Cooking is a Gas

Ah, the joys of cooking in a New York City kitchen. Minimal storage, little counter space, doll-sized ovens. Not to mention bad air circulation (my smoke alarm goes off as soon as I start to boil water). For someone who loves kitchen appliances and spreading out as I cook, this has been quite an adjustment. But cooking in my tiny kitchen has taught me to be nimble and flexible. Go with the flow and see what happens, even if it's not according to the recipe. Well, a recent meal mishap ended in a delicious discovery...

Soon after moving into my apartment in November, I returned home around 10 at night after a food writing class. I walked in and instantly noticed the smell of gas throughout my apartment (okay well in the closet that is my apartment). Freaking out, I called my mom. This of course didn't help at all--she's at home in Massachusetts, so what was she going to do about my oven? The smart thing to do would have been to call my super, which I eventually did. He told me the pilot light had gone out and simply relit it. Well up until a couple weeks ago, my pilot light had been going out on a recurring basis. According to my super this is "no big deal", but it got to the point where I actually woke up in the middle of the night to the smell of gas. And my mom, being an even bigger worrier than me, would frequently send me emails at 7 am with the subject line: "RESPOND ASAP - R U ALIVE??" Yes, really. So enough was enough. I finally badgered asked my super to replace the stove. Although it's about half the size of my old stove, it's much cleaner and about 40 years newer.

Believe it or not, tonight was the first time I attempted to use the broiler on my new stove. To be fair, I'm fairly new to gas stoves (if that wasn't already evident through my gas-smelling freak out)--we always had electric at home. Anyways, tonight I set out to make a frittata from one of my favorite blogs Big Girls Small Kitchen, which requires that you set the eggs under the broiler for a few minutes to finish cooking. Halfway through sautéing the veggies I realized I don't even know where the broiler is on my new stove, so I of course called my mom. This was not a good idea. Not because she didn't know either (which she didn't), but because as I was talking on the phone, the eggs had already fully cooked on the stove top that it was point of frittata. Oops.

I think the consistency of my eggs also contributed to this little mishap turned delicious. The original recipe calls for 4 eggs and 2 egg whites. I only had 4 eggs, so figured I'd wing it. I guess those 2 egg whites really do make the difference. In any case, the frittata turned into more of a an egg scramble, while not intentional, wound up being delicious. So I guess that's the beauty of my lethal gas-leaking New York City kitchen: my own original (albeit impromptu) recipes.

Gas Leak Egg Scramble
Serves 1 hungry individual, or 2 lighter portions


4 whole eggs
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Add the eggs to the pan. With a nonstick spatula, immediately start to pull the eggs to the center, forming curds. Just before all the egg is cooked, top with Parmesan cheese and stir throughout. Serve immediately as a dinner for one, or on top of toast for 2.