We are grateful to be able to offer free range eggs in Rio Gozo Farm Ventura CSA. Nothing compares to that deep yellow yolk and knowing your eggs were laid within Ventura's watershed by clucky range fed chickens.
During our Spring Farm party we had an egg hunt. At first we considered egg tapping, Ukranian Egg painting, or the Scottish tradition of rolling painted eggs down a steep hill (but who'd ever heard of steep hills on farmland? -ludicrous compared to the dangerous business of inviting a mythical rabbit back out to the farm to hide some eggs after our rabbit plague last summer, right?) Despite our trepidation the egg hunt won out. Kids love a good treasure hunt; they hid and found those eggs a dozen times.
The food we grow for the CSA program is at the whim of weather, so we especially come to appreciate Spring for the promise of abundance. Eggs in just about any culture are symbols of rebirth and new life. Anyone who has children, works the land, or has a direct connection to growing food & raising animals recognizes the importance of regeneration. It's the underlying commonality of all these Spring time festivities.
Here are some sites that do a great job helping people get started with their own chickens.
Recipe of the Week:
Baked Eggs with Spinach and Cream
(makes 4 servings)
Recipe from William Sonoma's Cooking from the Farmers' Market
Ingredients
1Tbsp plus 2 Tsp unsalted Butter
1 1/2 lb baby spinach, stems removed
4 eggs
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tsp heavy (double ) cream
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Coat four 1/2 cup ramekins with the 1 Tbsp butter.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until limp but still bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain well and rinse under cold running water. Drain again and squeeze to remove excess water. Coarsely chop the spinach.
Divide the chopped spinach among the prepared ramekins. Dot each with 1/2 Tsp of the remaining butter. Break and egg into each ramekin and sprinkle each with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Drizzle each with 1 tsp of the cream.
Place the ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until the whites are set and the yolks are firm around the edges but still soft in the center, about 15 minutes. Serve right away.
Enjoy.
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