Eggs from a Friend

A friend’s mother started raising chickens this spring.  The hens are now laying. Yesterday, we received a batch of three dozen farm-fresh eggs from hens who get to run around a yard instead of spending their lives in tiny cages.  I am so excited!  The eggs are still small, pullet eggs really, but there are plenty of them so I can just throw an extra one into recipes as needed. The eggs will get bigger as the hens grow older.  These eggs are a beautiful brown color, from Rhode Island Reds if I remember right.

Previously I offered to barter back ice cream, fresh herbs, sewing skills, or whatever else in exchange for the eggs.  (I’ve done this kind of thing before. After a few weeks of giving away extra eggs to friends, that lady is going to get mobbed by requests.  I figure if I trade goodies, I’ll stand a better chance of keeping my supply coming.)  So I’m tinkering with my recipes for homemade vanilla ice cream, trying for something particularly splendid.

Things I have made recently with eggs include personal omelettes and bread pudding.   Oh, and I threw an egg into the custard base for the current batch of vanilla ice cream.  I am really looking forward to cooking more with the homegrown eggs, because they are so much better than factory eggs!

This post is part of a networking project over here, about knowing where your food comes from.