By The workshops moved online this week. I set up a laptop in the kitchen and Zoomed with twenty participants from the community center, all of us in our own kitchens, cooking the same thing at the same time. It was clunky at first — audio delay, someone's dog barking, one participant who couldn't figure out how to unmute. But by the second half of the class, something settled and it started to feel real again. Not the same as being in a room together. But real in its own way.
The Provo pantry is suspended — Debra and I talked and the logistics of in-person gathering are impossible right now. We're figuring out an alternative: recipe cards mailed with the food boxes, which is a smaller version of the teaching but something. Debra is tireless. She called me twice this week and both times I felt steadier afterward.
Olivia has taken over the breakfast shift. She decided, without being asked, to make breakfast every morning for the family. Oatmeal, eggs, sometimes pancakes on weekends. She's fifteen and doing this with real competence and care. She told me she'd been watching all my videos from the beginning — she went back to the very first one and worked forward. I asked her how many she'd watched. She said all of them. All 78. She'd watched all 78 of my videos, the entire archive, while the world was in lockdown.
I cannot describe what that feels like. My daughter, watching me cook, learning from her mother's hands through a screen, in the kitchen her mother had always been in. The circle of it.
When Olivia told me she’d watched all 78 of my videos — every single one, from the very first — I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so I did a little of both. She’s been making breakfast for the whole family with such quiet confidence, and I kept thinking: what’s the next thing I’d want her to have in her hands? These egg bites felt exactly right — endlessly customizable, easy to batch on a Sunday, and forgiving enough for a fifteen-year-old who is still figuring out what she loves to put in them. The circle of it, as I wrote, keeps going.
Easy to Customize Egg Bites
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Servings: 12 egg bites
Ingredients
- 6 large eggs
- 1/4 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, or your choice)
- 1/2 cup mix-ins of your choice (see options below)
- Cooking spray or olive oil, for greasing the pan
Mix-in options (choose one or combine):
- Diced bell peppers and onion
- Crumbled cooked bacon or sausage
- Chopped fresh spinach and sun-dried tomatoes
- Diced mushrooms and chives
- Leftover roasted vegetables, chopped small
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin generously with cooking spray or brush lightly with olive oil.
- Whisk the egg base. In a large mixing bowl or large measuring cup with a pour spout, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper until fully combined and slightly frothy.
- Fill the cups. Divide your chosen mix-ins evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about one-third full. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the mix-ins in each cup.
- Pour in the egg mixture. Slowly pour the whisked egg mixture over the fillings in each cup, filling each to about three-quarters full. The egg will puff slightly as it bakes.
- Bake. Transfer the muffin tin to the oven and bake for 22–25 minutes, until the egg bites are set in the center and lightly golden on top. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Cool and release. Let the egg bites cool in the pan for 5 minutes before running a butter knife around each edge and lifting them out. They release more easily once slightly cooled.
- Store or serve. Serve immediately, or let cool completely and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat, microwave individual bites for 30–45 seconds.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 75 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 1g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 130mg