My son needed help with math so we enlisted the help of a tutor last summer. Well, not only did we find someone who cares a lot about my son and his education but she is truly a wonderfully thoughtful person. I think my son had about three weeks of tutoring when Karen, the tutor, came to greet us at the door. She told me that her chickens on her farm were laying eggs like crazy. And without me having to say, “Well, I’ll take any eggs that you want to give away.”, she handed me a carton of a dozen eggs. I was surprised and super grateful all at once. The comment she said when she handed me the eggs stuck in my head. She said, “I thought you, of all people, would appreciate these eggs because you are so thoughtful.” Hmmmm, I smiled but my mind was racing, how would she know this? I hadn’t even given her a thoughtful pinch yet. Guess how she knew. She had been reading my blog. Isn’t that sweet?

Karen was right; I did appreciate those eggs! They were so much better than the eggs that I have bought from stores. I noticed the difference right away. When I cracked the first egg, I saw a large and very bright orange yolk. Even though the size of Karen’s egg in its shell looked like the exact same size as the store bought eggs, her eggs were actually bigger once they were cooked. And the final difference was the taste. I’m not just saying this - there is a lot of flavor in Karen’s eggs.

So I began craving eggs for lunch and dinner too. Well, when the chickens weren’t laying eggs as much as they had been (there was a fox stalking the chicken coop) and the thoughtful pinches from Karen started to slow down, I started getting very selective with the use of her eggs. For instance, if I was making a cake or something that needed an egg, I would use the organic, free range eggs that I bought at the store. I figured, why waste a delicious tasting farm egg when I only need it for function; not for taste? And so my habit of hoarding Karen’s farm eggs began. I refuse to use her eggs for any recipe if the egg flavor has to compete with other ingredients.

National Egg Day is on Monday, June 3rd so I’m giving you plenty of time to gather your eggs! Chances are, you don’t have access to a live chicken who lays eggs for you so that you can turn around and give those eggs away as thoughtful pinches. We can’t all be Karen. However, you can definitely pinch someone by making an egg dish or sharing a recipe. On #nationaleggday, let someone know that they are a good egg. Even better, celebrate the day by eating a favorite egg dish with a fellow egg lover. Some fun egg dishes include but are not limited to: good old-fashioned bacon and eggs, crab-stuffed deviled eggs, frittatas, Egg Foo Young, Egg Drop soup, Eggs Benedict, omelets, quiche, breakfast burritos, egg salad, fried egg sandwiches…the list can go on and on. Yum! Unless you’re vegan, eggs are enjoyed by so many food lovers.

As my gift to you, I am sharing my mother-in-law’s egg dish recipe that she makes for many family breakfasts. It is definitely a crowd pleaser.

Speaking of my mother-in-law, she has been using egg whites on her face since the 1980’s as a natural facial treatment. She applies some egg white all over her face in the morning, allows the egg to dry and set for awhile and then she rinses it off using a warm wash cloth. I’m pretty sure we can credit this daily routine for her 78-year old face looking like it’s barely 55 years old! According to “7 Benefits of Using Eggs for Facial Treatment”, an article on the site Evewoman, the egg white shrinks or tightens the pores. Don’t you just love inexpensive and natural beauty secrets?

For me, even though I currently have 1.5 dozen farm eggs hoarded, under no circumstances will any of them be used for facial treatments!

I am so grateful for Karen, what a good egg! May all of you enjoy eggs prepared the way that you wish on June 3rd!

Pinches,

Barb