Chickens

It seems fitting to write about chickens three days before Easter, and about eggs as well. (My favorite philosophical question has to be the chicken/egg conundrum and I invoke it frequently in a work setting, but this is about chickens and eggs in a very real sense.) It is actually, specifically, about the eggs in this photograph. You may not be able to tell from looking at them, but these eggs came from happy chickens. At least this is what I am told by the man who should know.

Who is this man? Well, he has a place on my list of good people to connect with should the shit ever hit the fan in a major way. Not because he is an attorney (though he is) but because he is also a doctor, and a chicken farmer. Yeah, I know, but no, I am not going to share his name or the location of his farm.

So this is a person who provides both medical advice and eggs, and mostly I take advantage of the eggs. Eggs from happy chickens do add complications to any baking activity. For starters, and I probably don't even have to say this, the ugly eggs get broken and used first. That sometimes makes for hard decisions. The pretty eggs get transferred from one box to the next until finally I feel compelled to crack them into something--an omelet, a pan of brownies, wherever their fate takes them. In addition, each egg must be broken into a separate container--I learned this the hard way because even though they are nature's perfect package, eggs still have a shelf life. (Especially the fertilized eggs which I like to think came from especially happy chickens.)

I like the green ones best and when the green-egg-laying chickens were swept away by the Spring 2008 floods I felt the loss very personally. Fortunately a new generation has matured to take their place and I can once again count on green eggs amongst my dozen. Every once in awhile, I save pieces of shell because they are exactly the color that I want to paint my bedroom walls. For some reason these are eventually determined to be cooking refuse and are thrown away by someone (who coincidentally wants white walls in every room).

Never mind--there are plenty of eggs and shells to take their place--and all of them from happy chickens.

Happy Easter!