His and Hers Pickled Eggs

Right now we have an overabundance of eggs.  I decided we needed to knock our supply down a bit (just a bit - they've already slowed down, and Camilla and Bert are molting and not laying at all).  So I made some pickled eggs.  I used this website as a guide.  There are lots of variations there.  I used a straight forward recipe for me, and a spicy one for Aaron.

This was super easy - except for peeling the eggs.  The one bad thing about having your own eggs is by far the fact that peeling them after hard boiling is nearly impossible and frustrating.  I used the oldest eggs I had, at least 4 weeks old, they were still a pain.  Just how old are those store eggs...?

Erin's Pickled Eggs:
6 eggs - hard boiled and peeled
1 cup of beet juice (I didn't have quite enough so I added enough water to get 1 cup)
1/4 onion sliced thin
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp peppercorns
1/3 cup cooked beets

Heat everything but eggs, garlic, beets and peppercorns to boiling.  Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.  Put rest of ingredients into a quart jar.  Then pour the hot liquid over, if it doesn't cover the eggs, add some water or vinegar.

Aaron's Pickled Eggs:
6 eggs - hard boiled and peeled
1 cup of beet juice
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/3 cup cooked beets
1/4+ tsp red chili pepper flakes
1/2 tsp peppercorns
2 jalapeno peppers sliced

Heat everything but eggs, garlic, beets and peppercorns to boiling.  Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent.  Put rest of ingredients into a quart jar.  Then pour the hot liquid over, if it doesn't cover the eggs, add some water or vinegar.

Into the fridge and now we wait!  At least 5 days, but up to 3 weeks.

In the Last Month...

I made lemon meringue pie - yum!


We visited Stonehenge gorge style.


I made a few messes.


Planted some melons.


Made baklava with our honey.


Planted a flower box for the chicken coop. Last night a neighbor girl knocked on our door and wanted to know if we wanted to be featured in Hood River's Tour de Coop. I got pretty excited! It'll be May 7th, they usually feature 10 or so coops.



Watched our tomatoes grow bigger. I should have put them outside sooner though, they are having a hard time with all the wind here.


Planted a flat (oops) of green and purple basil. We may have some to share!


Watched our peppers grow - 3 flats :) Lots of hot sauce this year.


I also have a flat of cabbage, broccoli and artichokes going. They too are having a hard time with all this wind. Next year I know to put them out when they are younger. We decided not to get chicks this year :( There is just too much going on with the wedding and the garden and not knowing where we will be living for sure in a year. Relocating 5 chickens is one thing, 15 (and a bigger coop) is another. But someday we will definitely be raising babies and more food for ourselves and friends.

Eggs!

What do you do when you are getting a dozen eggs roughly every 3 days? Make quiche! I cooked up some bacon, sauteed some leeks, onions and mushrooms. Then added some asparagus, broccoli and cheddar.


I used about 14 eggs for two quiches, although Camilla's eggs are really only like half eggs. Science lesson for the day: Have you ever noticed the white spots on egg yolks? You can see them on the top right egg and the bottom egg if you blow the picture up. That is called the blastodisc and is where all the hen's genetic material is stored. You can learn more about egg anatomy here: Egg lesson



I enlisted my favorite pie crust maker - because I hate rolling out pie crust.


Then baked them up. So delicious and satisfying!

From Our Kitchen

There has been lots of time spent in the kitchen over the last week. We made this roasted red pepper pine nut sauce, it was good, but we both thought it needed something. I think fresh basil would have done the trick. It also would have been better if we had roasted our own red peppers, but at $2 a piece, that wasn't happening. Not to mention, it's not red pepper season in this part of the world.


We've been playing more of this than I would like to admit. We are not TV watchers or video game players. We waste our time by internetting. This old Nintendo is fun though, lots of Dr. Mario!


I was gone for the week, but Aaron kept busy. He made roasted red pepper hummus from scratch.


I found some hot sauce pictures on my camera...he took very good notes, I'll share the recipes this week. Cookies, muffins, pizzas and Chex mix were also made this week, but no pictures. I have been on a Chex mix, cookie diet. Uck. A big salad tonight hit the spot.


Today was chicken worming day. I realized I should be prophylactically worming my girls. I haven't seen any worms, but Buffy has been thin for a long time and I know she eats well. So I decided it would be a good thing to do. The eggs have to be tossed for about a month, so I also wanted to do this before anyone else started laying. The first round of worming happened today, it is a liquid so I measured out each dose onto some bread pieces. Camilla got a half dose because she is so small. Everyone took their medicine well (and no one else's, that was a concern) except Camilla. I had to try 3 different foods before I got her to eat her's.


Some exciting news - Mabel has begun "squatting" when I go near. That means she will start laying soon. Hopefully we won't have to throw any of her eggs out, how horrible to waste the first eggs! I also got everyone dusted for mites and lice last week with Aaron's help. Everyone looked pretty good except Camilla, her skin was red and inflamed. I have a feeling they gained hold when she had her surgery and wasn't feeling well. We are well on our way to a parasite free zone over here.