Why is it always the third egg?
Now, this probably falls into that category of life questions to which there are no answers. Then again, maybe a zen master would enlighten me by striking my head with a stick, shouting out some incomprehensible word, or giving me a Koan I’ll spend years trying to make sense of. Or if I met a taoist immortal they’d either tell me that’s just the way it is, laugh at me, or pass me a bottle of wine to share until we’re both in a drunken stupor trading stories about the oddities of life (yeah, taoists can be an odd bunch, that’s why I like them so much!).
I think I’ve told you that my weekly shopping usually starts on Friday on my way back from work. I stop off at Sam & Eid, the building where my original apartment was, where there is a small farmer’s market. It got started with a small stipend from the US Ambassador’s development fund and provides a decent service to embassy personnel. There’s not a ton of vegetables available, well not when I get there around 1:30, but there are some and I usually buy whatever is fresh and figure out what to make based on that. For me that’s usually eggplant, zucchini, peppers and/or tomatoes (my acupuncturist told me I have a damp heat constitution so I should avoid fresh leafy vegetables). If they had spinach or chard that I could cook, that would be another story, but they don’t, so my selections are usually limited.
They also have eggs. Locally grown brown eggs at $6.00 (up from $5.00 last year) for a crate of 24 eggs. Not bad! That usually lasts me several weeks and it’s always good to have eggs on hand.
Now, understand that this is Liberia and, as my USAID agricultural specialist colleagues would say, Liberia has not developed a cold-chain in its agricultural farmer to market supply system. Consequently, most vegetables are a bit beyond their prime (you’re lucky when they are not) and it’s rare when you see something that is in perfect visual condition (really, only cassava or stuff that is truly grown in the Monrovia area and was picked either the day before or that morning). Of course this lack of a cold-chain has its consequences. I for one do not buy meat off the street and forget those market women selling milk - not at 3:00 in the afternoon on a sunny day.
Back to eggs. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that every once in a while, an egg just doesn’t seem quite right. Well, one time I cracked open an egg and it was like someone set off a sulfur bomb in my kitchen (didn’t feel like eating breakfast that morning after that for some reason . . .). It happens a lot less than you would think; I would say it’s well under one egg per large crate for me.
So this morning I look in my refrigerator (I do have a cold-chain) and see that I have 7 eggs. There’s the one that was stuck to the crate (a sure sign that something is not right - give it a pass), but that means I get a 3 egg scramble today and a frittata tomorrow. Perfect because I’ve got some sweet Italian sausage left over from my social event on Friday (story to come) and we have Monday off. I grab three eggs and start cracking. 1-2-3. The third one does not come out quite right. It’s too viscous and doesn’t just flow from the egg shell like it should. Doesn’t stink but . . . I may be dumb but I’m not stupid . . . better safe than food poisoned. So my question . . .
Why is it always the third egg?
Why can’t it ever be the first? Now I can’t have eggs for breakfast tomorrow!