L'oeuf and Loaf - Why I Randomly Have An Etsy Shop Now

Yup, you read that right - I have opened an Etsy shop, based purely on a pun that I came up with earlier this year. I was talking with Will and he mentioned the French word for egg - "l'oeuf". I started saying the word to myself: "l'oeuf, l'oeuf. Love. Ha! L'oeuf, love. Live, laugh, l'oeuf!" You know, like "Live, Laugh, Love", the thing you see all the time on posters, mugs, pillows, etc.

We laughed about that one and quickly jumped to another food pun - "live, laugh, loaf!" I thought it was pretty hilarious and said, "Man that's so funny. I would totally buy a mug with that. Has anyone thought of this before?" Will and I have also been watching a lot of Shark Tank and discussing how it is nearly impossible to come up with an original idea. I quickly Googled "live, laugh, l'oeuf" and found no merchandise. Aha! An untouched market! I began to marinate on the idea of actually making the Live, Laugh, L'oeuf thing a reality...

Flash forward to a week or so later, I was telling my friend Heidi about this Live, Laugh, L'oeuf thing and she similarly thought that it was 1. funny and 2. jumped to the loaf thing as well. Heidi said it was a good idea and that I should go for it so with that encouragement, I put my limited graphic design skills to work and put together some product designs.

Yes, essentially I took a joke that I said in passing and actually manifested it into reality. So now I have stickers and mugs with the phrases "Live, Laugh, L'oeuf" and "Live, Laugh, Loaf". You can find them in my Etsy shop which is also a tab on my website now. If you are as tickled by these puns as I am - or if you or someone you know loves eggs or bread as much as I do - consider buying and supporting my whim!

In honor of my new merchandise this blog post is dedicated to my favorite ways to eat eggs (and also bread).

The Essential: Avocado Toast

Ugh, I know. Avocado toast - so Millenial. It may be basic to admit it, but I love avocado toast. There is a reason that avocado toast is so popular! There's just something so fresh and wholesome about a huge piece of crusty bread, tangy avocado, and a warm runny yolk.

The photos below are a combination of homemade avocado toasts and fancy restaurant versions. I love fancy additions like bean sprouts, pickled radishes, and pumpkin seeds, but I think homemade can be just as good!

My favorite way to make avocado toast is by mashing the avocado (NOT sliced - it doesn't spread as well!) I mix the mash with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I spread it on a large slice of fresh, crusty bread. I fry an egg to put on top and sprinkle it with Everything but the Bagel Seasoning. Voila!

Fancy L.A. avo toast

Poached egg (cred: Rocel)

Fancy London avo toast

Soft-boiled egg + Ramen (or any soup)

If avocado toast is my favorite summer way of consuming eggs, ramen is my favorite cold-weather vehicle. I never thought I liked boiled eggs, but that was only because I don't like hard-boiled eggs. Once I figured out the joys of a soft runny yolk in steaming bowl of ramen, I was forever converted. It's a nice way to add some extra protein and heartiness to your ramen bowl.

Afuri Ramen (Portland)

Kayo's Ramen (Portland)

Soft-boiled egg with any soup really...

Soft-boiled eggs are really great in any kind of soup/broth. I recently made a great stew from NY Times Cooking and popped a soft-boiled egg in there - the perfect touch! #livelaughloeuf

Shakshuka with toast

I don't eat Shakshuka very often, mostly because I'm more for quick breakfasts like toast or yogurt. I also tend to swing sweet with my breakfasts (e.g. oatmeal, pancakes, fruit) rather than savory (avocado toast is usually more of a lunch thing for me than a breakfast thing). However, I am a huge fan of shakshuka, a great dish that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Shakshuka is a North African dish. The name literally means "mixture" and it is traditionally a mixture of roasted tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and spices. You cook the eggs right in the vegetable mixture. Mine (below) doesn't look that aesthetic, but it's usually very pretty! Shakshuka is a great vehicle for a big slice of crusty bread.

There's a great bread bakery right near my house in Portland called Tabor Bread where we like to get fresh loaves #livelaughloaf

Fried Egg on Mushroom Toast

This is another one I don't eat often, but the couple times that I've had mushroom toast I've really loved it. I spent most of my childhood telling people I didn't like mushrooms, but that was only because my beloved godfather, Henry, didn't like them and I was copying him. When I finally got around to actually trying mushrooms, I was like Hey these are great! and never looked back.

Mushroom toast is super easy. You just cook the mushrooms up in some butter and season with whatever you'd like - salt, pepper, garlic, scallion, thyme, etc. This picture below does not make it look very appetizing, but I promise you it's great. Throw an egg (of any style) on top and you've got a nice meal right there!

Fried Egg on Crispy Rice

Whenever I order Thai or Chinese takeout, I find myself with lots of leftover white rice. A great way to use up this leftover rice is by making crispy rice. All you do is cook the rice in a bit of oil in a nonstick pan without moving it. This creates a nice crispy layer of rice. Then you can eat it just like that or top it with whatever - veggies, ground pork, tofu, or of course, an egg!

So that's it for my egg/bread dedication post. As I said earlier, if you love eggs or bread as much as me, know someone who does, or just want to support me, feel free to buy a #livelaughloeuf or a #livelaughloaf product! I don't really know how selling things on Etsy/in general works (I really just did this as a manifested joke), so I don't know how this will go, but I'm just happy that I came up with a (seemingly) original idea - take that Shark Tank!

- Evan