I have soooooo many eggs right now. Literally thirteen dozen in my fridge. And more in the coop. Of course, there will be more in the coop tomorrow and the day after, and the day after.
Which means I’ll be forced to workout this afternoon so I can take my farm fresh eggs to the Y to sell. But, it also means I’ll be pulling out all my tricks for using eggs! We’ll eat them scrambled, as omelets, in quiche, as egg salad, but my family’s favorite is deviled eggs. Which is great. Except that hard boiled eggs can be such a pain!
Thankfully, I’ve learned a few things about the science of eggs. Nearly all of it has been confirmed by the girls at the Y too, so you can be sure these will work!
First, use old eggs. A fresh egg is “full”, making it difficult to separate the cooked egg from the shell, but an old egg has lost water through evaporation. This creates an air pocket at one end of the egg. You can test eggs by setting them in water. If they lie flat, the eggs are fresh with no air pocket. If one end floats up at a diagonal this egg is older and will work great for boiling or baking. If the egg stands perfectly on end, well, you’ve held on to that one too long!!!
Then place the eggs in a pot and cover them with cold water. The water level should be at least one inch above the eggs. Turn the heat on and allow the water to reach a rolling boil, then cover the pot with a lid and turn the heat off. Set a timer for 12-13 minutes.
This is important! When the timer goes off, don’t ignore it! Its okay to finish changing the baby’s diaper and all, but don’t think that no burning = no foul! Cool the eggs quickly in cold water. Once they’ve cooled to the touch lightly crack the entire surface of the egg. Under cold, running water carefully find the film under the shell and peel the egg. Try to find that air pocket and start there.
If you are Martha Stewart or the Pioneer Woman and have a whole kitchen just for your food show, you will have a beautiful, smooth, perfect egg ready for deviling!
If you are a crazed, homeschooling, foster parenting, goat caring, chicken wrangling, blogging mom who didn’t bother to test the eggs and then left them cooking for 45 minutes, you’ll probably end up with something not quiet that perfect.
So that’s where my two best tips for hard boiled eggs come in.
First, let you kids peel the eggs so you can proudly show off your creations as something your adorable offspring accomplished.
And second, cook twice as many as you need and make egg salad with the worst ones.
There ya go. Two tips for cooking hard boiled eggs, from my home to yours. 😉
Like most everything else in life, our chick project hasn’t been going quite as planned. To recap I brought home three Buff Orpington chicks a few weeks ago, not because we needed more laying hens, but because my kids love them so much.
We had chicks on our laps during movies, while playing games, and even during school. And since this is not my idea of a “teacher’s pet,” it was time to move those girls outside!
They are more attached to Brett and Anna than ever now, since outside is an intimidating place. I’m watching them through the window as I’m typing and the kids are trying to get a chick to stay in one place (no idea…) and the little bird is having none of it. She is right there by their feet at all times.
Daddy's Tractor 