Saturday, March 01, 2008

Dark Days Eat Local Challenge: Weeks 17 & 18

We are swimming in eggs! Luckily, I love eggs, and it's really not unusual for me to eat 3-5 eggs a day. Don't worry, I've had my cholesterol tested a couple of times, and it's excellent. Studies are beginning to demonstrate the advantage of free-range eggs compared to those of the caged counterparts, and either my experience or my genetics or most likely a combination of both certainly seems to bear this out.

This week we enjoyed egg salad sandwiches on homemade ciabatta bread with the last of our red salad bowl lettuce. Together with chips and beer, this was a tasty somewhat local meal, though the chips, flour, mayo and dijon mustard were all store bought. We also made sausage and cheese polenta with poached eggs for dinner one evening with our own sausage produced here on the farm.


Other dishes included taco salad with local beef and onions, green chilis hand-delivered by friends from New Mexico, and lovely bright green homegrown turnip leaves and the beginning of spring's cilantro. We're beginning to miss those tomatoes, though.

Also on the menu this week was the first taste of our recently butchered pork, raised here on our pasture. We had some chops and some Southern-style turnip greens with salted pork. The turnip greens are absolutely amazing, making turnips a worthy addition to our winter garden. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • turnip greens
  • salt pork
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • dash of sugar (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Cook salt pork in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat until crispy and brown. Add about 1 1/2 cups water, turnip greens, onion, salt, pepper and sugar and bring to a boil for about 1-2 minutes. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 40 minutes or so until greens are nice and tender.

Delicious served with cornbread.

*Notes: if using traditionally cured salt pork, you may not need additional salt. Also, greens can be blanched for 1-2 minutes and the water poured off to get rid of any bitter taste. Turnip greens may react with aluminum.

5 comments:

homemoma said...

eggs have that good cholesetrol and all the nutriens because an egg has all the necessary things for a new life.

Anonymous said...

Eggs! (My cholesterol is really low, too: I think it's the lifestyle.) One other thing to use up eggs that we've been making a lot of lately is custard. I've been making this maple syrup creme brulee that's just delicious. Oh and souffles, oh and egg pasta and and and and! Yum.

I wish I could get my hubby to go along with the idea of pigs and a cow. It's a no-go but at least this year we're doing meat birds.

Danielle said...

Mmmmm—custard. Great idea! Baking is a wonderful way to use up extra eggs, but not necessarily the best for my waist line if you know what I mean. We have been making more pizzelles, an Italian cookie that uses 6 eggs per batch, which means I'm snacking way too much!

El, keep working on hubby and maybe he'll come around. I've been trying for about 7 years now to get rid of my front yard, and I've finally gotten the go-ahead! He's budging slightly on the cow thing, too.

sugarcreekfarm said...

Yum, wish I was swimming in eggs! I need to get rid of my old laying hens but don't know what to do with them. I don't need 45 stewing hens in my freezer. I bought eggs in the store for the first time in 4 years and it about killed me!

Green Bean said...

Wow! Thank you for the egg ideas. I finally (!) found a source for fresh, truly free range eggs and can't resist to buy a dozen whenever they are available. The poached eggs look divine.