Incredible Edible Eggs

One summer, when I was 12 years old I worked at an egg ranch in Loomis, Minnesota. Some cousins of mine worked there and let me help out on weekends to make a little pocket change. Those weekends I’d don a disposable face mask to protect myself from the dust and smell then collect eggs from the rows and rows of cages stacked four to six cages high. The clucking of what seemed like a thousand hens was only overshadowed by the constant roar of the exhaust fans turning overhead. I collected eggs, I learned to candle eggs and I even used a hot blade machine to trim the beaks off the hens. (Trimming the beak to remove the point keeps them from pecking each other to death while housed in close quarters.) I was paid $1 for every flat of eggs I collected and I even got to take a flat of eggs home with me. Despite the dust and smell, I thought it was all pretty cool.

In hindsight, it is a wonder I didn’t get hurt. (I mean, really, who lets a 12 year old use any tool called a “hot blade machine”!?) To this day, despite the novelty of a paying job, I remember being a little freaked out by the dark, impossibly long aisles of noisy, cramped cages and thinking, “This is just wrong.” Unfortunately, this is the standard at most industrial egg ranches.

Flash forward a few years (cough…26 years) and things have changed. Larger portions of the public are concerned about where their food comes from and how the animals that provide that food are treated. If you check your local grocery store there are more egg options than you can imagine! Free-range, Cage-free, Organic, Omega-3 enriched and your standard industrial ranch eggs. But which are best for you and what do all these options really mean?

Here are the basics:
Free-Range: The chickens are allowed access to the outside. Defined loosely, “free-range” could mean the owners open the doors of the building for 5 or more minutes a day. It does not mean the chickens ever leave the building or are treated humanely.

Cage-Free: The chickens are not “caged”. Defined loosely, “cage-free” could mean they are crammed into a giant building with no cages. It does not mean the chickens are allowed outside or treated humanely.

Organic: The chickens are fed organic chicken feed and are not treated with hormones or antibiotics. Defined loosely, “organic” only relates to the type of feed and medical treatment of the chickens. It does not mean the chickens are allowed outside or treated humanely.

Omega-3 Enriched: The chickens are fed a diet of flax seed and/or fish oils. While the eggs may contain up to 7 times the fatty acids of standard eggs, again, it does not mean the chickens are allowed outside or treated humanely.

So what is a shopper to do? Ideally, we hope the chickens who provide us eggs are allowed to run freely, fed nutritious foods, treated well and are generally happy, but that may not be the case. Here are some suggestions.

RESEARCH: Take a minute and look up the farm that provides your eggs. What standards do they use? How long have they been in business? How far do the eggs ship to get to you?

BUY LOCAL: Go to your local farmers markets and ask the farmers some questions. You may even be able to visit the farm and see how the chickens are raised! There are lots of family farms in the area like Chaffin Family Orchards. They are a local farm that provides fresh eggs as well as fruits, vegetables, olive oils and meats. http://chaffinfamilyorchards.com/ (We are lucky to have a friend nearby who raises a dozen chickens on his land. Yes, it takes an extra trip to buy eggs, but the kids love seeing the chickens and at 2$ a dozen, the price isn’t bad either.)

GET SOME CHICKENS: I know this is not feasible for everyone, but lots of neighborhoods are zoned rural/residential and allow chickens to be raised. With a little pre-planning you could have organic, free-range, cage-free, omega-3 enriched eggs delivered practically to your doorstep! (At least that is what I am hoping for! Right now, my chickens are just free-loading bug eaters.)

Sincerely,
MM
The chicken novice anxiously awaiting some eggs.
(originally posted on June 18, 2010 for Monson Family Farm.)


Chicks enjoying the day.



Kids feeding the chicks



Coop is primed and ready for paint.



Last coat of red!


PS: Since this post the coop is complete, the rooster is a pain and my hens have begun to lay eggs! We are getting 3-4 eggs a day!

Kale Chips? Yes Really.

I found this recipe on one of my favorite gluten free food blogs "Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef".

Just like "The Gluten Free Girl" aka: Shauna, I had heard much ado about kale chips but had never wanted to try them. I wasn't ready to hop on the "kale chip bandwagon" so to speak. But I am glad I did.

This recipe is easy, tasty and very addictive. It is kid/family friendly (if you can get your kids and family to try them) and I'm guessing easy to store. I'm guessing because I have yet to make more than I can gobble down in one day!!

My only recommendation would be go easy on the salt as a little goes a long way. Also, I didn't have smoked paprika, but even without it, the results were very tasty!

Baked Kale Chips

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
3 large handfuls kale, torn into shreds
1 to 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preparing to bake. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Combine the salt, smoked paprika, and garlic in a small bowl.

Wash the kale. Rinse the kale leaves, then put them in a salad spinner and spin until the green becomes a blur. Round and round, spinning and spinning — let the kale dry. After it comes out, dry it even more with paper towels. Those leaves should be bone dry.

Oiling the kale. Put the kale leaves in a large bowl. Drizzle over 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Massage the oil into the leaves. You might need more. You might have larger hands than I do. Use your judgment.

Bake the chips. Arrange the kale chips onto the sheet try and slide it into the oven. Bake until the leaves are crisp to the touch but still a dark green. (When they turn brown, they turn bitter.) Check at the 12-minute mark, to be sure.

Remove them from the oven. Sprinkle with the garlic, smoked paprika and salt.

Let them cool a bit. Eat.

Access the whole blog and recipe here: http://glutenfreegirl.blogspot.com/2010/02/baked-kale-chips.html

Next time I make these I am going to try them with some kind of dip and see how they hold up. Hummus maybe? YUM!

I hope you enjoy them as much I did!
Thanks
MM

3-2-1 Row!

The old boat house of my day is long gone, replaced with a beautiful Olympic quality facility. The rowing movements, lingo and ritual that had been second nature once, have left me too. As I wander the boat house, I find our team picture on the wall, and smile. We were so young and when I let the familiar sounds and smells of the lake wash over me the year 1998 doesn’t seem so long ago. I watch as the current women’s team quietly walk their boat into the house with movements soldier-like and precise to the call of the coxswain. Once the boat is safely racked, all seriousness vanishes and they turn into girls again, laughing, giggling and talking about homework. At one time that was me, but I feel like a stranger here now. This shouldn’t surprise me. Once I graduated from college, I purposely walked away from rowing and haven’t looked back.

I wish I could tell you the reason I turned my back on a sport I loved so much. But I can’t, because there is no reason, at least no worthy reason. I had a stellar novice year. I loved my novice coach, the workouts and my team mates. I learned quickly and showed enough potential to be granted a partial scholarship. Some of my best memories were on this lake and rowing during my novice year was fantastic! However, it was the year after that broke me.

A less patient varsity coach, a more competitive team and high expectations unmet, left me disenchanted and emotionally spent. When criticized, I internalized every failure and tried to work harder, but my progress slowed. In the end, I was injured more, boated less and finally hurt myself enough to need medical attention. I tore a section of the intercostal muscles in my left rib cage while attempting a leg press I knew was too heavy. This injury ended my college rowing career. Though I hung on the last few months of the racing season and left school with a diploma, I felt like a complete failure.

I know I sound dramatic. It’s not like my Olympic dream was torn from me or anything, I just didn’t expect my last year of rowing to end so badly. In the years after graduation, I purposely avoided Master’s rowing opportunities; I ignored the emails from the CSUS Rowing Alumni and lost touch with my team mates. But it didn’t stop there; I let that feeling of failure and fear affect other areas of my life too. I am saddened thinking of the opportunities I let pass because I was afraid. Moral of this story: I let one bad experience define me and it was time to move on.

I stop my daydreaming and force myself to leave the safety of the boat house. I smile confidently and approach the other alumni waiting for practice. I relax as we chat and share our mutual fears before boating up and pushing off the dock. The oar feels familiar in my hands and the sound of the water comforts me as the boat wobbles down the course. This practice isn’t going to be pretty and there are challenges still to come, but I know I can do this. I know, because I have already done this and a hundred other things I never thought I could...until I tried.

Will I still be afraid sometimes? Of course! But I don't feel like a failure anymore. I am a good wife, loving mother, faithful friend and on top of all that, I am and have always been a dedicated athlete.

The Head of the American race is on October 30th, 2010 at the CSUS Aquatic Center - Lake Natoma. More details to come soon at http://www.sacstateaquaticcenter.com/ under special events.

Sincerely,
MM