Oh, That Internet!

 

While we were away from home last Friday we had a delivery.  The driver of the truck decided to turn around in our little turn-around area in front of the house.  That was fine; this is why we have that there.  Unfortunately when our new internet server brought fiber-optic to our house, the line was connected to our house with an 8-8.5 foot clearance.  That line did run right over the turn-around area.  Did you know that delivery trucks traditionally require an 11 foot clearance?  

FedEx: 1

Internet Provider: 0

 

Saturday morning as we left for market, Cletus figured out why we did not have internet 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typically one would find this attached to the side of the house....

 

He called the internet company later that day.  On Monday when we still had not heard anything he went to the office (they are likely really tired of seeing our faces at this point).  Turns out the work order had been put in as an underground problem.  He corrected that and the young lady told us they were really, really busy but she would do her best to have the problem fixed.  Later that afternoon he emailed the big boss and we had a technician out fixing the problem (in the rain, bless his heart!) that afternoon.

My crazy internet story of the week.  I will spare you the philosophical ramblings about our lives being overly plugged in, the musings about being without internet through the weekend.

We are back online and thankful to have our first-world problem resolved.

 

Other than the internet adventures, our weekend was as usual.  We went to the market and had a terrific time there with our fellow vendors, our regular customers, and some new faces we had not met yet.  We were celebrating a corn festival which was loads of fun.

 

Sunday was Trinity Sunday.  I'm going to post about church another time (our quest, and the joy of finally finding a home is worth a post all by itself), but suffice it to say our Sunday gatherings with our church family have gone from, "I'd really rather not be in church because church makes me crazy-anxious" to, "YAY, it's Sunday and we get to go to church again!!"

Monday, in addition to waiting for the internet to be fixed, we were brainstorming a way to use up the unsold eggs from Saturday's market.  They are good for 3 weeks by USDA standards, but when we are getting 4 dozen/day....!

Cletus requested some egg muffins (eggs with "stuff" added and baked in a mini muffin tin; think mini-quiche without the spinach) (although now that I think about it, spinach would likely be a very good addition).  So I got busy to see what I could do.  After a couple of batches, this is what I have come up with:

MARKET LEFT-OVER EGGS

Makes about 2 dozen muffins 

2  dozen quail eggs

1/4 cup cream (or half-and-half)

1/2 cup feta cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese grated

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped bell pepper

1 Tablespoon butter 

Parmesan cheese

Bacon bits (or sausage bits, or ham bits, or whatever you prefer)

1-2 teaspoons garlic (optional; this is just our preference)

1-2 teaspoons Grillmates smokehouse maple seasoning (again, optional but it does improve them in our opinion)

salt and pepper to taste

parsley, oregano, thyme, basil (as you prefer; I have used all of them together and none of them) 

 

Preheat oven to 350.

Sautee onions and bell pepper in butter until slightly brown.  Set off the heat and let them cool for a bit (don't over-think this part).  

Using quail egg scissors, open eggs and dump them in a large mixing bowl.  Add remaining ingredients.  If you are using bacon ~ or any other meat ~ add some but not all of it.  Mix well

Spray your muffin tins with cooking spray or use a light coating of butter.  Dip egg mix into muffin tins about 2/3 full.  If using silicone tins (and those are wonderful), put them on a cookie sheet BEFORE you start filling them.  Sprinkle some of the meat you are using on top, then sprinkle some parmesan.  Bake for 10 minutes until they are set.  These do not brown much.  Pull from oven and remove tins from cookie sheet to cool.  

The meat tends to sink into the mix, no matter how much you beat it.  Saving some out to sprinkle makes sure that each muffin gets its share of meat 

As my friend Marvin Williams says, make the recipe your own.  You might prefer more of a southwest flavor with salsa and pepper jack cheese with spices to match.  An Italian variant might go with some spaghetti sauce, tomatoes, and provolone.  Whatever floats your boat!