Welcome to My Farm

>> Funding for "Welcome to My Farm" has been provided by Manna Pro... >> As much as we count on them... >> They count on us all the more... >> To nurture their lives... >> With the same commitment... >> Together: Manna Pro -- Nurturing life.

>> ...Meyer Hatchery... >> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of feed, supplies, gifts and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at MeyerHatchery.com.

>> ...and Grubbly Farms.

>> Grubbly Farms -- sustainable feed and treats made with grubs.

Find out more at GrubblyFarms.com.

>> And Horizon Structures -- Delivered fully assembled and ready for same-day use.

[ Rooster crows ] >> I'm Lisa Steele, author and fifth-generation chicken keeper.

I live in rural Maine with my husband, flock of chickens, ducks, geese, and Winston the Corgi.

We moved to Maine for the peace, serenity, and a simpler life.

Join me as I explore this beautiful state and experience all it has to offer.

Welcome to my farm.

[ Chickens clucking ] The average American eats 286 eggs a year.

So that means there are a lot of us eating a lot of eggs.

Those of us who raise chickens obviously eat a lot of eggs, but so does everybody else apparently.

There are so many different ways to cook eggs.

They're a great protein source.

They include every vitamin and nutrient we need except for vitamin C. So today I thought it would be fun to go through some of the more common ways to prepare eggs and give you some tricks and tips for making them even better.

Scrambled eggs are probably the easiest way to make eggs and likely the first way that you learned how to make eggs.

I know when I'm lazy and I don't feel like going to the trouble of making an omelette, I'll just scramble up a couple eggs because it is super quick.

You don't need to add anything to your eggs if you're using super fresh eggs.

There's a lot of moisture in them.

Eggs lose moisture as they age.

So if you're using really fresh eggs, you don't need to add any milk or cream or water to them.

If you're using eggs that are a little older, you might want to add something for a little bit of extra moisture so your eggs don't end up dry.

Because eggs cook so quickly, you want to get your eggs in your bowl and whisked before you even put them in the pan.

If you put them into the pan and then try to whisk them up, you're going to end up with some threads of egg white that cooked before you had a chance to whisk it.

So, I got my two eggs.

And the more you whisk them, the more air is going to be in them.

And the lighter and fluffier your scrambled eggs will be.

So I like to do at least, you know, 20, 30 seconds of good scrambling before I add my eggs to the pan.

Okay, my eggs are whisked, so now I'm going to get some butter in my pan.

You can use any kind of oil.

You can use olive oil, coconut oil.

You can use a combination of butter and oil.

You can use bacon grease.

Even if I'm using a nonstick pan, I still like to add a little bit of butter.

I just like the flavor and the richness that it adds to my eggs.

You don't need a lot.

Now my butter is already bubbling, so I'm going to add my eggs.

Scrambled eggs are personal preference.

Some people like large curds, some people like small curds.

The more you move them around, the smaller your curds are going to be.

You don't want to salt your eggs until after you've put them on the plate.

If you add salt before you cook your eggs, it's going to draw some of the moisture out of the eggs.

Your eggs will be runny.

And it also messes with the protein bonds and it's going to make the eggs kind of soft and mushy instead of having some nice structure.

You want to take your scrambled eggs off of the heat when they're still glossy like this and look a little bit wet because they will cook a little more even after you put them on the plate.

Those look great.

And now I can add whatever seasoning -- salt, pepper, herbs, spices, whatever you want to add to your eggs.

There's a beautiful plate of scrambled eggs.

When you're frying eggs, it's really important to use fresh eggs because the fresher the egg, the thicker the egg white is.

So when you drop your egg into the pan, it's not going to spread all over the place.

The egg is going to stay in one place.

When you're frying, you can use any kind of oil you want.

You can use butter, you can use bacon grease.

I like to use heavy cream instead.

When you put your cream into the pan, it heats up and it sort of caramelizes and it makes really fluffy, creamy egg whites.

So I'm just going to heat some cream in the pan until it's bubbling a little bit.

Fried eggs -- very personal preference.

Some people like them sunny side up, some people like them over easy, over hard.

So there's all different ways.

I'm not a huge fan of runny fried eggs, so I usually do like to flip mine over.

You can also put a cover on your pan if you don't feel comfortable flipping, and that'll help cook the top of the egg.

You also can baste your egg with some of the liquid and help cook the top without worrying about flipping it.

So my cream looks good.

I'm just going to crack an egg into it.

Pretty much stays.

Starts cooking.

You do always want to crack on a flat surface.

That way you don't push pieces of eggshell into your egg.

And I'm just going to let these cook until the whites are completely cooked and the yolks are mostly done.

So I want to keep cooking these until the cream has pretty much caramelized around them.

I'm also going to slice some lemon and add some capers to the pan.

It's just a really easy way to have something different for breakfast if you're tired of plain old fried eggs.

This is looking great.

The milk solids are breaking down.

Everything's caramelizing.

So at this point, I'm going to call it done, Add some salt and pepper.

I hope this gives you an idea for your next morning's fried eggs.

I love to keep a bowl of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for a quick snack or to use for deviled eggs or egg salad.

But fresh eggs notoriously don't peel well.

So instead of boiling them, I steam them and it's some kind of egg magic.

They peel perfectly every time.

So, I've got a pot of water here simmering, maybe an inch or two in the bottom of the pot.

And then I'm going to use the steamer basket that I found at a secondhand store, which I love.

You can also use a bamboo steamer.

You can just use a colander.

Just something that's going to let the steam up through to your eggs.

So I'm going to put the basket in the water and then add my eggs, and then I'm going to cover them and steam them for 12 minutes for hard-boiled, about 8 minutes for soft-boiled, or 6 1/2 for a nice jammy yolk.

And that's all there is to it.

After my time is up, I'm going to put them in ice water until they're cool enough to peel.

And then the shells are going to come right off and I'm going to have hard-boiled eggs.

Okay, our time is up, so the eggs are ready to come out and go right into a bowl of ice water.

Another thing I like about steaming instead of boiling is they don't bounce around in the pot, so they're less likely to break while they're cooking.

So I'm just going to put them in the water until they're cool enough to peel.

If you let your eggs get old before you boil them, you're going to end up with a concave dip in one end, which is fine if you're just making egg salad or having a snack.

But if you're making deviled eggs, then you really don't want that.

And nobody likes to eat old eggs anyway.

So this steaming trick allows me to cook super-fresh eggs and still get a really pretty peeled egg.

So there we go.

Another nice thing about steaming is you don't get that grayish green ring that you sometimes get around the yoke.

I don't know why.

Again, it's just egg magic.

But that never happens when you steam eggs.

So next time, instead of boiling your eggs, try steaming them.

Another cool little trick if you're not sure which eggs in your fridge are cooked and which are raw, if you take a hard-boiled egg and you spin it, it spins nice and cleanly.

If you take a raw egg and spin it, it's going to spin kind of more wonky and it's not going to spin as cleanly.

So that's an easy way to tell which eggs have been cooked.

The next time you're asked to bring deviled eggs to a barbecue or a picnic, why not bring dressed eggs instead?

They're a fun little twist on deviled eggs.

I think they're more delicious.

They're definitely easier and they're far more pretty.

So they're going to make a beautiful presentation on any buffet table.

So I have soft-boiled some eggs.

I steamed them for 8 minutes and then I put them into ice water to cool.

Now I just need to peel them and cut them in half.

I did 8 minutes.

If you like a more solid yolk, you can go a little bit longer.

Or if you like your yolks a little bit more runny, you can go a little bit shorter.

So I'm just going to crack and carefully peel them.. and then cut them in half and put them on my tray.

So I'm going to fill up the tray and then I'm going to start putting my toppings on.

Now for the fun part.

We need to dress these eggs.

You can use whatever you want.

I just look in the fridge and see what I have.

You can use pesto.

You can use flavored mayonnaise, hot sauce, all kinds of herbs.

I've got bacon and avocado, all kinds of good things to dress these eggs up.

So first I'm going to do an avocado and bacon.

A little bit of bacon.

And then I'm just going to add an avocado slice.

And maybe a little squirt of lemon just for some acid.

So I have some scallion aioli and some fresh dill and some capers.

So I think that'll make a really nice combination.

So I'm going to start with the scallion aioli.

If you don't have fresh herbs, you can always use dried.

I grow fresh herbs in nice weather.

They just add really nice flavor to anything you're making, and I find them preferable to the dried and they're so much prettier on something like this.

And some capers.

So next, I think I'm going to do some nice pesto and then put some chopped walnuts and a little bit of fresh basil on top.

A couple walnuts.

You can use so many different flavor combinations.

I think these are just so much prettier than deviled eggs.

They're more fun to make, too.

So we're going to spice it up a little bit.

I've got some sriracha aioli and a little bit of hot honey.

So I think this will be a really great combination.

A little hot honey drizzle.

So this time I'm going to go with some more scallion aioli and some avocado slices and I'm going to use some chives.

I picked these out of our yard.

You can buy chives, but they grow wild and they actually have a really pretty purple blossom on them once they flower.

But for now it's early in the season, so they're just growing wild in the yard.

But no one has to know that they're just yard weeds.

I like to make all different kinds.

You could absolutely make a whole tray of one kind, but it's much more interesting when you've got some variety.

Chives are in the garlic onion family, but I think they're maybe a little stronger than scallions, not as -- not as strong as garlic or onions.

So they make a nice garnish.

And I think for the last ones, I'm going to go with some fresh sage and some more bacon because who doesn't love bacon?

And I'll find a nice little sage leaf.

Put it on top.

These look great.

I'm just going to give them a little sprinkle of salt and pepper, and they'll be ready to serve.

That is one beautiful plate of eggs.

When I'm feeling ambitious, I love to make omelettes, whether I make a filled omelette and fold it in half or a traditional French trifold omelette that doesn't have any filling in, and it's just the deliciousness of the fresh eggs.

Omelettes really aren't hard to make.

They can be a little intimidating, but even if they don't look great, they're still going to taste good.

It helps to have an omelette pan, which is a fairly shallow pan with sloped sides, which makes it easier to get up under your omelette and flip it over and then get it out of your pan.

To get started, I'm going to whisk my eggs.

You want to do that before you've got any oils or butter in the pan just to make sure that your eggs are ready to go as soon as your oils are ready.

For this size pan, I'll do a two-egg omelette.

When you have fresh eggs, whether they're from your own chickens or from a farmers market or a friend or neighbor, and they're super fresh and the chickens have been out eating bugs and weeds and flowers and all kinds of things, I feel like the eggs have so much flavor.

You don't even need to put any filling in the omelette.

Sometimes I'll put a little cheese, but usually I just put the eggs.

So my eggs are whisked.

My pan is heated.

So I'm adding a little bit of oil to my pan and a little bit of butter.

[ Sizzling ] I really want to make sure the pan is well coated so my omelette doesn't stick.

Now my butter is bubbly, so I'm going to pour in my egg.

So the key to an omelette is to just kind of tilt the pan to get everything cooked.

And you don't really want the egg to brown on the other side.

Omelettes cook really quickly.

So I'm just tilting the pan.

You don't need a nonstick pan for omelettes.

Contrary to popular belief, as long as you use a little bit of butter or oil, your omelette shouldn't stick.

At this point, if I were adding cheese, I would probably add it right now because the egg is almost all cooked.

And I don't even mind a little bit of runny egg in the middle.

And once you flip it, it will continue to cook the inside as well.

So at this point, I'm just going to flip one side over.

Flip the other side over, and I've got an omelette.

Really easy, and if it was a disaster, it would just turn into scrambled eggs.

Using the freshest eggs possible is really important when you're poaching eggs.

When you drop that egg into the pan, you need it to really hold together.

Older eggs lose their protein bonds and they will just spread out and you'll end up with white strings in your water.

So you want to choose your freshest eggs and get your pan not even to a boil.

You just kind of want bubbles on the bottom that are coming up to the top.

If your water is boiling too vigorously, your eggs won't hold together either.

And for a poached egg, you really want a nice compact package of egg.

So I've got a few tricks to help you.

I'm going to take my egg and crack it into a small bowl.

By doing this, I not only make sure that there are no egg shells in the egg, but I'm also going to be able to drop the egg much closer to the water.

So I've got my eggs.

Then I'm just going to make a whirlpool in the water.

Then get my egg down as close as I can and just gently slide it into the water and then just kind of keep swirling it so the whites swirl around the yolk and stay where they're supposed to.

Then once the whites start to really set up, you can stop swirling and start a new swirl for your next egg.

Then I'm going to let these go about 3 minutes.

That'll still leave them kind of runny in the middle, but the whites will be completely cooked.

And we are about 3 minutes in, so I'm just going to use a slotted spoon to drain the eggs on a paper towel.

Since I've got some poached eggs, I'm going to make my very favorite egg recipe.

I love eggs Benedict.

If I could only eat eggs one way for the rest of my life, it would be drenched in hollandaise sauce.

So to get started, I'm going to add a tablespoon of water and some lemon juice to a bowl I have sitting over a pot of simmering water.

I want to do it in a double boiler because the sauce is kind of finicky and you don't want it to get too hot, you don't want it to curdle, you don't want it to seize up.

So in the double boiler, you just have more control over the heat.

Next, I'm going to add three egg yolks.

Okay, then I'm just going to whisk this until it thickens up a little bit and the eggs start to cook.

Hollandaise sauce is not hard to make.

I think the hardest thing about making eggs Benedict is getting everything to be ready in time.

The poached eggs, the hollandaise sauce, and then whatever you're going to use as your base, I guess the traditional base, it would be an English muffin, but I like to use a slice of really rustic, crusty toasted bread.

Alright, so once that starts to thicken up a little, I'm going to start adding butter.

I have a stick of unsalted butter cut into cubes at room temperature.

I'm just going to add a couple cubes and then keep whisking until the cubes have melted before I add some more.

So the sauce is smooth and silky and creamy and starting to thicken up.

So it's almost done.

I'm just going to add a little bit of pepper.

Pinch of salt and a little bit more lemon juice.

And that's ready to go.

I have my slice of rustic bread, toasted and buttered, and now I'm going to add my eggs.

And then a really nice, healthy drizzle of this beautiful hollandaise sauce.

As much or as little as you like.

I could eat it right out of the bowl.

Sometimes I even skip the bread and just drizzle it over the eggs.

Then I'm just going to grate a little bit of nutmeg over the top.

And add some fresh tarragon.

A little salt and pepper.

And there we have a beautiful rustic eggs Benedict.

>> Funding for "Welcome to My Farm" has been provided by Manna Pro... >> As much as we count on them... >> They count on us all the more... >> To nurture their lives... >> With the same commitment... >> Together: Manna Pro -- Nurturing life.

>> ...Meyer Hatchery... >> Meyer Hatchery offers more than 160 breeds of poultry and carries a full line of feed, supplies, gifts and decor.

With nearly four decades of experience, the Meyer family is committed to supporting our customers through their entire poultry journey.

Learn more at MeyerHatchery.com.

>> ...and Grubbly Farms.

Grubbly Farms -- sustainable feed and treats made with grubs.

Find out more at GrubblyFarms.com.

And Horizon Structures -- Delivered fully assembled and ready for same-day use.

Closed captioning provided by Eaton Pet & Pasture.