[shel]

Yesterday I stopped by one of my favorite poultry stores, and discovered a dozen or so cartons of Soul Food Farms highly regarded eggs. I've been meaning to try them for some time, but their distribution was sparse and the stores that carried them weren't convenoent to me. Seeing the eggs right before me in the case got me very excited.

Soul Food Farm: Press coverage

This morning I broke out my carbon steel omelet pan. a block of my favorite sweet butter, and prepared a Soul Food omelet. Yeoww! These eggs are so superior to any egg I've ever had that I've purchased locally that there's really no comparison. The only eggs that cmpare are some really fresh, just laid eggs I've had when visiting a few farms over the years.

So, if you're in the San Francisco Bay Area. give these eggs (and others like them) a try. They are definitely worth the extra dollar or so for a dozen. A short list of quaity egg and chicken producers can be found here: Raising poultry the new-old way

Happy Eating!

shel

[teamfat]

One of the detriments to losing my computer job at the U of Utah a couple years back is eggs. One of the professors has a few acres up in Summit County and has a number of chickens. Every now and then he'd give me a dozen eggs. I'll certainly agree that farm fresh eggs are just like the ones you buy at the megamart, but completely different. They made the fluffiest, most delicious omelettes, even just simply fried they were great, with richly colored deep yellow-orange yolks.

Actually, we are still friends, though I don't see him much anymore, maybe I'll hit him up for a dozen or so ....

mjb.

[teamfat]

Speaking of eggs and omelets, what is your favorite technique of cooking, your favorite fillings or toppings and sides?


mjb.

[shel]

Originally Posted by teamfat

Speaking of eggs and omelets, what is your favorite technique of cooking, your favorite fillings or toppings and sides?

Hmmm .... I suppose my favorite way of cooking eggs is scrambled or as an omelet. When I scramble eggs I often add an extra yolk or two, depending on the total number of eggs being scrambled. I then cook the eggs in a carbon steel french omelet pan with plenty of my favorite unsweetened butter (there are a couple that I enjoy quite a bit, one being Kerry Gold, an Irish butter). Depending on my mood, I may add a few small pieces of diced butter directly into the eggs and perhaps use a tad less in the pan. A subtle sprinkling of Diamond Crystal Kosher salt and a medium grind or two of Tellicherry black pepper or some cracked long black pepper (Piper retrofractum or Piper longum), sometimes a small amount of fresh herbs is a nice addition.

Omelets are made in the same pan and in the traditional method, folded over into thirds, sometimes with a light sprinkle of grated cheese and/or a vegetable, maybe add a little good quality ham.

Every now and then I like to make a frittata with a good amount of meat and vegetables, or the similar Spanish-type tortilla.

However, for dietary considerations and speed a boiled egg in the morning is a nice, simple way to get some protein.

If you like eggs, highly recommend is the Time-Life Good Cook series that features eggs and cheese.
Amazon.com: Eggs and Cheese: The Good Cook, Techniques and Recipes: Time-Life Books: Books



scb

[pork receipe]

Thanks for the sharing the tips of this kind of incredible eggs, really appreciated it indeed.

To be honest, it is become hard and harder to find the fresh and organic eggs in my living area (Seattle, Washington).

[shel]

Originally Posted by pork receipe

Thanks for the sharing the tips of this kind of incredible eggs, really appreciated it indeed.

To be honest, it is become hard and harder to find the fresh and organic eggs in my living area (Seattle, Washington).

Thanks for your coments. One of the resources here in the SF Bay Area are magazines such as Edible East Bay and similar magazines in other Bay Area and California communities. In Seattle there is Edible Seattle which may be worth looking into as a source of information about high quality and organic food sources.

There are about forty similar magazines published under the banner of Edible Communities in many areas of the US. Edible Publications lists what I believe is all of the publications in the US and Canada.

shel

[Mapiva]

The first 10 years of my life were spent growing up in a farm. My Mom has spent almost her entire life on that farm. My favorite part of visiting is eggs - they're my top food! Nothing like a just laid egg fried or soft boiled, and dipping into a blood orange yoke with crusty bread.

In Manhattan it's tough finding great eggs and I usually like to buy Eggland's best organic. My Mother taught me that raising good chickens is crucial to eggs and is very distrustful of store-bought eggs. She says it's key to have a pristine chicken coup, and to feed them fresh ingredients. Chickens eat their own poop you know, and the eggs they lay are affected by what they eat.

[shel]

Originally Posted by Mapiva

In Manhattan it's tough finding great eggs and I usually like to buy Eggland's best organic. My Mother taught me that raising good chickens is crucial to eggs and is very distrustful of store-bought eggs. She says it's key to have a pristine chicken coup, and to feed them fresh ingredients. Chickens eat their own poop you know, and the eggs they lay are affected by what they eat.

More and more I am avoiding supermarkets. I rarely visit them, and then onlyfor very specific items. I've seen Eggland's Best eggs advertised in various places, and that's enough to keep me from buying them - but that's in part because I don't like buying ANYTHING from large companies if I can help it, and also because resources for food here are pretty damned extraordinary.

A few chicken producers are now leasing some of their pasture to beef producers. The steers and chickens are quite compatible, and the birds eat the bugs from the steer droppings, and the droppings help fertilize the land and produce high quality grass.

You may be able to find sources for better quality eggs by checking articles and advertisers in the Edible Brooklyn magazine which can be found in the Edible Publications list noted in a previous message.

shel

[gonefishin]

Shel, thanks for sharing. I've been getting a bit frustrated lately with eggs. I've got two different places I get real farm fresh eggs right from the chickens (sometimes still warm. These are without a doubt the freshest and best tasting eggs I've had.

But in between the times that I can't get the farm fresh eggs I've been searching for a grocery brand. I haven't found any that were even close (in taste or freshness. I then remembered that the farmers market just started last week (during a work day). I was a little excited to see what the farmers market would have for farm fresh eggs and fresh meat. After talking with the guy I was really looking forward to trying the eggs and fresh pork I had bought. He raises all his own pigs, chicken, corn fed and grass fed cattle. Bottom line...the yolks were decent with good flavor. But the whites ran so thin all over the pan when I cracked the egg into the pan. This thing had to be well over two weeks old. What a disappointment.

I guess you want to know that you have a good source.

[shipscook]

Hey shel, two of my favorites from your neck of the woods are Joe's Special (to me it never goes out of style) and Hangtown Fry!!!!!!

Lowell's in Pike Street Market in Seattle have both on their menu. Problem is they also usually have a couple of incredible specials. That's agony to the poor old woman!!!!! When I am down for a few days, no problem, but if it's a quick one day trip--

Nan

[shel]

Originally Posted by shipscook

Hey shel, two of my favorites from your neck of the woods are Joe's Special (to me it never goes out of style) and Hangtown Fry!!!!!!
Nan

Well, toots, the venerable Joe's Special, which originated at either New Joe's or Original Joe's, is a real San Francisco treat, better, IMO, than the sum of its parts. I've tried it in a few places but it always seems better at Original Joe's, one of San Francisco's classic joints. Too bad Original Joe's was destroyed in a fire (about a year ago if memory serves).

Some Pics of Original Joe's

The Hangtown Fry goes back to the gold rush days - the story has it that it was created even before California was a state, but both CA and the Fry are children of the gold rush. There are a few old San Francisco restaurants that are as old as the Hangtown Fry, and if one wants something of an original version, one of those old fashioned, not-a-slave-to-fashion joints is the place to get it. The Tadich Grill, established in 1849, comes to mind.

Side note: Quite a few ofSF's older restaurants, institutions in their own right (Original Joe's, Tadich Grill, US Restaurant) were founded by Croatians, and many are still family owned businesses. The US Restaurant used to keepme fed back in the mid-1960s when I lived in North Beach. They had a killer minestrone soup, thick, filling, nutritious, and inexpensive. That and some SF sourdough would keep a young guy filled and energized for the entire day.

If you ever get down to these parts, the Tadich is my treat!

shel (feeling nostalgic for the old days)

[OregonYeti]

My favorite is eggs over easy fried in either butter or garlic-infused olive oil, on top of hash browns, with chipotle en adobo on the side

I had some of the best eggs ever at a little restaurant in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. Some of the best ham and hash browns, too.

[teamfat]

I hadn't really thought about this much, but since I brought up the favorite way to fix eggs I have been thinking about some of my tendencies. Actually one of my favorite ways to eat eggs is a couple of them fried sunny side up topping a pile of home fries with lots of onion, a light touch of garlic and a generous dose of black pepper, with good chewy wheat toast or homemade biscuits on the side.

I used to fix my omelets with LOTS of stuff in them, usually mushrooms, onions or shallots or leeks or such, some garlic, tomatoes, breakfast meats, cheeses of course, bell peppers, hot chilis, sometimes leftover broccoli, asparagas or whatever was in the fridge. But the last few years I've been heading in a slightly different direction, not only with eggs, but soups, salads, stews as well - fewer numbers of ingredients, chosen more carefully for their flavor interactions. Sure, I still do dishes with a long litany of ingredients, but I have been tending towards having a main ingredient and just two or three supporting actors. You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned trying this smoked blue cheese from Oregon - that sunday I made an omelet with some of that cheese and some diced tomato - simple, easy and very tasty.

Gee, I should remember who said it and the exact wording, but the quote is something like "perfection is not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to take away."

mjb, babbling philosopher.

[shel]

Originally Posted by OregonYeti

My favorite is eggs over easy fried in either butter or garlic-infused olive oil, on top of hash browns, with chipotle en adobo on the side

I like the idea of eggs with chipotle in adobo sauce. Might be a nice addition or variation on huevos rancheros. Thanks for the idea.

scb

[pork receipe]

Originally Posted by shel

Thanks for your coments. One of the resources here in the SF Bay Area are magazines such as Edible East Bay and similar magazines in other Bay Area and California communities. In Seattle there is Edible Seattle which may be worth looking into as a source of information about high quality and organic food sources.

There are about forty similar magazines published under the banner of Edible Communities in many areas of the US. Edible Publications lists what I believe is all of the publications in the US and Canada.

shel

Thanks for reply and the detailed information about the edible eggs, shel.

I never know that there is a magazine which mainly talk about the edible, high organic foods...

Will surely check it out.