Golden Like the Summer Sun

It's no small secret around these parts that I dream of having my own backyard chickens. The sad fact remains that we don't actually have a backyard, hence...no chickens. However, we do have friends with backyard, chickens and consequently...eggs!

I was told the breeds of the various chickens that created these eggs & promptly forgot as I ooh-ed & ah-ed over them. doh.

Over the weekend we received 2 dozen of these backyard fresh eggs, and I have to say, there's a real difference.

A hard boiled egg was demanded immediately upon receiving the eggs. Done and done.

They taste fresher and the yolks are this amazing, fabulous golden orangey-yellow color, bursting with flavor.

When potluck arrived Monday, I knew I would be using these eggs in some capacity, but had yet to make a decision as to exactly what. Would I devil them? Boil and chop them into salad? Souffle them? Then, my Joy Of Cooking calender told me exactly what to do...

Frittata!

Easy peasy, able to change up the flavorings in a pinch and a total crowd pleaser. I quickly scanned the garden and came up with the two different types I would make.

The first was a tomato, basil, mozzarella frittata. The basil came straight from the garden, but sadly, our tomatoes aren't quite ripe yet, but we always have a container of grape tomatoes around. The "recipe" is simple really...for this one I beat 7 eggs, added a splash of milk, salt, pepper and handfuls of chopped tomato, basil & shredded mozzarella. I oiled up an oven safe skillet, poured the egg mixture in, stirring it around for a bit before it started firming up. Then, once the bottom is mostly cooked (and it's runny on the top), I popped it into a 350* oven until cooked through (10 minutes or so). 

Yum, yum, and more yum.

 The 2nd frittata was a total experiment that turned out really well.

We used chopped garlic, local goat's milk feta cheese, and broccoli leaves! I had wanted to use kale, but the kale in our garden is not quite fully grown. While the actual broccoli is only partially grown, the leaves of our plants looked full and lovely, so I thought "why not?" and I'm so glad I did. Cooked, they tasted just like collard greens and went perfectly in this frittata. I sauteed the garlic 1st before adding the egg mixture.

nom.

The frittata worked perfectly with green salad, soba noodles & tofu (not pictures) and pesto pasta with peas. The perfect meal for a pre-Solstice potluck!

Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!!