These are not farm-fresh eggs.They're citified backyard eggs, from our neighbors Tim and Conor, who have been raising chickens a block north of us for the last three years. (Not to be confused with the chickens being raised by our new neighbor a block east, recently celebrated in this blog, who modeled the rehab of his house after the aesthetics of his hand-constructed coop).
That parenthetical did not deceive you. We now have two sets of backyard chickens within a block of our house. The country usurps the city. The smog will not win.
I've learned that eggs straight from the chicken have a protetive coating, a "cuticle," that allows them to sit on the counter, unrefrigerated, for up to a month. But I'd like to reassure my mother and anyone else who eats eggs at our house, we're keeping them in the 40-degree safety of the Frigidaire middle shelf.
Scrambled or sunny-side up?
7 comments:
Chicago was on the forefront of the backyard chicken movement: after trying to ban them, a few Hispanic groups educated Daley and fought hard for legalization. I'm surprised you're not surrounded by more hens! Pro-chicken ordinances fell like dominoes after Chicago. Enjoy your eggs. (And your friends are right about the refrigeration.)
Interestingly (though I guess not surprisingly), backyard chickens have been an import of white newcomers in our neck of the woods. I'd be interested to know if any of our Latino neighbors have a history raising them, or if they're now feeling empowered or intrigued to pick up the practice.
And admittedly, our eggs in the fridge are more a function of lacking counter space than fears of food safety. We have so little of the former that many things end up in the fridge that really don't need to be. I'm surprised I don't find my mittens there on occasion.
Oh that's so wonderful to hear that you have "farm" fresh eggs within a couple of blocks! If Jay and I are ever able to build a new garage, we are going add a chicken coop on to it. Evanston just approved permits allowing to have chickens. I think the number of permits available is very limited, and there is a definite cap on the number of chickens one can have (6?), but it is an encouraging sign.
When am I coming over for a frittata? I've got the last of our garden swiss chard waiting to meet some farm fresh eggs.
Diana, hooray for Evanston! I can see you guys camping out for one of those limited permits. As for frittatas, name the day. I'd be happy to outfit you in ovate goodness.
Fridge Mittens!!!
When I was in high school in central Texas, many of the Mexican Americans would butcher their own goats in their yards for the holidays. Of course, that never would have been allowed outside of "their" part of town. But the goats were always more present than chickens in the hone husbandry culture there.
And now I love the phrase Home Husbandry almost as much as Fridge Mittens.
Hooray for homegrown anything!
Ovate Goodness is my new favorite pair of words.
I got the best gift *ever* from a student a couple weeks ago: six lovely brown eggs from the two chickens that she keeps in town. Here's hoping the backyard chicken movement takes off in Morgantown, too!
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