Sunday, May 6, 2012

Locally Inspired Potluck


Potlucks are fun. Making a dish where everything is local is a challenge.

After church we are watching Food, Inc. as an adult education lesson and discussion. But before the movie, we will eat. The theme of the potluck is local foods, and for our dish I went no further than my backyard. I made deviled eggs.

A few weeks ago I decided that I was indeed going to make deviled eggs, so I began saving eggs from one particular hen, our Dominique, Kendra. Why, you may ask, would I only use the eggs of one hen instead of from all of them? Because her eggs boil up and peel perfectly every time. A couple of the girls have nearly impenetrable membranes that attach to the cooked egg whites and cause a super pock-marked egg, which is perfect for traction on a slippery surface, but not so fun to peel. So after boiling eighteen of her delicious ovas, I went to work adding the various ingredients, thirteen in all, to create my version of the deviled egg. I never measure, so each batch is a little different, but I may have added just a bit too much cayenne pepper. At least they still taste delicious!

Now, while I was able to source my eggs rather local, the herbs and spices are from around the world, ranging from California to India. This can happen when you use a lot of spices. However, the point is to think about and make a conscious decision about the food we eat. I figure eating the eggs of a happy backyard hen is better than a battery cage hen any day, even if she happens to have stopped laying and started going broody!

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