April 23, 2005

Matzos and eggs

My dad is not much of a cook. While my inner feminist always railed against him never even helping my mom with dinner, a rational part of me realized that this was a good thing because we really didn't want to eat any more of his cooking than necessary. The only time it became necessary to eat his cooking was when he'd suddenly get the cooking bug, usually on a weekend morning, and make something weird that left me, my brother and my mom wrinkling our noses at our plate, while my dad complained, "Why do I even bother? Can't you show just one bit of appreciation for my effort?" I remember two typical "weird" things my dad made. One wasn't so weird, but as a kid I didn't like it. It was an omelette, basically, but with things like peppers and onions in it, and I didn't like that kind of stuff as a kid. The other thing was something that is so like my dad to make. It was French toast, but he'd cook it on the stove. No, like the stove, the free-standing wood-burning stove that my parents have to heat the house. And no, you don't quite see, he'd cook it on the stove, none of that silly pan business, he'd plop the bread down right on the surface of the stove that had previously held sappy, mossy, buggy pieces of firewood that were brought in from outside. I suppose I didn't die from eating it, and I guess it had a woodsy, campfire sort of flavour to it, but... ew.

One odd thing my dad eats, though he refrains from forcing the whole family to eat it, is bananas and sour cream. It pretty much is what it sounds like. Scoop a bunch of sour cream into a bowl, slice a banana over it, sprinkle on some sugar, and there you go. I actually quite like it and would join him for a bowl if he asked me if I wanted some.

Another thing that has been passed down from him to me, that my brother and mom have never liked, is matzos and eggs. I believe my dad learned how to make it from his mom, but I'm not sure. Since Passover starts tonight, I thought I'd post how to make them, in case you ever find yourself with a box of matzos and have no idea what to do with them. I'm sure it's as unkosher as can be, but kosherness was never a worry for my Jewish/Christian family.

You need:
2-3 eggs (depending on how hungry you are)
2-2 1/2 large matzos
bit of milk
cinnamon
sugar

Scramble the eggs in a bowl and add a dash of milk. Crumble the matzos over the bowl and mix into the egg until the matzos are all covered with egg. Use enough matzo so that the egg is mostly filled up with it, you should have more matzo in your bowl than runny egg. If needed, crush up any larger matzo pieces.

Heat some butter in a skillet. Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and flatten out in the pan. Sprinkle some cinnamon over it. Cook the matzos and eggs like you would scrambled eggs, letting it cook a bit and then stir it, then let it cook more, etc. Don't let it cook too long or it'll be dry and tough. It's always a tricky thing to cook it to the exact right doneness, where it is a bit runny still, but not too runny.

Once the matzos and eggs are done, serve them onto a bowl or plate, then sprinkle with sugar (growing up with all this stuff you just sprinkled sugar on, no wonder I have such a sweet tooth). Enjoy!