a surprising favorite

I've been to Ireland! The trip earned me the very first stamp on my passport, and it was, to put it simply, absolutely amazing.

We saw so many beautiful, majestic, breathtaking, incredible places and things. Disclaimer: In the coming month or so, you will get sick of reading about my travels there and what a wonderful time we had. Sorry in advance. (I don't think you'll get tired of seeing the lovely pictures though!)

Ireland's coast has the bluest blue and the greenest green:

It can be sunny one minute and rainy the next:

One of my favorite food discoveries in Ireland was, believe it or not, their scrambled eggs. After trying some black pudding and quickly deciding it wasn't my thing, I often opted for scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast (with a scone to go, but more on that later!). I was thrilled with what I was served time and time again--soft, creamy, rich, and generously portioned eggs mounded on top of thin, crustless white toast. It was simple but it was delicious, and gave me a great start to the day!

The trick to these scrambled eggs is heating the milk and butter in the pan before you add the eggs. All this time, I've been beating my eggs with the milk and then adding them to the pan, but apparently, this method yields even creamier, much more supple eggs. I suppose it doesn't hurt that the butter in Ireland is far tastier than what I've been using from the grocery store here.

Though these take a bit more time and patience then American-style scrambled eggs, they are absolutely worth it!

Scrambled Eggs, Irish-style
(printable recipe)
Serves 2
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup milk

Directions:
Crack eggs into a bowl, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix with a fork.
Put butter in a small saucepan over low heat, and add milk.
When butter melts into milk, add eggs and stir constantly with a wooden spoon until eggs are set.
Serve over warm (crustless) toast with a sprinkling of chopped herbs, and eat immediately.