Due to my mistake of
keeping our heirloom hens for a second year, egg production
declined dramatically in 2013. We ended up buying about half
our eggs from the grocery store this summer, so I’m thrilled to
finally be swimming
in eggs again!
However, I have to
admit that I might have overdone our egg production just a little
bit. Keeping a dozen pullets means that we’re getting about
ten eggs a day from them, plus another two or three from our old
hens, and that’s nearly too many even for our egg-loving
appetites. Six eggs for Mark’s and my breakfast, two eggs
for Lucy’s dinner, and we’ve still got another couple of dozen
eggs per week looking for a home.
One use for all those
eggs was a delicious, crust-less sausage-tomato quiche.
Here’s the recipe:
- 1 pound of Italian sausage
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup whipping cream
- 1 cup skim milk
- salt
- pepper
- 1 cup of fresh basil leaves
- 3 tomatoes
- Swiss and parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 350
degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13-inch pan. Cook the
sausage and let it cool slightly as you beat the eggs with the
whipping cream, milk, salt, pepper, and diced basil leaves.
Pour the mixture into the greased pan, top with slices of
tomatoes, then add slices of Swiss cheese and grated
parmesan. Bake until the center doesn’t jiggle when you
shake the pan, then cool. Serves 9.
What’s your
favorite way to use up extra eggs along with in-season summer
produce?
An automatic chicken
waterer ensures pullets always have enough water to lay
those extra eggs.
We try to do an egg casserole every week, which just is whatever is fresh in the garden (this week beet greens, green pepper, green beans, tomatoes, basil, zucchini, jalapeno pepper) sauteed lightly, plus either a local sausage or local feta with eggs poured over and baked at 350 for 30 minutes or so. Great hot for supper then cold for lunch the next day or so. Can also be done all winter using whatever we froze from the garden. My husband came up with the floating recipe when we needed a last-minute pot-luck dish last winter. It was a hit, and we’ve enjoyed it ever since, especially the way the seasons are showcased in the dish: asparagus and sorrel giving way to spinach and broccoli to tomatoes and squash to whatever!
Julie — Smart! I love the seasonal aspect to your recipe. Do you add anything to the egg except the protein and vegetables?
We have cool enough evenings that warm broth and tomato based soups are appealing. I love poaching eggs in brothy soups or even poaching eggs separately and laying on thicker soups/stews – runny egg yolks are great flavor. You don’t eat many grains, but eggy pasta (two ‘large’ eggs per cup or so of flour – or really decadent egg yolk tajarin, about 4-5 egg yolks per cup of flour) is another way I consume eggs. Fresh pasta can be dried and saved for a few months; just store in a box in a reasonably dry closet.