Eggs

[Packy]

Eggs. How do you feel about Eggs? Do you rummage through the Egg Cooler at the grocery store, opening every carton, cherrypicking to get really Primo Eggs? After all, when you are paying Big Bucks($3/doz in Seattle) for something, you want it to be first class, don't you?

[CathyA]

Here in the midwest, I buy brown cage-free eggs at Kroger for about $2.50-3.00. I only open them to see if they are damaged.

[Float On]

I go to the back yard. I get big brown, green, and white.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Mixed feelings. I think I'm sometimes (somewhat?) allergic or sensitive to them. Like the last time I had quiche and I admit I picked it up from a coffee house so I don't know what other garbage it might have contained - I felt like the feeling of having consumed a massive amount of caffeine - mind just racing out of control and crazed - and I had consumed NO caffeine that day - in fact caffeine seemed paradoxically calming when I finally consumed it (well I figured if my mind was going to act as if I'd consumed 5 cups of coffee I might as well AT LEAST get some black tea! ha). And it's definitely not the first time I've noticed mental agitation from eggs. Also I sometimes have digestive symptoms from eggs. Other times they don't seem to bother me. So I eat them in very strict moderation (mostly just if I'm having breakfast with my mom - I don't even buy them - she gets the organic omega 3 eggs from trader joe - those have yet to cause me problems eating them very moderately).

[Packy]

At the new Hy-Vee store here, the Cashier opens the carton of eggs, to make sure they are in good shape. This way, people don't really need to go picking through the cooler, leaving opened cartons this way and that.

[bae]

I just go see if the chickens have any spare.

[Packy]

Well, since we have touched upon one aspect of hill-people culture, it may be worthy of note that not too long ago, the city council discussed amending the ordinance against keeping "farm animals" inside the city, to allow keeping poultry. I bike past at least one place in the country where they have chickens in the yard during the day, combing it for bugs. They are cute, and I know people use them for food, but the pest control aspect is about the only reason I'd keep 'em around.

[bae]

Well, since we have touched upon one aspect of hill-people culture,...

http://diaboliquemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Berryman-Midline-3.jpg

[CathyA]

I'm envious Float On..............mine are all in henopause. I LOVED having my own eggs. (I mean theirs). :)

I really miss them.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_0064.jpg

[Blackdog Lin]

Ours come from the backyard too. Once you get used to truly fresh eggs.....

[Packy]

Great Photo! Uh, er--Is that a Selfie? Just trying to be funny.

[iris lily]

Back in the days when we got fresh eggs from DH's family farms, I was amazed at how long those eggs lasted unrefrigerated. They lasted weeks.

[iris lily]

Off and on we flirt with the idea of chickens. We could have up to 8 chickens on our nearby property which has two empty houses. The city allows 4 animals per address.

But I'm not anxious to take on more animal chores because when I go out of town, as I want to do, I'd have to get someone to take care of the chickens. I wish this near-ghetto neighborhood had more greenie/permaculture type neighbors because I'd like to find a young couple who wants chickens to offer to house their chicks at our place. DH could build them a pretty nice little coup. We could share eggs, win/win.

[Packy]

I would kind of like to have chickens, roaming in the yard, catching bugs. Plus, they are interesting creatures, even if they are simpletons. But, I'd have to build a dedicated coop, acquire knowledge on care and feeding, and deal with the occasional failure--chickens dying, chickens fighting, chickens disappearing or getting sick, etc. Just another responsibility. Plus, it would be another way, another brick in the wall, that uh, "defines" littlebittyme. See? ETA: Same thing applies with Goats.

[CathyA]

I love my chickens, but if you want to keep them safe, it is a fair amount of work. Plus, some of them get sick and you have to figure out what's wrong and what to do about it. Thank heavens for the "Backyardchickens" website. There are hardly any vets who know anything about chickens.
I am getting weary of the responsibility.....and also the sadness when they die.
I have a sick one now. We dug a grave today. I hope I don't have to use it soon. :(

[Tiam]

I eat a lot of eggs. But I dont' grow them. I don't buy organic or go to any of the roadside stands to pick them up. I get the cheap, cage chicken eggs at the grocery store.

[KayLR]

Those are gorgeous, Cathy! I like buying eggs from a vendor at the Farmer's market; they'll often look like your photo, multicolored. Sometimes they are jumbo-size! Unfortunately, I can only get them March-Oct. Then the mkt is closed.

[catherine]

I like to put them on pizza.

[CathyA]

Thanks KayLR........I'll tell the girls you said so. :)

[OwlGirl]

On the topic of eggs, I've lived in many countries and wondered why some countries refrigerate eggs and others done. Also, why some countries clean the eggs and other don't. Also, countries seem to be heavily in favor of white or brown eggs and usually sell one or the other at supermarkets. Anyway, this npr article was pretty informative: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt

And someone also sent me this one when I brought up the egg topic: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nadiaarumugam/2012/10/25/why-american-eggs-would-be-illegal-in-a-british-supermarket-and-vice-versa/

They are both interesting reads if you are curious like I was.

[RichLife]

I buy free range eggs. I used to dislike eggs after getting sick after eating some when I was little, but I've slowly gotten myself to like them again because they are very nutritious and you can make an omelet or boiled eggs quickly. After buying a carton with a broken egg in it I've also learned to check the box. It's good the person at the checkout noticed it because it was leaking, and let me trade it in for another box.

[Florence]

I always open the carton to make sure none are broken.

I'm with Iris on chickens. We are able to travel some now and I have enough trouble getting a cat concierge for my real babies.

[The Storyteller]

If I couldn't get them out of my eggmobile every day, I would buy them from local farmers I knew and trusted. No way would I buy them from a store. I must know they were treated well and live on pasture.

[Suzanne]

Here's a useful tool for assessing egg quality: http://www.cornucopia.org/organic-egg-scorecard/