The Joy of Pastured Eggs

Another reason we choose to eat locally grown food is because we can ask about HOW it is grown and choose to support farmers who are thinking sustainably about their land, products and animals.

Even before we had our own chickens we sought out pastured eggs. I want to buy eggs from farmers who let their chickens roam free, able to eat the delicious worms and weeds and run around in the wind, protected from predators and loved by their keepers. Now that we have our own clucky darlings I can't imagine raising chickens any other way. Turns out my instincts about how chickens are happiest is also apparent in the eggs they lay. In March 2007, Mother Earth News put out the call, looking for eggs to test and info about how the chickens were raised. The results were published in October 2007 speak for themselves. I highly recommend you go and read everything in the Mother but for those of you who just want the highlights, here they are:

From Mother Earth News "Our testing has found that, compared to official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrient data for commercial eggs, eggs from hens raised on pasture may contain:

• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more beta carotene"

The picture above is a recent egg from our chickens--it is a joy!

Something From the Oven

Last summer we built a mud oven in our backyard. Yesterday was baking day. Here is what we baked:

Photo #1 The oven last summer
Photo #2 3 Ciabatta loaves, 4 sourdough loaves
Photo# 3 2 loaves potato buttermilk, 2 loaves whole wheat
Photo #4 Focaccia (this was dinner-YUMMY!)

We also baked a quick bread and a Boston Cream Pie inside. The outdoor oven is still warm this morning and would be good for making yogurt or drying herbs or fruit. Later in the season the oven will get used more and more.

Chickens!

How could I have forgotten our new feathered friends!?! Last November we adopted two chickens, Ricka (Rhode Island Red) and Flicka (Redstar). You can see them in the fabulous film Mad City Chickens this Thursday in the 2008 Wisconsin Film Festival.

They are a wonderful addition to our family and have been laying two gorgeous eggs a day since just after Christmas. They are affectionate and fun to watch, they efficiently process our compost into food for us and are a constant and tangible reminder that we really do care about knowing where our food comes from--in this case, our own backyard!

Sprouts

For dinner tonight we had our made-up version of chicken schwarma (ground chicken with onions, cumin, garlic, pepper, coriander), homemade pita bread, yogurt sauce (thank you Sugar River Dairy), cucumbers, peas and sprouts. It was all good, somewhat pale but seemed "spring-like."

What I really wanted to highlight was the sprouts. These were mung bean sprouts given to us by friends last week. As with most sprouts you soak them overnight then drain the water, rinse them every 12 hours or so and watch in astonishment as they swell and , well, SPROUT right before your very eyes. They taste like Spring! Sweet, mild, green--they are good in sandwiches, dressed with a vinaigrette or eaten by the handful. Beans sprout quickly and easily as do many grains. You can also plant the seeds in some shallow soil in a sunny window and then just snip off delicious bits of green when the plants are only a few inches high.

100 FOOT diet

Think we went a little far afield (pun intended) during our experiment last August? Check out the amazing work of the Dervaes Family in Pasadena, California and their 100 Foot Diet . Anyone want to try?

Blurry

I am going to blame the blurriness of this photo on the tears that came to my eyes while cutting these amazing potatoes. Never mind the fact that the camera wasn't tearing up . . . I was just struck by the beauty of color and form--oh were they good to eat!

Still eating locally

So what does one eat at the tail end of winter before the bounty of the growing season is here again? Well, last night we ate quite well! (Remember we are not strict 100-milers anymore, just careful local eaters).

We had spinach salad thanks to Snug Haven Farm. We took bacon from Pecatonica Valley Farm (thank you wonderful Carr family) and sauteed it until crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and fry finely diced onions or shallots. When the aromatics are crispy, toss in some balsamic vinegar and reduce it, pour it hot over the spinach--yowza that is good!

We also had homemade bread with canned tomatoes and Crave Brothers Farmstead Cheese, (the little fresh mozzerella balls).

To round out the meal we sauteed leftover ravioli from RP's Pastas and topped with a bit of rosemary salt from Renaissance Farm.

Yummy!