There are some mornings you just wake up and know it’s going to be a great day. I don’t know if it’s the yoga class I went to last night after a hiatus; the incredibly inspiring and thought-provoking documentary 180° South that I finally watched about a wild expedition to Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Patagonia; the amazing, first of the season tomatoes gifted to me by a friend, and grown by another (Canaan Farm); or the fact that I spend every day doing what I love at work, with other people who are doing exactly what they love doing, in an incredibly beautiful place.
Or maybe it’s that I have a surprise night off and am going to see B.B. King for the first time tonight, with said tomato-growing friends. Or that my friend Elena, who is in the Peace Corps, is building 70 cisterns to harvest rainwater for a community in Mexico that doesn’t have access to potable water, and I may visit her with some great friends next year. Or that I’m in constant awe of the straight-from-Chez Panisse talent that surrounds me day to day. Really amazing things are happening, and I’m so excited for the unknown — and to be in a place that allows me to be open to it.
This simple and super delicious breakfast certainly adds to this rainy, yet rosy, morning. Two fried eggs, pasture-raised at Brookford Farm in NH, simply served with that beautiful sliced tomato, basil from my little garden, flaky Maldon sea salt, pepper, and olive oil. French press coffee made a more special treat with warmed milk, whisked until frothy on the stove with a dash of maple syrup and vanilla extract.
How to fry the perfect sunny-side up egg
I like to fry eggs on a cast iron. When properly seasoned, they really are non-stick, and I think give a better flavor to everything they cook. Plus, you don’t have to worry about the toxicity of using non-stick pans, which can leach chemicals into your food. I use cast iron pans for basically everything I cook. You’ll want to cook the eggs on a fairly low heat. I think when we hear “fried” we always associate that with high heat, but for eggs, you’ll always want to use a low heat. So, put your pan on low heat, and just walk away for a few minutes to let it fully heat – crucial to having it become nonstick.
Once warmed, add a pad of butter, let it melt and get just a bit hot (but not browned) and then crack two eggs into the pan. I don’t mind when they meld together if it’s two eggs per person. I kind of think it looks fun, like it’s one big egg with a gift of two bright yolks. Let them cook for a couple minutes without fussing with them.
Once it starts to look like the whites are setting a bit, but still have a teeny bit more time to cook, cover the pan with a lid for just a minute. If you don’t have a lid, do as I do and just put a plate on top! This will allow you to cook your eggs fully, yet maintain that beautiful orange yolk, without flipping the eggs. After that minute, peek under the lid, and more likely than not, the whites will be fully set and you’ll have yourself some gorgeously cooked eggs. The kind that oozes that beautiful yellow-orange runny yolk, perfect brain food (really).
If you’re serving this with the tomato, you could slice up the tomato while the eggs are still cooking, and sprinkle some flaky sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil on top. Doing this before your eggs are ready will allow time for the juices to really come out of the tomato, which you could drizzle on top of your eggs! Also delicious to soak up the juices with some crusty bread. I often don’t have bread at home, so I actually just drank up the juicy, oily, yolky goodness after I finished my breakfast. No joke. Like I said, one of the many signs that today will be a good day.
And on another day…
All things considered yummy 
It is moments like this I wish I could eat eggs….
it look delicious!