Poached Egg with Red Quinoa and Microgreens

I have some good news, everybody. I learned how to successfully poach an egg! Huzzah! You probably think it's ridiculous that I am so excited, but I don't care. Learning how to cook doesn't always mean following a recipe or instructions, and it certainly doesn't always mean getting it right on the first try. Learning from my mistakes has taught me many lessons in the kitchen (and outside the kitchen, I suppose).

On my first attempt, the water temperature was too hot which caused the egg to cook too quickly. The whites didn't stick together and the yolk was fully cooked by the time I pulled it out. My second try was much better. After reading some tips from Smitten Kitchen I decided to use a smaller pan (for one egg a big pot is way too much room), I also added a splash of vinegar to the water, and turned the heat down so that the water was forming bubbles on the bottom of the pan. When pouring the egg into the pan, I made sure to create a mini whirlpool so that the whites wrapped around the yolk. See on the far right how my egg looks blurry? It's spinning! Cook the egg for three and a half minutes to create a runny yolk and four minutes for a non-runny yolk.

Poached eggs are my favorite kind. There's just something so gratifying about slicing into an egg and watching the yolk seep out onto my plate of food. Don't get me wrong. I like eggs just about any way they come: scrambled, over-easy, sunny side up, hard-boiled--you name it! Poached is perfection though...at least for me it is.

Along with red quinoa, I made a tasty dressing consisting of hot sweet mustard, lemon juice, and olive oil. I then tossed some microgreens on the quinoa, and topped the dish with my beautiful egg. After adding a nice sprinkle of sea salt and cracked pepper, my breakfast was gone in about three minutes. 

To make the dressing for the quinoa, combine 3/4 of a tablespoon of hot sweet mustard, a few squeezes of lemon juice, and 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small bowl. Mix the dressing into 3/4 cup cooked quinoa. This makes enough for 1-2 people, depending on how hungry you are and how many eggs you decide to add with it.