Breakfast eggs are a matter of taste

In my 17 years of living in nursing homes I have seen breakfast eggs prepared many different ways. But at one facility, scrambled eggs were the usual fare. One cook carefully prepared them and added salt, which made them taste better.

Since most of us residents had no idea how the eggs were prepared, one dietary manager showed us. I was surprised that the egg product was packaged in a quart container.

However, over time budget cuts affected the quality of the egg product and scrambled eggs were not as popular as before. The cooks said the egg product was more difficult to prepare because it would not hold together. When my aides fed me they chased my scrambled eggs around the plate with a fork or spoon. A few months later, I stopped eating them because of the poor consistency and lack of flavor.

Over the years, more residents requested fried or "dippy eggs," which the facility prepared with pasteurized eggs. At food committee meetings, the dietary manager reminded fried-egg lovers that she could not serve them every day because of the cost of pasteurized eggs.

When I came to this facility, we were served scrambled eggs, hard-boiled eggs, and egg casseroles. One resident jokingly hollers out that he wants his eggs "sunny side up” although he knows fried eggs are not served here. He does like hard-boiled eggs, which are freshly made.

For the last few months instead of scrambled eggs we have been served plain baked eggs, which are cut into squares. When they are used in an egg casserole along with ham, bacon, or sausage, and cheese, the dish does look appetizing. But since I do not eat pork products or cheese, I do not get them.

Perhaps I can find a recipe for a vegetarian egg casserole without cheese that the dietary manager would like enough to consider serving.