Easy Peel Hard Boiled Farm Fresh Eggs

My parents have a chicken coop with about 30 hens.  They roam free on an acre lot, eat bugs and worms, roll in the dirt, and lay beautiful eggs.  These are some happy ladies.

If you've ever boiled farm fresh eggs, you know the egg white sticks to the shell and you loose half the egg.  I've heard the older the egg, the easier to peel, but I want a fresh egg.

Well, baking soda is the key ingredient to having an easy peel fresh egg.   FineCooking.com says the baking soda helps the albumin in the egg white stick to itself rather than the shell.

You will need:
1 large pot

1 teaspoon baking soda

farm fresh eggs

6 cups cold water

Gather and clean your eggs.  

Add water, baking soda, and eggs to your pot.  Be careful with the eggs.

Turn the stove on medium heat to slowly heat the water until it starts to boil.  I've learned the hard way with cracked eggs by heating the water too fast.

Cover with a lid, turn the heat to low, and let sit for 20 minutes. 

Rinse the eggs off with cold water to speed the cooling process. 

Make sure the eggs are cool enough to peel.  Smack the wide end of the egg on the counter or hard surface to start the peeling process.  An air bubble forms in this area, creating a little pocket.  This pocket is an easy place to start peeling. 

Notice the egg white doesn't stick to the shell! 

Wahoo!  We did it!

 I like to eat the egg white with salt.    

 
Support your local farmers or raise your own chickens.  Make sure the chickens are cage-free and happy.  Happy chickens produce happy eggs.  
Check out these three blog posts about local food:
Farmers Market Libations, Garlic and Wild Flowers.html
Farmers Market Beet Fries.html
Support The Local Food Movement.html

Irish Potato Salad (vegan)

Tonight I'm serving this delicious Irish potato salad to go with my St. Patrick's Day celebration.  This recipe for Irish potato salad is easy, delicious and healthy.

  

For this Irish Potato Salad, you will need:

2 pounds potatoes

1/2 bunch fresh parsley (finely chopped)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vineger

1 teaspoon lime zest (I didn't have a lime so I used orange zest)

salt and pepper to taste

Let the potatoes soak for about 15 minutes in cold water and then scrub the dirt off of them.

Place the potatoes in a large pot and fill with fresh cold water.

Bring to a boil.

Cover and let cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes.

You will know the potatoes are done when you can easily slide a fork through the middle of the potato.

Drain the hot water and fill the pot back up with cold water to let the potatoes cool.

Once the potatoes are cool enough, slice them about 1/2" to 3/4" thick.

Carefully fold in the remaining ingredients (olive oil, apple cider vinegar, parsley, lime zest, and salt and pepper).

Cover and refridgerate for a couple of hours, or eat right away.  The longer it sits, the more flavor this salad will have.

Happy St. Patricks Day!! 

How To Make The Perfect Cup Of Irish Coffee Using a French Press

 

 I am a morning coffee drinker.  Sunday mornings I treat myself to the perfect cup of Irish coffee with my french press and Irish cream liquor.  I will show you how to make the perfect cup of Irish coffee so you can start this tradition as well.  If you don't want the creamer with liquor, you can buy non-alcoholic Irish creamer in the milk section at the grocery store. 

You will need:

3 Tablespoons coffee beans

8 ounces water

1 ounce Irish cream liquor

Pinch of salt

Start with a pot of filtered ice water.

Bring to a boil

Use a coffee grinder or blender to grind your beans.  I don't have a coffee grinder, but my blender works perfect!

Blend until the coffee is coarse.  Fine ground coffee is okay, but you are more likely to get coffee grinds in your drink.

Add three tablespoons coffee grinds to your french press along with a pinch of salt.  Salt is a flavor booster.  Be careful not to add too much salt. 

Carefully add the hot water and cover.  Leave the french press up.

Let brew for 5 minutes.

Measure out one ounce of Irish cream liquor.

Pour into your coffee cup. 

After 5 minutes, press the coffee filter down.

Pour the brewed coffee over one ounce of creamer.  The coffee swirls through the creamer making the perfect cup of Irish coffee.

Take some time to yourself and enjoy.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

For another way to brew coffee and breakfast ideas, check out:

Coffee Straw Filter

Spiced Oatmeal

My Favorite:

Cherry Chocolate Oatmeal

How To Make: Four Ingredient Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

I was reading an article in "Mother Earth Living" (March/April 2014 page 45) and learned about vinaigrettes.  To make a vinaigrette, use 3 parts olive oil with 1 part acid (ie. apple cider vinegar or lemon juice).  If you notice my recipe below, I used 1 tablespoon vinegar and 3 tablespoons olive oil. 

Ingredients: 

1-1/2 tablespoons honey

1-1/2 tablespoons mustard (I used Heinz mustard)

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

 

I just used the last bit of my agave nectar and am left with this beautiful glass container.  Makes a perfect salad dressing mixer. 

 

Squeeze, pour, and drip all ingredients into your salad dressing mixer.

 Close the lid and shake until the ingredients are combined.  

 Drizzle over your salad and enjoy!

This is the best honey mustard salad dressing I've ever had, and who would think it would be so easy?

Check out these links for more of my easy recipes:

Easy Spiced Applesauce

Easy Artisan Bread

Easy Homemade Pasta with Herbs

Thanks for reading 

Happy Trails!

Jaimey

Cheezy Kale Chips

This is my sister's favorite recipe for kale chips.  

 

It took me a couple of tries to perfect this recipe.  I learned the less olive oil the crispier the kale chips will be.  1 Tablespoon of olive oil is perfect for one large bag of kale.  Kale also needs acidity so be sure to add the lemon juice.  

For Cheezy Kale Chips 

You will need:

• Kale (I buy my kale at Trader Joe's.  It's already chopped and only $1.99 per bag)
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon dried onion
• 1 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast (put this on after the seasoned kale is on the pan)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Put the chopped kale in a large bowl.

Add olive oil, lemon juice, dried onion, salt and one tablespoon of nutritional yeast.  

 

 

Massage the kale until it becomes green and shiny from the oil and lemon juice.

 

 Lay the kale on a cookie sheet.

Sprinkle 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast over the kale.  The nutritional yeast bakes on the kale adding a crispy cheesy layer.  It's delicious.  My sister thinks these are better than store bought kale chips. 

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit turning the kale every 10-15 minutes.   Your end result will be dry, crispy kale chips.  

Keep a close eye on the kale near the end.  It will burn really fast once it dries out. 

Store in a glass container. 

 Enjoy!!