When the Covid-19 pandemic forced us all into lockdown last spring, many of us took on new hobbies and pastimes during our months of isolation. While some people started a garden or practiced a new sport, I spent quarantine trying to become a better cook. 

Cooking has always been a special part of my life, but when I found myself with all that extra free time, I started to immerse myself in new recipes, cuisines, and cooking methods. By now, I’m far from a culinary expert, but I’ve picked up a few tricks and continue to cook new things all the time.

Now, I know the kitchen may not appeal to many of you. I could spend a whole afternoon making another lasagna or baking bread from scratch, but that’s certainly not for everyone. Additionally, with school, sports, and extracurriculars in full swing, most of us have little time for new hobbies. Instead of encouraging you all to start cooking every day, I simply want to demystify the art of cooking and share some tips for making your lives a little bit more delicious.

I wanted to start off with something really basic. When I think about it, eggs are probably the first thing I ever learned how to cook. When my mom used to cook eggs, I remember pulling a kitchen chair up to the stove and standing on it so I could watch as the golden liquid slowly solidified into those fluffy yellow eggs. It was fascinating really: what started as a fragile spheroid with a bouncy yolk inside transformed into a fluffy, savory breakfast quite unique in its texture and flavor. While this breakfast staple is likely no stranger to your household, I want to share why eggs are one of the quickest and easiest foods to make and how they’ve become one of my go-to’s.

How you make your eggs really depends on how much time you have. A simple scramble can take less than ten minutes, but I frequently like to take it up a notch when I have more time in the kitchen. I’ll start, however, with the basics. To make eggs really fast, you’re going to want to use olive oil instead of butter. Olive oil has a higher smoking point and can get much hotter than butter without evaporating. Heat up a small pan on medium-high, then throw in a decent splash of olive oil after a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, crack a couple of eggs in a bowl, add a pinch of salt, and scramble them with a fork. Once the oil has heated up for a few minutes, toss the eggs in the pan. They should start to solidify right away. If not, turn up the heat. Regardless, it is essential in this phase that you stir constantly. After about twenty seconds, when the eggs look mostly solid, turn off the heat and keep stirring. Voila! If you let your pan preheat for long enough, the eggs should be nice and fluffy after about thirty seconds.

On tight mornings, I’ll usually just throw those eggs on a piece of toast and call it a day. Sometimes, before putting the eggs in the pan, I’ll sprinkle some bacon seasoning on the oil. Putting a seasoning on first also helps you know if the oil is hot enough because the seasoning will sizzle when it hits the pan. On more leisurely mornings, I might cut up some onions and saute them before adding the eggs. Sometimes I’ll also add some shredded zucchini, spinach, or kale, and let that cook for a few minutes before adding the eggs. Of course, the meal is most delicious when I omit the olive oil and fry some bacon in the pan before cooking the eggs in its grease. After the eggs are cooked, I might smash an avocado on the toast before adding the eggs. I frequently also eat them with hot sauce or red pepper flakes to add a kick to my morning. There are, frankly, few things that don’t go well with some scrambled eggs. 

I hope you can make use of some of these tips. Cooking has been such a big part of my life lately, so I want to extend the joy of cooking to the SLUH community. For more tips and recipes, look for this food column in later issues of the Prep News. I also post some meals that I cook on my instagram, @ldlikestocook.