Our April-May
Cook the Books Book Club selection is
Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir with Recipes from an American Family by Kathleen Flinn. I'd read Ms. Flinn's book
The Sharper Your Knife The Less You Cry as a recommendation from my husband. He often chooses great books! I loved Burnt Toast as it is a wonderful set of small moment stories, the kind of stories I had my students write as a teacher. As a child growing up in the 70s myself, I could easily relate to her 70s memories. Hardworking parents who believed in hardworking children! This family history is "peppered" with memories and family favorite recipes.
What I loved about this book is that it did for me what comfort foods do: it put me in a wonderful place, feeling good from tip to toe. If there is such a genre of comfort books, this would be in it! Her parents were such a steady influence on her and her siblings. As a midwestern girl myself, I could easily place myself in her setting. Canning, making do, stretching, eating what was in season was the same pattern in my family. My grandmothers were excellent cooks and took advantage of when there was plenty. There were belly laughs and tears in this book.
I chose to recreate Ms. Flinn's Farmers Eggs recipes because, as she said, every family had their version. She was right and here is ours:
by Our Good Life
- 2 T vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- Green, Red, or Yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 2 cups of cooked potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
- salt and pepper
- 4 eggs
- 1 c shredded cheddar cheese
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and peppers and cook until browned. Add in potatoes and salt and pepper them. Cook until potatoes begin to brown. Make a well in the middle of the potatoes and onion. Crack eggs into the center. Salt and pepper. Let eggs cook a bit, then break the yolks and stir into the potatoes and onions. Don't stir a lot, let eggs retain their yellow and white. Cook until eggs are of desired doneness. Sprinkle cheese on top. Let melt. Serve hot.
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Serve with a little sriracha sauce and a bacon corn muffin.
Linked to
Life is Lovely #10.
I definitely need to check this book out. The eggs sound fabulous, too, btw. I want to go make some :)
ReplyDeleteI love skillets from our local cafe down the street. This looks just as good and probably a lot cheaper. Yum!
ReplyDeleteYum and yum! Hand me a fork! I am all about breakfast meals, especially eggs! The comfort factor is here in this recipe, big time!
ReplyDeleteKaren | GlamKaren.com
Delish! Looks fantastic and easy enough to make. I want to try it out, and I love the fact that potatoes are added. Yum Yum. I am learning a lot of recipes from your page. I made a hummus recipe you shared and it was a hit.
ReplyDeleteOoh potatoes and eggs make such a great combo. I love the sound of the recipe and it is perfect anytime of the day.
ReplyDeleteWhy do I always look at food posts when I'm hungry?! These look delicious!
ReplyDeleteI love this book. So great that it's more than just a list of recipes. Must pick one up.
ReplyDeleteOmy that sounds delicious! I love eggs!
ReplyDeleteI love recipe books because I love trying out new recipes. I will have to look into this one. This will be a great addition to the ones I currently own.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the book Terri. Your farmers eggs look delicious. I think it must be true every family has a version. Ours was similar to yours only with sausage. We usually had it for dinner and it was always one of my favorites. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in this round!
Sounds like a lovely book from your description, just the kind I enjoy reading. Your recipe is very similar to mine, so she's right in that everyone has their own.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great book. You are making me want some eggs this morning now. Looks so good.
ReplyDeleteThe book and the eggs sound really good!
ReplyDeleteThis looks so good! I like that it's a nice twist on eggs, and it's super easy to make. Going to make for sure!
ReplyDeleteLove the title of the book! So funny. My dad always said silly stuff like that to get us to eat.
ReplyDeleteI have to get me this book!!! This recipe looks supper yummy and easy to make would love to try and make this on the weekend :-)
ReplyDeleteLeslie xoxo
Those eggs look scrumptious! I would like to try that recipe sometime myself. The book sounds wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of either of those books, I'll be sure to check them out. Perfect time really leading up to summer vacations!
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds awesome! I love anything that combines food and fun stories. The eggs look delicious as well!
ReplyDeleteYum! My husband makes a similar recipe and I love having for breakfast, or dinner. Comfort food is definitely my favorite and the book sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteThat would make a perfect breakfast. How delicious looking!
ReplyDeleteThis is almost identical to one of my daughter's favorite dishes.
ReplyDeleteOh my word! These sound like fun books! I am going to have to try this recipe soon.
ReplyDeleteThis looks delicious and I love the midwestern tie in - I also lived in the midwest as a kiddo and it shaped how I think, and, how I eat breakfast ;)
ReplyDeleteI love this concept of cook the book club! It makes book club meetings go to the next level I love love love it I wanna do one myself now!
ReplyDeleteI have so many cookbooks already, but this sounds like a cookbook that I'd love to add to my collection. I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteI love that you can make something healthy even though it's a comfort food, like these eggs! I just want to invite myself over and dig right in.
ReplyDeleteAlways love a good egg recipe! Thanks for sharing! Also love that its comfort food! Yum yum yum ( its coming up to winter here you see so just perfect!) x
ReplyDeleteI just put this book on hold at my library. Sounds like the kind of book I would absolutely enjoy, so I couldn't pass up the recommendation. And the farmer's eggs look delicious. I think they would taste fantastic sprinkled with fresh herbs from my garden.
ReplyDeleteYum this sounds so good! I cant wait to get my hand on this book!
ReplyDeleteI love eggs, but it seems like the older I get the less I can tolerate them. I love your photos, your meal looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteskillets are definitely delish! This one looks fab and I thinkI will try it this weekend!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how many of us in this club are midwesterners. This book was like a family reunion LOL.
ReplyDeleteOnce a year we would help a neighbor cut wood on his property for a share for our family's wood stove. What I remember most about those trips in the fall is his version of this dish, cooked over an open fire for our lunch. Great recipe to choose for CTB?
ReplyDeleteThese eggs look amazing! I eat that whole bowlful!
ReplyDeleteI never have had "farmers Eggs" as such but usually throw in potatoes and whatever veggies are handy to my scramble. Hope that counts!
ReplyDeleteI love to warm up vegetable leftovers and break eggs on top. I didn't know what I prepare has a name. However, we prepare it, it's my idea of comfort food. Great choice of recipe for the book.
ReplyDelete