Category: eggs

Morel mushrooms

On By CarynIn eggs, Fungi

I went to check the trail cam and found morel mushrooms growing in our woods!

Morel mushroom
Three more morel mushrooms

I did a triple verification of identity: I cut one in half length-wise to verify the inside was hollow, I put them on a dark colored sheet of paper to verify the spore was light in color, and I sent a picture to my Dad, who confirmed the identity.

Morel mushrooms are completely hollow
Spore from a morel mushroom

Once identified, I washed the mushrooms and sliced them, then sautéed them in olive oil. I read that morels need to be cooked or risk stomach upset.

Sautéed morel mushrooms

To complete the meal I added eggs from our chickens to make a mushroom scramble. Breakfast was provided by items gathered from the yard, which is always neat.

Egg and mushroom scramble

Strange egg shape

On By CarynIn eggs

This egg is nearly round. I’m not sure what caused my hens to lay a round egg, when I cracked it open it only had one yolk. It also happened on a day that six of the eight chickens produced an egg, which is unusual. My hatchery quality Faverolles usually lay every other day or so.

Nearly round egg

Egg!

On By CarynIn chickens, eggs

Then hens are laying eggs again! (And I can’t help the sound track in my head of “We’re in the money”, even though the price of keeping the chickens is far above even the current cost of a dozen eggs.)

First spring egg

It has been four months since my hens have laid an egg. I saw one do the ready squat the day before I found this nugget in the nesting box. Admittedly, I do not make them into production machines by giving them more light in the morning, so their winter laying break is a long one. The hens are also going into their third summer, which is past a production bird’s peak performance, and eight hens lay enough for my family and the occasional gift of a dozen. I don’t get enough to sell regularly.

White speckled egg

Still, it is nice to have fresh eggs again, knowing where they get their nutrition.

Throwback Thursday

On By CarynIn Craft, eggs

We put up the tree this week. We decorate with ornaments collected over the years, no theme, no ribbons, but bits of memory hung on the branches. So for Throwback Thursday, here is the ornament I made in 2019 from one of the chicken’s first eggs. I actually made three against the ravages of time and accident, but all three are whole and hung.

Ornament made from a blown out chicken egg coated in Modge Podge

Found an egg

On By CarynIn eggs

I keep a jacket by the back door in case I need it to go see the chickens. It was a little chilly, so I grabbed it and headed out. About half way through checking chickens, I felt something in the pocket. An egg. Already in the pocket. Hm. There were two more in the nest boxes, so those went in the other pocket and I headed back in. I weighed and recorded all three eggs, then subjected the suspect egg (how long had it been in that pocket?!?) to the float test.

Float testing an egg in a measuring cup

The egg didn’t sink to the bottom, so it wasn’t a fresh egg, but it didn’t float to the top (indicating a very old egg). Since it is floating slightly off the bottom, I estimate it was in my pocket for a few days, maybe a week. Hm. I broke it open to check the validity of the float test, and the egg looked and smelled just fine.

Egg yolk and white

The dogs enjoyed their treat, so it was not a wasted egg.

In case you are wondering how the egg test works, it has to do with water loss through the shell of the egg, which is semi-permeable. A fresh egg hasn’t had time to have significant water loss so is denser than water, so sinks. A month old egg has experienced considerable evaporation, and is less dense than water, so it floats. And is more likely to have gone bad.