EGGS

I currently buy my eggs at a local health food store that buys them from a local farm where the chickens are free to eat bugs and greens. The yolks are an amazing orange-yellow color. I’ve known many people who’ve kept their own chickens. I’ve been given my share of those faintly blue or green eggs, with those deeply yellow yolks, and have tried to come up with recipes that will seem worthy. Egg people love their chickens, and they usually have the best egg recipes. But the following isn’t so much a recipe; it’s just more of an appreciation of what a great ground eggs can make for a meal.

In my twenties I spent a lot of time with a family I knew who had established their own small farm and who tended their own animals, including chickens. Their children enjoyed the task of gathering eggs. And they named the chickens, which was a problem only if they planned on a chicken dinner later on. A favorite meal in the springtime was scrambled eggs with asparagus and cheese. I shared this meal with them many times. It hooked me on asparagus. If you’ve never tried it, you should—just a simple, not-that-seasoned combo. We might have sprinkled fresh chives on the scramble. (Asparagus flavor can get overwhelmed by almost anything, so maybe bland is better.)

This is a photo of a very young Maggie who seems interested in the chickens, but maybe worried too. Names? Cocky Locky and Iddy Biddy. Never eaten.