2B — THE OBSERVER & BAKER CITY HERALD
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2020
HOME & LIVING
Getting back to
the old grind in
a new year
By Cassie Owens
The Philadelphia Inquirer
As we say our goodbyes to the holidays, the promise
of the new year stands right in front of us. Back to life,
back to reality.
If only that transition could always be simple. It’s a
time for a reset and new resolutions, all while return-
ing to the work grind. The pressures can be a lot to
manage, so The Inquirer gathered self-care tips to help
with that to-do list for both professional and personal
goals. So, 2020, let’s go.
Abel Uribe / Chicago Tribune-TNS
Popular in both China and Japan, these easy steamed eggs are soothing for a tricky tummy and restorative on a
wintry night.
Greet 2020 with steamed eggs
By Robin Mather
Chicago Tribune
We have navigated
through the season of excess
— those weeks between
Thanksgiving and New
Year’s Eve. Now we have
arrived at the season of
long nights and short days,
as well as the season of the
winter crud. This is the time
of year when a stranger’s
sneeze on the bus can make
us miserable within the
week.
What we need at this time
of year is a miracle dish.
We need something that
can soothe the body when
its calibration is off, whether
from overindulgence or sick-
ness. Something that is both
nourishing and easy to pre-
pare. Something inexpensive,
yet immensely satisfying.
That thing, my friends, is
the savory steamed egg. This
is a recipe you’re going to
want to clip out and set in a
convenient place for future
use. It’s so simple that after
you prepare it a few times,
you’ll no doubt have it memo-
rized. But until then? It’s the
only thing that decorates my
refrigerator, held there by a
souvenir magnet from some
long-ago trip.
Popular as a snack in both
China and Japan, savory
steamed eggs scratch an itch
that their cousin, scrambled
eggs, just can’t reach. There’s
something about that deli-
cate texture, and the lightly
smoky fl avor of its garnish of
toasted sesame oil, that can’t
be beat.
This recipe specifi es large
eggs, and there’s a reason for
that. But if you don’t usually
have large eggs on hand,
other sizes can substitute
with a minor adjustment. To
clarify this, it helps to know
what those egg size labels
mean, according to the U.S.
Department of Agriculture:
•Smalleggsweighabout
1 ½ ounces per egg, or about
18 ounces per dozen.
•Mediumeggsweigh
about 1 ¾ ounces per egg, or
about 21 ounces per dozen.
•Largeeggsweighabout
2 ounces per egg, or 24
ounces per dozen.
•Extralargeeggsweigh
about ¼ ounces per egg, or
27 ounces per dozen.
•Jumboeggsweighabout
2½ ounces per egg, or 30
ounces per dozen.
To substitute another size
for the large eggs specifi ed,
beat the eggs in a large glass
measuring cup, then use
twice as much broth as eggs.
Two large eggs would mea-
sure about 3 ounces, so you’ll
need 6 ounces broth. But two
extra large eggs will be closer
to 4½ ounces, so you’d need
9 ounces broth — just over a
cup, in other words.
It’s important to strain
the egg-broth mixture before
cooking, as that’s what gives
this easy custard its silky
consistency.
I make this most often
in my Instant Pot, because
it’s so quick and easy, and
its even pressure cooks the
eggs to a consistently perfect
texture. You can cook this on
HUMOR
child and experiencing the
usual joys and jitters about
their impending parenthood
Continued from Page 1B
and the state of the world.
Giving up plastic shop-
Critics praise the movie, call-
ping bags may not sound
humorous and you may have ing it “Enjoyable,” “Thought-
provoking” and best of all,
already experienced the in-
convenience of forgetting your “Humorous.”
The other person who
reusable bags and having to
load your groceries into your reminded me to keep a
lively sense of humor was my
coat pockets and along your
arms to get them to your car. mother. GG (for Grandma
Gloria) passed away recently
Pay 5 or 10 cents for a bag?
Hah, no way! But, Jeb shows at 92, but she maintained her
humor even in her fi nal days.
the humor and absurdity of
Shortly before she passed, she
life in “Bag It.” He and his
wife are expecting their fi rst entertained her grandsons
SPROUTS
Continued from Page 1B
Some say sprouts should be roasted,
not boiled. When you roast them they
have added sweetness because they
caramelize.
If you boil them, use sprouts roughly
the same size so they all cook in the
same length of time, which should be
SAVORY STEAMED
EGGS
and their families by retelling
old stories including the visit
we all made to a nudist camp
in the 1960s. Well, not all of
us. My oldest brother was
15 at the time and locked
himself in the bathroom
yelling that she had lost her
mind and he wasn’t going!
The rest of us survived this
educational experience and
my mom eagerly related the
tale numerous times over the
next fi ve decades, embellish-
ing and changing facts at
will! The day before she left
us, GG was admitted into the
5 minutes (not more than 6 minutes
for sure). Salt lightly. Butter enhances
fl avor.
If your sprouts are older or seem to
have strong fl avor, try adding at least
5 allspice berries (allspice berries also
soften the strong fl avor of other crucifer-
ous vegetables) to the cooking water.
Then add one-quarter teaspoon of
almond fl avoring to the butter.
Person-Centered
Care
ER. When the nurse asked if
she smoked or drank alcohol,
she said she stopped smoking
cold-turkey at 70, but she still
liked a drink now and then.
In fact, she’d like a Manhat-
tan right now, please. The
nurse laughed and said she’d
like one too. There ought to
be a word for cry-laugh.
Death. Climate Change.
Plastic. Trash. Not topics that
lend themselves to humor
easily, but still, it is possible
to blend the comedy and
tragedy of life and come up
with something delicious. I’ll
Brussels sprouts are loaded with
vitamins C and K and have more
protein than is usual for a vegetable.
One sprout has more vitamin C than a
whole orange. Two-thirds of the sprouts
consumed are actually eaten in other
months than December.
If you have garden questions or com-
ments, please write to greengardencol-
umn@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading!
Ease back into things
Even if your to-do list is super-long, pace yourself.
KrystalReddick-Pollard,founderofTotalLifeCare
Coaching in Elizabeth, N.J., said you should try to
avoid overwhelming yourself. Reddick-Pollard rec-
ommended planning to give yourself some time to
breathe.
“If you can, take breaks every hour or every other
hour, for two or three minutes, take a walk, drink some
water,” she said. “Try to get up and move your body”
Shesheena Bray, a West Philadelphia therapist and
founder of Going Inward Wellness, said that when
organizing priorities, go for what’s feasible, for the “low-
hanging fruit.” Bray said it’s worth asking, “What are
the things that you can take on that (you can accom-
plish that) can make you feel good?”
Look back to your previous goals
Don’t let your old goals disappear. “I would fi rst en-
courage people to go back to the commitments you’ve
already made,” Bray said. The distance between 2019
and 2020, she noted, is just one day after all. When
thinking through those goals, Bray said, see what you
want to modify or retool for the new year.
Beyond that, Bray continued, if you have something
you’re hoping for, make sure you actually have the
room for it, whether that’s new love, new opportuni-
ties, and so on. Consider, she said, “intentionally creat-
ing space for things that we say that we want.”
Try writing a
gratitude list
To refl ect on what
makes you thankful,
Su recommended
writing a list. Jot
down the good things
from the holiday sea-
son, to bring a “lens of
gratitude” to both your
time off and the work
you’ll do.
See New/Page 3B
do my best to live my values
and preserve my sense of
humor in 2020. Thanks,
Mom. Thanks, Jeb. Happy
new year, everyone.
Baker City Trash
Talk is on Facebook at @
BCTrashTalk and can
be reached at BakerCity-
TrashTalk@gmail.com.
Jay & Kristin Wilson, Owners
2036 Main Street, Baker City
541-523-6284 • ccb#219615
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BAKER CITY
sheet of foil to create a long
strip — this will create a sling
to help remove the cooked
eggs from the steaming ves-
sel.
3. To cook in a stovetop
steamer, place a trivet or
steaming rack into the bottom
Prep: 15 minutes
of the steamer; add water
Cook: 15-20 minutes
to a depth of 1 to 2 inches. It
Makes: 1 serving
should not touch the bottom
Popular in both China and of the bowl. Add the foil sling,
then center the bowl on the
Japan, these easy steamed
eggs are soothing for a tricky trivet with the sling beneath it.
Bring the water to a boil
tummy and restorative on
over
high heat; reduce the
a wintry night. The ratio of
temperature
to a slow boil.
broth to egg is 1:2. Whisk the
Cover
the
pot
and steam
eggs in a glass measuring
the
eggs,
15
to
20 minutes.
cup and then add twice their
Remove
steamer
from the
volume of broth. If you’d like
heat;
uncover
and
use the foil
to double or triple the recipe,
sling
to
lift
the
bowl
out of the
it’s best to divide the mixture
steamer.
Dress
with
sesame
among two or three smaller
oil
and
green
onion;
serve
bowls to cook, rather than
while
still
hot.
trying to cook a larger quan-
4. To cook in an Instant Pot
tity in one bigger vessel.
or other electric pressure
cooker: Place a trivet inside
2 large eggs
the cooking pot, lay in the
¾ cup (6 ounces)
aluminum sling, then set the
chicken broth
cooking bowl on the trivet. (If
1 tablespoon sesame oil
your trivet has handles that
1 green onion, thinly sliced
aid removal from the pot, you
won’t need the sling.) Pour
1. Beat the eggs in a glass
1 cup water into the cooking
measuring cup; whisk in
pot, cover the cooker and seal;
twice their volume in broth.
set to low pressure. Cook, 6
Pour mixture through a fi ne
minutes. Allow pressure to
strainer into the bowl you’ll
cook in, defl ating any bubbles release naturally; remove the
on the surface. Let the mixture eggs, dress with sesame oil
and green onion and serve
stand for 4 to 5 minutes to
allow any remaining bubbles hot.
Nutrition information per
to rise to the surface; defl ate
serving:
275 calories, 24 g
any that do.
fat,
6
g
saturated
fat, 376 mg
2. Wrap the bowl tightly in
cholesterol,
2
g
carbohydrates,
foil, so no moisture can drip
1 g sugar, 13 g protein, 863
onto the egg mixture as it
mg sodium, 0.5 g fi ber
steams. Fold another large
the stovetop, too, and we’ve
given instructions for both
methods in the recipe below.
Don’t beat yourself up
You may be refl ecting on the things that you wish
you had done differently. Understandable, but don’t
get stuck there, said executive coach Amy Jen Su.
“It’s easy after the holidays to beat ourselves up
for all that we did or did not do,” she said. Su, the
Washington,D.C.-basedauthorof“TheLeaderYou
Want to Be: Five Essential Principles for Bringing
Out Your Best Self Every Day,” gave examples such
as arguing with a mother-in-law, or eating too many
cookies, or not making progress with a certain project
as intended.
“It doesn’t matter at this point; what has transpired
has already taken place,” Su said. “Stay present to a
smooth transition back to work versus replaying the
holidays in your mind. Forgive yourself for any actions
or interactions you had that you now regret, learn from
them for future action, and move on.”
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