Hard Boiled Eggs

Last year I was busy making deviled eggs for a dinner and thought why are these fresh eggs so hard to peel? The answer behold is that they were too fresh. How can that be??? Too fresh, nothing can be too fresh but when it comes to hard boiled eggs they can be too fresh and then they don't peel easily. The trick to boiling these nice fresh eggs is don't. Use eggs that are at least a week old, then  boil them, the PH in the egg changes as it gets a little age on it and then the membrane will more easily separate from the shell making it easier to peel. You can keep your farm fresh eggs for 3-4 weeks. Most store bought eggs are a least a week old when you purchase them. 

Another trick I learned for boiling the fresh eggs is to put a tablespoon of vinegar in the water when boiling a dozen. The vinegar will change the PH of the egg and allow them separate from the shell much easier. I have used both white vinegar and rice vinegar and they both seemed to work the same. Warning don't use red wine vinegar. Eggs are porous and the vinegar could effect the flavor. 

This weekend we are on our way to the antique show at the expo center. I am always searching for cool egg related stuff. I was thrilled when I found the antique egg scale pictured above and the Oregon Farm sign. It was perfect for the girls hen house. 

The Perfect Egg

The perfect egg starts with a well fed hen. Our girls are eating a complete feed formulated for layes. It gives them the calcium they need for good shells and is a well balanced diet. It is not organic feed (organic feed is very expensive and to be truly orgainic all the the ingredients must be certified organic before milling.

The girls are foraging a little during the day looking for bugs however there are few during the winter. In the late evenings after a good rain I am collecting earth worms for them. They appear on the patio and crawling along the yard in the dark. It has become a nightly challenge for me to go out with my head lamp and grab the sneaky little buggers. There is an art to catching them. You must tread lighting and not shine the light directly on them until you are ready to go for the grab. The ones on the patio and cement are much easier to collect but I have found the biggest ones are those that stay close to an earth source and don't move across the cement. A good nights catch is between 20 and 40 worms.

The girls go crazy when I place a crock full of worms in their house.

Keep out the wolf

 Last night as we were getting ready to call it an evening I heard the girls making all kinds of noise. Flash light in hand I went right out to see what the problem could be. The light was still on in the hen house and all seemed fine however there was a abundance of feathers scattered through out the hen house. The red laced wyndott center hen in the picture seemed to have some ruffled feathers on her back. I picked her up and inspected her back and she seemed fine, no broken skin and no signs of trauma. I have no idea where all the feathers came from. There was no sign of entry to the hen yard. The girls settled right down when I threw some corn in the crock. As you can see in the picture they were very happy and not too bothered. I still have no idea what the problem was. I had become complacent about closing the hen house door eliminating the access to the hen yard. I have always thought they are secure. But after this hen house hassle I am not taking any chances. The door is closed and they are safe and sound and tucked in each night.

Composting for your hens

So here are the girls looking for bugs. They love going through the pile of leaves. Shortly after taking this picture they jumped in and starting kicking the leaves aside looking for worms. They have such keen eyesight that they will see the slightest movement and be right on that bug or grub. I have been a composter for many years and thought maybe I should compost for my hens. I am designing plans for a worm bin that will not only serve my fishing and composting needs but will also give me a good supply of worms for the hens especially in the winter when the natural supply of bugs has gone dormant.

Watch for more info in upcoming posts. I have research to do on worm bins.

Not hens today-Pyrex

How many of you remember the great Pyrex mom or grandma had in their fridge? I have read so many articles about the problems of storing and reheating food in plastic. So out with the plastic, but what to replace it with? Pyrex is the perfect vessel for those left overs and they go directly to the oven or microwave without any concerns. And don't they look good in the fridge.

But where to find them? I have been visiting the

thrift shops, the Goodwill and got some great items from my Mom. Thanks Mom!

There are some great websites all about Pyrex. Check out PyrexLove.com. It has all kinds of vintage Pyrex info I used it to locate pattern information and identified some of my own pieces.

This is Autumn Harvest circa 1982 not that old but very pretty. Keep in mind I graduated from high school in 1981.

The Verde is a two

section divided dish. What a pretty lid. Circa 1960's found this one at the Goodwill.

I found this whole set of mixing bowl at the Goodwill also. I think someone was cleaning out grandma's home at had no idea what they had. They are in great condition. Don't ever put your vintage Pyrex in the dishwasher. It will ruin the shiny finish.

More Pyrex later

My favorites

I purchased this ceramic egg holder at New Seasons. It is great I can wash it and it won't hold bacteria like the cardboard egg cartons that so many of us are using over and over. I save the standard egg cartons for sending eggs home with the kids and guests to our home. The girls are laying well and we give away a least a dozen every week. As you can see the eggs are clean people have a hard time believing they come out of the nest box looking this good. The girls

are very tidy layers

A friend gave me the old Star Egg Tray for my birthday. It is a cool blast from the past. Larry and I looked and looked for an egg scale and found this nice one at an antique expo. Most of our eggs weight in at Large. Way to go girls!

Breakfast served up

The girls are laying well, considering the cold weather and the shorter days. We have the light in the hen house set to come on at 5pm adding additional light for the girls turning off at 10:30 pm

The longer day is the key to keeping them laying. They tend to eat more during the winter. Not as many bugs and foraging go

ing on.

I whipped up some eggs for a quick breakfast.

One of my new passions is collecting some vintage kitchen items. I am in love with old Pyrex. Don't the eggs look pretty in this vintage bowl? This is a great healthy quick meal. Yum Yum.