Local Eggs!

Egg salad sandwiches are on the menu tomorrow. I've never made egg salad for Caroline but since she loves eggs, she is sure to like it mixed with mayonnaise. Who doesn't like mayonnaise? Cooking a perfect hard boiled egg is somewhat of an art. For me, a perfect hard boiled egg has a yolk that is cooked but not dry and a white that is...well, white. I put my eggs in a pot with cold water to cover by about an inch. I then bring the water to a gentle boil, turn off the heat, cover, and let it stand for 8 minutes. If I'm not eating them right away, I plunge them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. This last step is important. If eggs are not chilled immediately, a greenish ring will form around the yolk and stain the white. This is caused by overcooking - the iron and sulfur in the yolk form ferrous sulfides which create the green ring. I just finished boiling the eggs for tomorrow's lunch. I always boil more than I think I need since hard boiled eggs make great snacks. The eggs come from three different sources. The blue, green, and brown speckled eggs are from my advisor's farm out in Mason. The large brown eggs are from Grazing Fields, an egg cooperative located in Charlotte. And the very large egg is from our chicken. We have two chickens, a Salmon Faverolle and another one whose breed I don't know. When I mention to family and friends that we have chickens, they are more than surprised. And honestly, I am too. I never thought we would have chickens. But last April, I visited the Michigan State University Student Organic Farm and noticed that the lone Salmon Faverolle looked horrible. She was missing most of the feathers on her head, back, and feet - they were pecked off by the other chickens. I voiced my concern and the next thing I knew, I was spending my evenings in my garage building a chicken coop. So, now we have chickens (we got two since they are social birds) and another source of fresh, local eggs. And our Salmon Faverolle (Fav for short) has grown back her feathers (see photo above)!

Caroline's Lunchbox Menu, September 27: Breakfast - O's, applesauce; Lunch - egg salad, 100% whole grain bread, kabocha squash, pineapple tomatoes; Snacks - blueberries (frozen from Walton Orchards), graham crackers

Childcare Center Menu, September 27: Breakfast - applesauce, raisin bread; Lunch - egg salad sandwich, cucumbers, pears; Snacks - trail mix, pretzels