11.331 Eggs Sunny-Side Up

11.331

1 (Tue) December 2020

Eggs Sunny-Side Up

3.5

by me

at home

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with DJ and IZ

Newbery 100 Medals, 100 Meals (22)

While reading my way through the 99 books that have been awarded the annual Newbery Medal since 1922 – leading up to the 100th winner to be announced next year – I will also attempt to create one dish for every book, a dish that is directly referenced in or indirectly inspired by the events of the book.  Food plays a strong role in many of the stories; not surprising as the characters in most of the books are faced with adversity of some sort, including poverty, so they’re often very hungry and thus grateful whenever they get a bite to eat – as we all should be at every meal, literally give us this day our daily bread.  The dishes will be featured as posts on Give Me This Day.

(For additional posts relating to Newbery Medal books, see NEWBERY)

In case anyone cares for an inside peek at the main compartment of our fridge; as a general rule, I keep only foods that will be consumed within a week; meats, kimchi, and frozen items are stored in separate compartments below.
First time reading a book by the esteemed Kate DiCamillo, beloved by both children and grownups – looking forward to her The Tale of Despereaux, another Newbery Medal winner.

Flora & Ulysses (2014) by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by KG Campbell.  The book is about girl Flora Belle Buckman and squirrel Ulysses, who was accidentally sucked into a vacuum cleaner and came out with the power, inter alia, to write poetry; he also has the related power to type the poetry on a typewriter.  As Flora struggles to make sense of the world, Ulysses becomes her friend, her superhero, her inspiration, her conscience.

While accompanying Flora to a diner, Ulysses gets spooked by the server RITA! and ends up in her hair.

How, Ulysses wondered, had things gone so wrong?

Only moments ago, he had been looking at the Giant Do-Nut menu, captivated by the glossy pictures of food and the dazzling descriptions that accompanied the pictures.

There were giant donuts with sprinkles, giant donuts powdered, iced!  Giant donuts filled with things: jelly, cream, chocolate.

He had never had a giant donut.

Actually, he had never had any kind of donut.

They looked delicious.  All of them.  How was a squirrel to choose?

And to complicate matters, there were eggs: scrambled, poached, over easy, sunny-side up.

Sunny-side up! thought Ulysses as he clung to Rita’s hair.  What a wonderful phrase!

A man emerged from the kitchen.  He had on a gigantic white hat, and he was holding something metal that flashed in the overhead lights of the Giant Do-Nut.  It was a knife.

Holy Bagumba, I loved this book.  Adored everything about it, from the first page to the last: the fun story, the crazy characters, the uplifting themes, the clever writing, the zany illustrations.  An eternal American classic.  This is what all Newbery winners should strive to be.

Paired with Filipino chicken pork adobo.

Sunny-side up is a method of cooking eggs.  The egg is cracked into a pan with hot oil until the white base is set, leaving intact a round golden yolk on the upside, like a sun.

While I do sunny-side up as a topping for dishes (e.g., bibimbap, adobo), I prefer scrambled as part of a traditional Anglo-American breakfast plate.

Fried in lots of oil at high heat, the bottom and edges get nicely brown and crispy.

EPILOGUE
   Squirrel Poetry

Words for Flora

Nothing

would be

easier without

you,

because you

are

everything,

all of it – 

sprinkles, quarks, giant

donuts, eggs sunny-side up –

you

are the ever-expanding 

universe

to me.

(For more details re food, see WHAT)

(For more details re venues, see WHERE IN KOREA)

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