Eggs, eggs, my kingdom for a recipe!

We have three happy chickens in our backyard: Chipmunk, Jayne and Lucy. They usually produce about twelve eggs a week, which is plenty for our household. Sometimes, however, they get really fired up and give us far more eggs in a short period of time. That’s what they’re doing right now. In an attempt to make full use of this bounty, so far we’ve scrambled eggs, fried eggs, made two kinds of cookies, and given a lot of food away – and still the eggs keep coming!

What should we make next?

I asked a librarian this question and was very promptly presented with a stack of cookbooks filled with good ideas and interesting recipes.

The Farmstead Egg Cookbook by Terry Golson
Offers recipes for all occasions, pictures, thoughts on the nutritional content of eggs and what it’s like to have a backyard flock. I think I’ll to try “Avgolemono Soup” (p. 86) and “Asparagus with Poached Eggs and Smoked Salmon” (p. 53.)

The Good Egg: More than 200 Fresh Approaches from Soup to Dessert by Marie Simmons
Provides tips for how to accomplish standard egg preparations with the best possible results. “Favorite Summertime Scramble with Tomato and Basil” (p. 10,) “Potato, Sun-Dried Tomato and Rosemary Frittata” (p. 64) and “Dandelion Greens, Pancetta and Egg Salad” (p. 231) all look really interesting. Maybe I can get the dandelions from my yard, too.

The Joy of Cooking by Irma von Starkloff Rombauer
This classic cook’s companion has an excellent index, which includes both recipes and all kinds of tips for how to handle and store different foods. Did you know you can freeze raw egg whites and egg yolks in an ice cube tray? How clever.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child
In this cooking classic, which also has a great index, I found recipes for egg preparations I had never heard of, such as “shirring” and cooking “in aspic” as well as interesting egg-based sauces to try.

Do you have a favorite cookbook to recommend? What recipe should I try next?

If you would like to learn how to keep chickens in an urban setting, you may be interested in some upcoming workshops on “Keeping Chickens in the City.” These are provided by the library as part of our Urban Self-Reliance series.