The Egg Diaries - Mulberry Clafouti

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

Last week at this time, we were in the middle of some unstable weather, which caused out internet to be very unstable.  I was unable to post last week's Egg Diaries because of it.  Our unstable internet is one of the negatives of living in the country, but is one I can overlook and live with.

Ricotta Lemon Arugula Quiche - Recipe by Martha Stewart linked below

All of the spring greens we planted in the garden are ready for harvesting and we've been enjoying baby spinach, red mustard, red romaine and other lettuce, endive and arugula.  I tried a Martha Stewart recipe for Ricotta Lemon and Arugula Quiche that I had pinned on Pinterest.  It was light and fresh and if you love the spicy, peppery taste of arugula, you'll enjoy it.  The recipe is linked below.

Our mulberry trees are laden with fruit.  I absolutely love mulberries!  I've been making mulberry jam and, of course baking with them to use eggs.  I used them in Pavlova last week.  If you missed my post it's linked below.

Mulberry Clafouti is a favorite recipe because it's fast and easy.  My recipe is at the bottom of the page.  Clafouti is traditionally made with cherries, so you can substite cherries or different berries in this recipe.

The Egg Diaries

Monday June 9th

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Sausage Cheese and Egg Breakfast Sandwiches on Toasted English Muffins, Orange Juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
2 Eggs - Cooked and fed to the dogs

5 Eggs Used

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Tuesday June 10th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  French Toast, Bacon, mulberries
0 Eggs - Lunch
8 Eggs - Dinner:  Pork Roast with roasted potatoes, carrots and onions, green beans  Pavlova ( with lemon curd, fresh strawberries and mulberries)

13 Eggs Used

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Wednesday June 11th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
0 Eggs - Lunch
2 Eggs - Dinner:  Ricotta Lemon and Arugula Quiche, Spring Greens Salad
2 Eggs - Cooked and fed to the dogs

4 Eggs Used

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Thursday June 12th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
4 Eggs - Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwiches, vegetable sticks, strawberries
0 Eggs - Dinner

4 Eggs Used

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Friday June 13th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
0 Eggs - Lunch
4 Eggs - Dinner:  Cheeseburger Macaroni Casserole, Spring Greens Salad,  Mulberry Clafouti (Recipe is below)

4 Eggs Used

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Saturday June 14th

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Cheese Omelettes, toast, strawberries
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
8 Eggs - Scrambled and fed to the chickens

12 Eggs Used

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Sunday June 15th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  Steak and Fried Eggs, Toast, Cranberry Orange Juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner

5 Eggs Used

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TOTAL:  47 EGGS USED

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Mulberry Clafouti

Mulberry Clafouti

2 cups mulberries
3 eggs
1 egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease an 8 x 8 square pan

Put your mulberries in the pan and arrange so they are spread evenly.

Combine your flour and salt and set aside.

Beat the eggs and the egg yolk together until light.
Add the sugar and beat.
Beat in the milk and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and beat until the mixture is well combined, light and airy.

Pour the mixture over the berries.

Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is golden and the top springs back when touched.

Cool.  ( We like it cold, others like to serve it warm)

Dust with icing sugar if you like to make a pretty presentation. (optional - we find it sweet enough without the added sugar)

Serve with whipped cream if desired.

Enjoy!

I'm linking up with Homestead Barn Hop #163

Farm Fresh Eating - Pavlova

Eggs and berries are plentiful on our little homestead right now.

It's our first year growing strawberries and we're getting more than I thought we would.  We eat the strawberries almost as fast as we pick them.  We pick them fresh every day.  They ripen on the plant and the taste is phenomenal.  Store bought berries have nothing on these babies.  There is no comparison.  You owe it to yourself to seek out some local strawberries and taste the difference yourself.

Our mulberries are incredibly plentiful.  I will be making jam again this year.  It's Mr. B's favorite, along with Mulberry Pie and Mulberry Cobbler.  The Mulberry Liquer I made last year was wonderful, so I see more of that this year also.  We're planning to dry some of our mulberry harvest to use like raisins.  Apparently they do it in Turkey and it's quite a delicious snack and very healthy.

If you are looking to try mulberries yourself, look for a mulberry tree in your neighborhood, or find someone like us who grows them.  You won't find them in your supermarket, because they are difficult to harvest and transport and their "shelf life" is very short.  Your Farmer's Market is probably your best bet to search for them.  If you live near Manito, Pekin, or Peoria in Illinois, contact me.

I was trying to think of a good way to use our bounty of berries and eggs and it came to me.  Pavlova!  It's the perfect early summer dessert and uses all three ingredients.

Pavlova is a meringue traditionally topped with whipped cream and fruit in season.  You can also top it with lemon curd, as I did here because I wanted to use the egg yolks, or with a pudding or custard and, of course, fruit.

Pavlova

You'll want to bake the meringue early in the day as it takes 1 hour and 15 minutes to bake and then you must cool the meringue in the oven with the door closed, which will take approx 3 to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your baking sheet.  On one side of the sheet parchment, using a pencil, trace around an 8 inch round cake or pie pan, dark enough so that you can see the circular outline when you flip the paper over and lay it upside down in your pan.

4 egg whites (fresh, local eggs from pastured hens) at room temperature (separate your eggs one at a time into a separate small bowl and then pour into your larger bowl, just in case you accidentally get some yolk in them - there must be NO yolk or grease in the egg whites or they won't beat up)

A pinch of salt ( see here if you don't know what a pinch is )

1 1/4 cups of sugar - I use 1 cup which is still very sweet

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar or lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream ( 1 pint of whipping cream - add 2 tablespoons of sugar, optional )

Fresh Seasonal Local Fruit

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla and put to one side.

Put your egg whites in a large bowl and add the pinch of salt.  Beat with a mixer until the egg whites become 'white' and glossy peaks form.

Add your sugar to the egg whites, 1/3 at a time, beating after each addition, until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Sprinkle the cornstarch mixture over the meringue, then, using a spatula, gently fold the mixture together, until combined.

Empty your meringue out onto the center of your circle on the parchment paper.  Using your spatula spread and shape your meringue into a circle and smooth the top.

Place your pan in the oven and immediately reduce the temperature of the oven to 250 degrees.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Turn off the oven and let the meringue cool completely in the oven, about 3 to 4 hours.

Top with whipped cream and seasonal local fruits.

ENJOY!

Eat Fresh.  Eat Seasonal.  Eat Local.

The Egg Diaries - May 26th to June 1st

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

Happy June!  Summer is here in Central Illinois.  The temperatures are in the eighties and the sun pushes that over the 90 degree mark.  Add to that the humidity and it makes me understand afternoon siestas.  We try to get all of our outdoor work done by ten o'clock, so we can retreat indoors to escape the heat and the buffalo gnats (which are still swarming, much to our, and our chickens' dismay - see my post on them here).

We've been eating food that both uses eggs and scream summertime, like potato salad and deviled eggs.  Memorial Day morning I baked my favorite Banana Cake.

The stuff Banana Cake dreams are made of.

It's not a fancy cake, but it's moist and so banana-ey ( new word!).  This is a large cake and will serve a crowd, so it's wonderful for summertime gatherings.  If you can bake a banana bread, you can bake this cake.  It's so good, that I have to share the recipe with you as as an 'Eggs in Disguise'* recipe.  You'll find it below.

The Egg Diaries

Mon May 26th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  French Toast, Bacon, Cantaloupe
0 Eggs - Lunch
4 Eggs - Dinner:  Potato Salad, Brats, Spring Greens Salad, Banana Cake (recipe below)

9 Eggs Used

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Tues May 27th

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toasted Western Sandwiches, Orange Juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
2 Eggs - Fed to the dogs

6 Eggs Used

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Wed May 28th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
6 Eggs - Lunch:  Deviled Eggs, Homemade Dill Crackers, Vegetable Sticks, Tomatoes
3 Eggs - Dinner:  Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots, Green Beans, Mushroom and Onion Gravy

9 Eggs Used

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Thurs May 29th

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Poached Eggs on Broiled Cheddar Cheese Toasts, Grapefruit
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner
2 Eggs - Fed to the dogs

6 Eggs Used

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Fri May 30th

0 Eggs - Breakfast
3 Eggs - Lunch:  Egg Wrap (Hard boiled eggs, genoa salami, cream cheese, tomato and lettuce wrapped in a large spinach herb tortilla.  Cut in half, it serves two.  Make up your own wrap combo!)

0 Eggs - Dinner

3 Eggs Used

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Sat May 31st

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  Cheese and ham omelettes, toast, cranberry juice
0 Eggs - Lunch
0 Eggs - Dinner

5 Eggs Used

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Sun June 1st

0 Eggs - Breakfast
1 Egg  - Toasty Tuna Sandwiches (Recipe is here), vegetable sticks, apples
0 Eggs - Dinner
2 Eggs - Fed to the dogs
8 Eggs - Scrambled and fed to the chickens

11 Eggs Used

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Total:  49 Eggs Used

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Banana Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch pan.

Ingredients

3 large ripe bananas

2 teaspoons lemon juice

3 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of sugar

3 large eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups of milk soured with a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice (combine in a small bowl and let stand while you mix the other ingredients)   OR   1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

In a small bowl mash the bananas and stir in the lemon juice.  Set to one side.

If souring your milk, do it now and set to one side to let it sour.  OR  measure out your buttermilk and set to one side.

In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl cream the butter and the sugar together until well combined, light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix well.

Alternately, add and beat into the creamed mixture, the flour mix and the milk.  Always start and end with the dry ingredients.  (Confused?  It goes like this:  add about 1/3 of the flour mix, beat.  Then 1/2 of the milk, beat.  Then 1/3 of the flour mix, beat.  Then 1/2 of the milk, beat.  Then the last 1/3 of the flour mix, beat.)

Stir in the mashed bananas.

Pour into your prepared pan and bake for one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups icing sugar

Cream the butter and cream cheese together.

Add the vanilla and stir or beat in.

Add the sugar one cup at a time, beating well each time until the sugar is all combined and the frosting is smooth.

Let the cake cool completely before frosting it.  Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Store in the fridge.

Makes 16 or more servings.  

This cake can also be frozen.  I usually freeze it in individually wrapped serving sizes.

Enjoy!

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*Use 'Eggs in Disguise' Recipes to use up your eggs.  These are recipes that call for eggs as an ingredient but not as the main star of the dish.

The Egg Diaries - May 5th to May 11th

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

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This is going to be a short and menu-less post today.  We've been so busy in the garden and tending the chickens (buffalo gnat season and we manually apply a gnat repellent to them 2 to 3 times a day) and today is no different.  Trying to find time to sit at the computer is difficult these days.

~I do have a delicious recipe for you~

Those of you who are looking for recipes that use large amounts of eggs will be happy this week because I am sharing a great recipe that I used last Wednesday for dinner.  It uses a dozen eggs!  

I love it because you can make it, using just about anything you have in the pantry and refrigerator.  It's wonderful for using up leftovers.  Served with a salad it makes a delicious supper and if there is any left over, it will taste great reheated for breakfast.  It will be different every time you make it, but will taste delicious every time.

12 Egg Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 8 x 11 inch or 9 x 9 inch casserole

Layer in your casserole:
any leftovers you have in the fridge (anything goes)

Suggestions:
ground beef, ham, sausage, chicken
broccoli, spinach, corn, tomatoes
onions
mushrooms
celery
potatoes

Add herbs, salsa, sour cream, spaghetti sauce, whatever you think will go with the combination in the pan, or what ever you have little bits of left in jars in the fridge.

Add 2 cups of grated cheese (any kind, any mixture of cheeses)

Beat 12 eggs and pour evenly over the top.

Garnish the top with chopped parsley, pepper and paprika.

Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until it pulls away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean.  (baking times may differ depending on your ingredients)

Enjoy!

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If you have chickens, use eggs every day.  It's really not that difficult.  For ideas on how to use your eggs see my past Egg Diaries for menu ideas and come back next week for new menus and new recipes. 

We'd love you to join The Egg Diaries and link up below!

The Egg Diaries: April 28th to May 4th

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.  Now, a Blog Hop, so you can join in by sharing the ways in which you use your eggs.  Link up at the bottom of the page.

I used all these eggs and more in one week!

If you are new to raising chickens, you might be surprised to find out that eggs, like fruit and vegetables, are a seasonal food.  Hens will usually lay much lighter or not at all, as was the case with the majority of our hens, during the winter months.  To stock up for those winter months, I use many of our eggs by baking and freezing what we can't eat within a few days.  That way when winter comes and we've only collected 3 eggs in a week, we can enjoy those eggs for breakfast and raid the freezer for baked goods.    

This week I made one of my favorite muffin recipes, Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins.  You'll find the recipe at the bottom of the page.

Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins - Recipe is at bottom of the page

The recipe makes a dozen muffins, so we ate six and the other six went into the freezer to be enjoyed either in the hot summer, when I won't want to turn on the oven, or in the winter when there are few eggs.  

Oh.. and before I forget, over at The Beehive Cottage, there are Emu Eggs!   They are so beautiful.  If you've never seen emu eggs before, you should definitely have a look.

The food items I used eggs in, are in bold type.  They do not link to recipes unless stated.

The Egg Diaries

Mon April 28th

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toast with peanut butter and bananas

0 Eggs - Leftover Cheeseburger Casserole

2 Eggs - Dinner:  Spinach Salad with Sourdough Bread

2 Eggs - Fed to the Dogs

4 Eggs Used

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Tues April 29th

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  French Toast and Bacon

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Cheese, Apples, Crackers

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce, Salad

5 Eggs Used

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Wed April 30th

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins (recipe below), Bananas, Orange Juice

4 Eggs - Lunch:  Egg Salad Sandwiches, Vegetable Sticks

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Cod Fillets baked with Spinach, Beets

2 Eggs - Fed to the Dogs

9 Eggs Used

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Thurs May 1st

5 Eggs - Breakfast:  Cheese and Ham Omelette, Grapefruit

0 Eggs - Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins, Cheese, Apples

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Spaghetti with Leftover Sauce, Salad

5 Eggs Used

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Fri May 2nd

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toasted Bagels with poached eggs, Cranberry Juice

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Tuna,Vegetable Sticks, Crackers

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Beef with Mushrooms and Spinach, Rice

3 Eggs Used

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Sat May 3rd

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Leftover Dinner from Friday night (yup, for breakfast!  Mr. B's request)

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Popcorn!  Bananas  (Yes, this was a strange day!)

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Pork Chops, Rice, Peas, Carrots

8 Eggs - Scrambled and fed to the chickens

8 Eggs Used

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Sun May 4th

2 Eggs - Breakfast:  Bacon, Cheese and Egg Sandwich on Toasted Bagel

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Homemade Minnestrone Soup

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Homemade Pizza

2 Eggs Used

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Total:  36 Eggs Used

Carrot Raisin Nut Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place cupcake/muffin liners in your pan or lightly grease pan.
Makes 12 muffins
Note:  I use melted butter in place of vegetable oil, which is usually called for in carrot muffin and cake recipes.  If you prefer not to use melted butter you could use the oil or substitute coconut oil.

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup molasses
1/2 cup melted butter (let cool so it's not hot)
3 eggs lightly beaten
2 tablespoons buttermilk (or 2 tablespoons milk with a dash of vinegar added to it)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup grated carrots (approx 1 large carrot or 2 medium, grated with large side of grater)
1 to 1 1/2 cup raisins (1 cup is fine but we like more raisins in our's)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and softened butter.  Add the molasses and blend well.
Add the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Place your dry ingredients, the flour, baking soda and salt, in a small bowl and stir.

Add the dry ingredients to the large mixing bowl and stir well.  The mixture will be thick and sticky.

Add the grated carrot, raisins and nuts and stir.

Spoon into your prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the top of the muffin springs back when lightly touched or a toothpick stuck in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Linking to Homestead Barn Hop #158

We'd love you to join The Egg Diaries and link up below!

The Egg Diaries - April 21st to April 27th

The Egg Diaries - A weekly journal documenting my egg use, to help myself and others use all the beautiful eggs, our hens lay for us.

I truly meant to get this up yesterday, but the weather wasn't co-operating.  We had bad thunderstorms, (luckily no tornadoes) and our internet doesn't do well when there is even a hint of rain in a radius of about four counties around us.  

As promised The Egg Diaries will now be a blog hop, where you can share your favorite egg stories, egg recipes, egg in disguise recipes, egg trivia, egg crafts, egg photographs, anything to do with eggs.  This being a new blog hop, it will, I am sure, go through a phase with very few or no posts, but I'll keep inviting you to post and share all things egg with us.

You can link up with the tool at the bottom of this post.

If you are joining in please link to this blog in your post and feel free to use this button.

I always make too many mashed potatoes.  Mashed potatoes are really not wonderful reheated, but they are delicious when you make them into Potato Pancakes.  I love Potato Pancakes.  If you have never tried them, you should.  They are easy to make and yummy served with sour cream, or for a hearty breakfast, serve them topped with a poached egg, like I did this week.  You'll find my recipe for Potato Pancakes at the bottom of the page.

Potato Pancakes topped with poached eggs and served with bacon.

The food items I used eggs in, are in bold type.  They do not link to recipes unless stated.

The Egg Diaries

Monday April 21st

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Leftover homemade pizza

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Cheese and crackers with apples

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Restaurant style hot chicken sandwiches with gravy homemade french fries and peas, made with leftover rotisserie chicken

0 Eggs Used

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Tuesday April 22nd

0 Eggs - Breakfast:  Oatmeal with raisins

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Ham and cheese sandwiches, vegetable sticks with dill dip

0 Eggs - Dinner - Pork Chops, rice, peas

0 Eggs Used

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Wed April 23rd

2 Eggs - Brunch (midweek brunch = luxury of working from home):  Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes, Sausage

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Steak Fajitas, Rice

2 Eggs Used

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Thurs April 24th

3 Eggs - Breakfast:  Spice Muffins, Fruit Salad

3 Eggs - Hard boiled eggs, vegetable sticks and dill dip

3 Eggs - Dinner:  Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, mushroom and onion gravy, green beans

9 Eggs Used

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Fri April 25th

6 Eggs - Breakfast:  Potato Pancakes topped with Poached Eggs, Bacon

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Celery and apples with peanut butter, Spice Muffins

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Leftover meatloaf and gravy, mixed vegetables

2 Eggs - Cooked and fed to the dogs

8 Eggs Used

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Sat April 26th

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Sausage and eggs on biscuits

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Spice Muffins, cheese, cantaloupe

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Cheeseburger Casserole, Green beans

4 Eggs Used

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Sun April 27th

8 Eggs - Scrambled eggs for the chickens

4 Eggs - Breakfast:  Toasted Western Sandwiches

0 Eggs - Lunch:  Tuna Salad Sandwiches, carrot and celery sticks

0 Eggs - Dinner:  Leftover Meatloaf sandwiches with barbecue sauce, homemade french fries, salad

12 Eggs Used

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Total:  35 eggs Used

Potato Pancakes

2 to 3 cups of mashed potatoes

2 Eggs, beaten

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons minced onion, green onions, or chives

Heat your frying pan while you prepare the pancakes.  Your burner should be set to medium-high.

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl.  The mixture will be quite thick and sticky.  Form patties by scooping out the mixture with a large spoon onto a plate, then flatten and shape, using your hands and the spoon.  Repeat until all your pancake mixture is used and your plate is filled with pancakes.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter to your heated frying pan and combine them.

Carefully, lift and transfer the pancakes from the plate to the frying pan and saute for about 3 minutes until golden brown on the bottom, then flip and saute the other side.

Remove from pan to serving plate or individual plates.  Serve with sour cream or top with a poached egg as I did.  Bacon goes really well with them.

Enjoy!