The Perfect Steamed Soft Boiled Egg

With all the eggs that come through my kitchen door, I have learned a thing or two about them. Today I want to share with you the perfect soft boiled egg. Every time!

My favorite method is steaming the eggs for certain. I like to use a drop in vegetable steamer in a large stockpot. The reason being that I can fill the large stockpot with enough water to not need worry about the pan boiling dry during the process.

So there is a lot of talk about fresh eggs being difficult to peel and I assure you that simply is not the case. If you choose to boil your eggs traditionally just add a pinch of baking soda to the boiling water. For good measure and perhaps out of habit I still add a pinch to my steam water.

I put a 3-4 inches of water in my stockpot, toss in a pinch of baking soda and let it come to a full boil. I then add my eggs to the steamer basket and place the basket in the boiling stockpot. I place the cover over the pot and let the eggs steam for 6 minutes and 30 seconds.

Then pull the steamer basket out and run under cold water until cooled down.

Once your eggs are cooled down tap the wide side of the egg where an air pocket typically is found to help star out the peeling process. Then begin to crack and peel. The peel should come off quite easily

.

I like to add a little cracked black Tellicherry pepper and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

If you like your eggs a bit firmer add a 30-60 second more to the process.

Enjoy!

Farm Fresh Daily : Our Farm

Farm Fresh Eggs: To Refrigerate or Not to Refrigerate?

An often discussed and disputed aspect of chicken raising is whether or not to refrigerate your farm fresh eggs. So, as noted from my previous article  Farm Fresh Eggs: Wash or Unwashed we note that in the United States the USDA requires that eggs are washed, sanitized and re-sealed prior to entering the food market, contrarily eggs are required to be unwashed and in their natural state to enter the food market in many European countries. So if your buying your eggs from a grocery store in the Unites States, I might as well let you know that you may want to just bypass this article right here and right now, as this simply doesn't apply to your washed, sanitized and re-sealed eggs. However, education is a powerful thing so I suggest you read on. The USDA adherent eggs must be refrigerated to remain safe. 

The reason the United States insists that eggs are washed, sanitized and re-sealed, further still, refrigerated has to do with poultry farm standards. Let me give you a visual concept.

Here is a poultry egg farm adhering to the USDA guidelines.

Yikes those poor birds. So tightly packed in, no free ranging, just sitting there to lay. I don't see how this can frankly be healthy, nor entice me into heading to the grocer to purchase a dozen of eggs.v 

                        

      Here are some of my own chickens out on the front lawn free ranging

The USDA does not require that these hens in the poultry houses are vaccinated for salmonella, which is pretty disturbing considering they are packed like sardines in the perfect breeding environment for salmonella contamination. Britain has standardized practice that all chickens are to be vaccinated for Salmonella. They are virtually wiping out the health risks, funny same place that requires eggs be untreated, bloom in tact, no refrigeration necessary AND they require commonsense  vaccination. Are you catching a theme here, or is it just me?

So the USDA has come out and essentially said that they do not believe vaccinating the chickens for salmonella would alleviate the risk of contamination. Without the USDA requiring the vaccination, which would cost the egg producer less than a penny for every dozen eggs, there is essentially no incentive to vaccinate, as they are clearly are concerned with profit and not human safety, as sad as it is to say.

I find it disturbing that because of the unsanitary, overcrowded living conditions rampant in the large farming industry based for mass production, 80% of all antibiotics produced go to the farming industry. Something just seems completely illogical in all of this to me. I guess we have choices, move to Britain or start holding our own government monitoring system responsible for this clearly illogical thinking. I vote we start letter writing right now.

Whew! OK so back to to our farm fresh daily eggs and to refrigerate or not. It is actually far less complicated than the politics of the food industry and I assure you,  it is politics.

The eggs we are discussing here are farm fresh eggs that are fresh from the nesting box out of your own back yard. If you purchase your eggs from a local farmer, understand that they as well have to adhere to the USDA specifications for entering the market and unfortunately their eggs have most likely undergone the wash, sanitize, resealed process.  If in question, ask your egg supplier. If you are from a European country which offers farm fresh eggs unwashed and shelved, read on!

Eggshells are porous, there are roughly 7500 openings per egg, so lots of little cuticles taunting it's environment to come and invade. They are essentially open to easy entrance of contaminants, be they bacteria, odors, or tastes bouncing around their environment. However an unwashed farm fresh egg invokes the beauty of nature as upon exit of the hen producing it, a protective layer called the bloom is sealed about the egg, keeping contaminates at bay.

We look over to the European standards for the most efficient answer on storage of farm fresh eggs as their eggs are just that. They have said that to bring an egg from cold storage to room temperature could lead to condensation, which can promote bacterial growth. So the standard is for eggs to be consistently stored at room temperature. They further state that eggs should be transported and stored at a consistent temperature. In the cold months  temperature ranging between 66.2 °F and 69.8°F and in the warmer weather between 69.8 °F and 73.4 °F

So with your eggs out on the counter at room temperature you have between 7-10 days for use then for further longevity, pop them in the fridge. A refrigerated eggs standard of safety is between 30-45 days. I personally have heard backyard farmers who claim to have cold stored them and refrigerated them for much longer.For safety sake, I am comfortable with the 7-10 countertop and 30-45 days refrigeration. 

So farm fresh eggs,... refrigerate or not? I say for the first 10 days, not. After that refrigerate away in my opinion.

As a side bar, for those fertilized farm fresh eggs, left in the coop,...

H5N1 : Swine Flu in the Making

Fresh Eggs To Wash Or Not?

There comes a point when you start raising chickens that the question arises should these fresh eggs be washed or not?
The question itself will raise a myriad of answers.
First let's see what the good old government has to say on the matter. The eggs sold and considered safe in the United States would be considered unsafe in the UK and other European Nations and vice versa. The USDA required that eggs be washed and sanitized prior to entering the food market, contrarily the European countries require the complete opposite. Grade A eggs in the European market are not to be washed prior to entering the grocery store shelves.
Across the pond the basic philosophy is that when a chicken lays an egg her body applies a protective layer to the shell called the "bloom". This is necessary as an egg shell is porous. If a farmer has clean practices, the eggs will be virtually clean and protected by the bloom from the entrance of bacteria and other little nasties.  I personally adhere to this belief system.
The United States washes, sanitizes and sprays a protective coating to the eggs prior to entering the market. Does this seem illogical to you? You wash off the protective coating to sanitize it and reapply an artifical protective coating? Illogical thinking at it's best.
So under what circumstances would you want to wash them? I would say if you collect your eggs and somehow they managed to be dirty whether with chicken poop or mud you may feel compelled to clean the eggs. I can understand that thinking. If you are sharing with family and do not want to get into the whole wash or not to wash, as well, explaining the many virtues of the bloom, there are two manners that you surely could undertake to remedy the not so pretty eggs.
To Clean the Eggs
1: Sand Paper. That's right sand paper from the good old hardware store. Many people prefer this method as it avoids wetting the eggs at all. You simply take a bit of sand paper and rub the surface of the eggs until they appear pretty enough. As you now have most likely removed a bit of the bloom apply a thin layer of mineral oil for good measure to add a protective barrier. Although fresh eggs will keep out on the counter for some time without refrigeration, after the bloom has been interfered with, these are the eggs you need to pop into the refrigerator for storage and eat before your fresh unwashed eggs.
2: Wash that bloom right off of your egg! Because eggs are porous it is recommended that you use water that is 20 degrees warmer than the eggs for washing. Cold water contracts the porous eggshell and is said to draw the exterior bacteria and such inside of the egg. Pretty nasty business. So how do you know what is 20 degrees warmer than the egg? Just use hot water. Boiling is not necessary but beyond room temperature, a notch above warm. The few times I have had to do this because I have muddy ducks that will often muck up the lower nesting boxes. I run hot water bringing the egg and a fresh paper towel under the stream and rub, rub, rub.  Then dry the eggs and apply a light coat of mineral oil to reseal it and pop into the refrigerator and plan to eat them before the fresh unwashed eggs.

How can you manage to keep your eggs pretty and not in need of a wash?

1:  Keep your nest boxes as clean as possible. Plan on adding fresh shavings or your choice of medium daily. Or as often as needed to maintain sanitary conditions.

2. Check for eggs often. Get to know your girls laying patterns and be sure to check the nesting boxes throughout the day. The less time an egg sits in the nesting box, the less likely a second or even third hen will come  to lay an egg and in the process step on it the already layed egg with their dirty feet and rub it with less than pristine feathers.

3: Make sure you have sufficient nesting boxes for the amount of chickens you have. Typically one nesting box for every 4-5 five hens is the recommendation. This  unfortunately isn't always a guarantee as sometimes one of two nesting boxes get picked as favorites by the girls and they tend to stand around next to any empty nesting box while clucking up a storm to get the other girls moving along and out of their favorite box. However build them, and the potential is there for equal use.

4: Make sure the entrance to the nesting box are is clean. I have generally used shavings in the coop and just a dirt floor in the run. When my flock free ranged this worked out perfectly, however since we have been in lockdown from the fox attack I am finding this method less and less attractive as we house chickens and ducks together. I am planning to add construction sand to the coop floor and run in the next few weekends and then I will daily scoop out the run and coop of foreign matter aka poop. A clean entrance to the box helps in having less muck and yuck on the feet and feathers of your girls.

5: Try and keep your hens using the nesting boxes for laying only. A broody hen is the one area you don't particularly have control over the situation. However a broody hen doesn't lay. There will be no eggs to collect from her. Leave her nesting box be until she hatches out her little flock.  As long as the other nesting boxes are kept clean and egg free the broody hen will direct herself right back to her nesting box that she had been setting on when she exits for short spurts to eat and drink. The other boxes will be free and clean to the rest of your girls.

So to wash or not to wash? Me personally if at all avoidable, Unwashed!

Iced Tea Yummy Yummy!

Well the temperature is kicking up here on old Cape Cod. So what is a girl to do? Well I put Melody Gardot on the kitchen Bose and decided to make a batch of Oolong and Rooibos iced tea!

There are three methods of making iced tea. You can use either bagged tea or loose tea. Loose is what I prefer. I use Muslin bags, they are normally purchased for adding bouquet garni to soups (a bundling of herbs to flavor soup to be removed upon completion, french for garnished bouquet). Now aren't we fancy shmancy! I feel like saying grey poupon,...come on say it with me,..pardon me, can you pass the grey poupon?!

I like to use bell canning jars because, well I am obsessed with them and use them in any possible way I can. For a personal tea, which you could make a nice cup or two for yourself, you can use a quart sized jar. For me it doesn't always work out because everyone wants what I have, so I just make enough to not have to be harboring it in the back of the fridge from lazy eyes. I use the 1/2 gallon bell jar. There is a cold brew method of making iced tea, a hot brew method as well as a sun tea method which is self explanatory. In a pinch the hot method gives instant gratification.

The hot method of making iced and the cold method vary greatly. When tea is extracted during the hot method the caffeine and basic compounds of the tea are more completely extracted and as well alter in the process. A hot method iced tea is stronger containing more caffeine, higher notes, acid and bitterness due to the addition of heat which creates a chemical reaction along with extraction. The cold method of extracting the tea produces a less acidic tea, containing lower levels of caffeine and taste notes. It is more simple in it's extraction and holds the original tea flavoring more cleanly and unaltered. The sun tea sits somewhere in the middle of the two as it uses the sun to warm up the water and extract the tea. There is currently a lot of controversy over the safeness of sun tea warning us that it can make one sick because of bacterial growth. I say, personally I used to drink water from the hose as a child. I walked bare foot, and ate soup that sat out in a pot all day melding. Next thing you know it is going to be unsafe to kiss your children. Just sayin...

Today I am using the hot tea method and frankly I am looking for a nice strong concoction.  I will however share all three methods.

 Oolong & Rooibos Hot Brewed Method Iced Tea

1/2 gallon glass container  ( I use the bell canning jar) 

Muslin or sealable tea bags 

12 teaspoons of oolong loose tea

2 teaspoons of Rooibos loose tea

Sugar or alternative to taste (optional)

Lemons or Lime (optional)

Heat the water in tea pot to boiling enough to fill the jat leaving an inch for expansion **
Fill muslin bags with your loose tea and cinch. Alternatively you could use 12 premade tea bags of your choice.
Let the water sit for two minutes after coming to a boil before pouring into your jar.
Fill the jar with water leaving an inch from the top.
If you plans to sweeten you would use what you would typically put in a cup of tea x 6. For instance I like two mini spoons of stevia to sweeten a cup of hot tea so I would add 12 mini stevia spoons of sweetener. If you use two tbs of sugar multiply that by 6.
Add sweetener and dissolve now add in your bagged tea.

For oolong tea you should steep between 4-7 minutes ***depending on the strength you are looking for.
If you keep the bag of tea in longer the tea will begin to bitter.

For a personal brew use a quart glass jar, 4 teaspoons of oolong tea 1/2 to 1 tsp rooibos with or without sweetener.

If you want to be obsessive heat water to :

black teas 212 F
Oolong 195 F
green tea 185 F
Herbal 212 F
white teas 185 F

eyeball heating guideline for those not kitchen gadget crazy
180 Bubbles forming on the bottom of the pot
195 F Bubbles begin to rise up
212 full rolling boil

Steeping freak's guidelines

Black tea 3-5 minutes
oolong 4-7 minutes
Green 2-3 minutes
white 2-3 minutes
herbal 5-7 minutes


Now do you want it now or later? If you want it now pour it over a glass filled with ice, add a lemon or lime and wala. If not let cool and then pop in the fridge, hot tea placed straight into the fridge clouds, it won't alter the taste but will alter the appearance. If your harboring a personal size quart jar from the envious gluttons in your life, place it in the back of the fridge!


Oolong & Rooibos Cold Brew Method Iced Tea

1 or 2 - 1/2 gallon glass container  ( I use the bell canning jar) 

Muslin or sealable tea bags 

12 teaspoons of oolong loose tea

2 teaspoons of Rooibos loose tea

Sugar or alternative to taste (optional)

Lemons or Lime (optional)

Place your cinched bag of tea in the glass container. Pour room temperature water over the tea filling an inch from the top. Place jar in the refrigerator for roughly 8 hours. Perfect to make a pot before bed and ready for the next day.

When ready pour over ice (optional) add sweetener and lemon or lime

Oolong & Rooibos Sun Tea

1 or 2 - 1/2 gallon glass container  ( I use the bell canning jar) 

Muslin or sealable tea bags 

12 teaspoons of oolong loose tea

2 teaspoons of Rooibos loose tea

Sugar or alternative to taste (optional)

Lemons or Lime (optional)

Place tea in glass container, fill the container with water an inch from the top. Place in the sun for 8-10 hours wala. Fill glass with ice and (optional) sweetener, lemon or lime and enjoy. Pop the leftover into the refrigerator so you don't die! And don't forget to enjoy it you rebel you!

Now you can tinker with this recipe for whatever sorts of teas you have in mind. I basically like 2tsp of tea for per 8 oz of water. with a few multiples of 8 I like to add a tsp for the pot. If you like your tea strong add more tea, weaker add less tea, it isn't science it is common sense ;-}

It's hot out there people,..stay cool you chicken lovers and have yourself a Cape Cod Day!

-

Chick Days!!!

Well my little Darlings are all still in lock down, thanks to the pesky fox. It seems this year here on old Cape Cod we are really feeling the pain of the fox explosion. You won't read about it in the news, but if you have chickens, you have probably had at least one attack this year, if not multiple like myself.
We have all heard about the fox in a hen house, but seriously that is all I am hearing about this year. Many of us have never had to worry about a fox and suddenly that is our biggest concern.
This tells me something is afoot on the Cape.

Last year we had a bear here, the theory is it swam the Cape Cod Canal. It was the first sighting on the cape of a bear in over a 100 years. That seems pretty significant to me.

Our coyote population is on the rise, along with the hybrid coywolves, which is self explanatory and even bob cat sightings have begun. Lions, tigers and bears oh my!
I think Nature has a rhyme and reason if you will. This years cold was certainly unending. So much snow and just never ending, it was just near depressing. November and December where all joy and tis the season, by February I was looking at the bridge alot differently!
The trees at our homestead, that are hundreds of years old, just gave way to the wicked winds like Monica Lewinsky at a lunch with Linda Tripp. It is certainly a head scratcher for me. I never thought spring would arrive and it has, but with a whole new set of issues to be contended with.
It seems to me that the Cape's wildlife population is changing, adding and exploding. That animals once thought to be out in Western Massachusetts in the virtual boonies are now being drawn east to the Cape much like the dreaded tourists and they don't patronize the local businesses, they eat our backyard livestock!
Anyhow I digress. We are a few months now into lock down mode. The fox took my numbers down this year from 32 chickens to a mere 15, that is the bad news. I lost some really wonderful sweet birds. The good news is that it is spring and an easy time to replenish your flock. Because it's what? Oh yeah ,..

Chick Days!!!

 

Now chick days are just the best. They typically start up in March. All the local feed and grain 

stores start to get weekly deliveries of chicks, ducklings, goslings and turkeys. Jump in fast because there is far too much homesteader chatter for the good ones to not be purchased up early on in the day. 

The chick days usually roll up by the end of July and into a pinch of August if your lucky. 

It truly is so much better to be able to just pick up your chicks, hands on eye to eye, nose to beak, as you get to see if they are in good shape from the long trip through the postal, save yourself some shipping money and hey you get to check out all the breeds you didn't even know about. If your planning on picking up a chick or two, I assure you it will be just a bit more than what you intended. There is usually  3 chick minimum and I frankly think that is a good idea. too many people stumble upon "chick days" and think it novel to by their little ones a chick for Easter, they are adorable after all, but they grow quickly and soon need to have friends and all the proper amenities a chickens will need like a coop and a run, proper waterers and feeders. A three chick minimum will hopefully ensure an educated buyer.

Usually the chicks are pullets, which are female chickens that will grow into egg pumping, no baby daddy needing, cluck cluck clucking hens. That is right just in case you didn't know, you do not need a rooster to have eggs. Hens lay eggs just fine the only difference being if they decide to go broody and sit on those eggs without a roosters courting, they will not become chicks as they are not fertile. Alot of people find having a rooster a troublesome plight as they do tend to be loud, which I have no issue with, I love hearing my roosters nudging the sun awake, I am just not partial to them impaling me with their spurs, luckily I only have one of those my other little boys are sweeties. Often town ordinances do not allow you to have a rooster as well. So ask your feed and grain if their chicks are all pullets to be sure and call your local town hall and ask if roosters are allowed.

I have just been in heaven since some of the feed stores have been getting in a much better selection of chicks than years passed. Barnstable Farm & Pet and Cape Cod feed & Supply, which are virtually around the corner from one another have had some really rocking selections with the various fancy shmancy Polish, golden, white crested and the elusive buff that I keep missing out on. 

Cochins, which are a compact little version for those with limited space. Egg color is moving into the forefront with Cuckoo Marans chocolate madness eggs, Americauna and rainbow layers for beautiful blue and green eggs worthy of any Easter basket. 

New Farm in Harwich has now entered the scene and I made a special trip there to pick up welsummers in hopes of a speckled chocolate egg. I grabbed two cuckoo marans for good measure and added another two buff orpingtons just because they have such sweet personalities. The ownwrs there are very nice and well worth the trip. They just recently got in silkies which I would have run there to pick up if I hadn't already brought home some lovely silkies from a local breeder. 

My favorite coo this year was finding a hatching crazy local with five straight run (guess the sex) french black copper marans known for their outstanding dark egg color.

Ducklings!

Some ducklings, Columbian Wyandotte,...I think your getting the point. I just planned to add a few more however chicken math always ends up this way as in chick world 2=5

Golden Polish and Columbian Wyandotte 

Pekin, Rouen and Khaki Campbell ducklings

Ducklings

Getting big now!

Chicks Man!

So as you can see things are just exploding over here. Our Grand finale, or so we thought, this spring is our new addition Giorgio, formerly known as Disco, he is one handsome little boy. He is a sizzle. 

A sizzle is a cross breed of chicken, a mix of silkies and a Cochin frizzle.

 

Twins Right?!

And just as we thought we were all done our hen Millie decided to hatch out one single chick this morning. More than likely it will be a rooster, because that is just how it goes here.

 

Millie & Chicka Boom

 Giorgio on Guard Duty

Millie Teaching Chicka Boom how to be a big girl

 Gangs All Here

 Lacey coming in sneaky to check the new chick

So needless to say it has been pretty busy around here!

http://barnstablefarmandpetsupplies.com 

http://www.capecodfeedandsupplyinc.com

http://newfarmstore.com

Barnstable Farm and Pet Chick Calendar

June 2

COLUMBIAN WYANDOTTE RHODE ISLAND RED BUFF LACED POLISH CUCKOO MARAN DOMINIQUES BUFFED LACED POLISH BARRED ROCK RAINBOW LAYERS BUFF COCHINS June 9 Light Brahmas Columbian Wyandotte Red Stars Buff Cochins Barred Rock Araucana/Amerauca

June 16th
LIGHT BRAHMAS
WHITE ORPINGTON
June 23rd
W. C. BLACK POLISH
Araucana/Amerauca 

GOLDEN POLISH BUFF ORPINGTONS RED STAR RHODE ISLAND RED July 7 BUFF ORPINGTONS RED STAR RHODE ISLAND RED COLUMBIAN WYANDOTTE ARAUCANA/AMERAUCANA BLACK AUSTRALORP BARRED ROCK

                                               
 Cape Cod Feed and Supply Chick Calendar

Week of March 10th- Buff Orpington & Barred Rock
Week of March 17th- Black Star & Red Star
Week of March 24th- Araucana & White Giant
Week of March 31st- ducks: Pekin, Cayuga & Blue Swedish
Week of April 7th- Black Giant, Partridge Cochin & Silver Spangled Hamburg
Week of April 14th- New Hampshire Red, Blue Andalusian & Golden Campine
Week of April April 21st - Rhode Iskand Red, Araucana & White Orpington
Week of April 28th- ducks: Pekin, Khaki Campbell & Roen
Week of May 5th- Golden Wyandotte & Black Australorp
Week of May 12th- Standard Bronze Turkeys
Week of May 19th- Light Brahma, Buff Polish & White Crested Polish
Week of May 26th- Silver Laced Wyandotte & Araucana
Week of June 2nd- Giant White Turkeys
Week of June 9th- Pearl White Leghorn & Speckled Sussex
Week of June 16th- Buff Orpington & Cuckoo Maran

Chicken $5.99
Ducks $8.99
Turkeys $13.99
*No birds allowed to leave before 10 a.m. on day of arrival*   

 

New Farm

call and check

 

 

 

Overwhelmed

So here we are nearing the end of May and I am overwhelmed to the point of stagnation. All my big plans came to naught. In order to plant the garden I started with the idea of a simple fence. Well in the midst of that, with only weekends to work with, we had visitors two weekends in a row. So the fence went up sporadically at best.

Near done now, thankfully, as it grew from a little fence to quite a monster, I was planning to get the garden in. Then my cars ebrake needed replacing and my washing machine took a nose dive. Perfection! So two days into my glorious 3 day weekend,  brake job completed finally, washing machine hunting in progress and the downstairs refrigerator decides it needs attention. Seriously?!

I could just scream. So my garden, it looks like tomorrow I will just be filling in my three raised garden boxes and calling it a weekend. 

So where am I on my check list for the spring.

Garden Fence : near completed

Garden : diverted to raised garden boxes

Raised Garden Boxes: mulling it over

Driveway: who needs visitors anyway

Boundary fencing: hopeful

Entryway refurbished Arbor gate: a dream

Back patio: wish and a prayer

New Goat house: dream on!

I guess tomorrow is another day. I have to just accept it, make an unrealistic list and reality will come sit in your lap!