George Costanza’s query about her eggs with “Eggs are eggs”, I cringed at this particular Seinfeldism. I, for one, value the importance of this often, taken for granted, ovate protein source. As stated in previous writings (that sounds so pretentious doesn’t it?), I love eggs and I am always trying to elevate the taste of them.

If I say the egg is my “muse”, does that mean I have to be artistic? No one has ever accused me of this. It is safe to say I will never cut off my ear if I break a yolk.

This past Friday morning, there was a smidgeon of something resembling a creative spark deep within me that was crying to see the light of the range hood. So the dish above was created.

I’m sure some of you will turn your nose up at this, but it really was a tasteful breakfast dish. If you can get past some of the biases that imprison your morning food choices, you may find this worthy of an occasional alternate start to your day.

This started with some delicious sourdough bread my blue-eyed darlin’ baked. It makes for a delicious toast canvas for my masterpiece. I spread some zhug (https://eat-with-big-surf.blog/2023/11/18/zhug-zhoug-sahawiq-schug-skug-mabooj/) on the toast. I sauteed some spinach with some store-bought marinated, grilled artichoke halves. I topped with a poached egg, salt and pepper.

Now Mrs. Big Surf and I loved the dish, though the missus felt like I used too much zhug and it overpowered her taste buds. I was surprised by this and when I verbalized my surprise, she said, “Your eyeballs are sweating”.

So the moral here is to know your audience. Based on a small sample size, the zhug can be a bit overwhelming to German and Irish palates, so go easy on this Yemeni originated condiment.

Show a little restraint like Van Gogh. He only cut off part of his ear.