Egg Bake: Healthy and Fresh Dinner or Brunch

Our ladies are still laying like champs and i had a surplus of eggs as none have been purchased lately (some available!). I decided to try out a totally made up recipe utilizing the eggs, raw milk in the fridge, and fresh veg/herb in the garden. Here's what i came up with:

• 8 eggs
• 1/3 pint raw milk
• Salt, ground flax, hemp, pepper, dried oregano
• Drop of truffle oil
• Bunch garlic chives, diced
• Chopped tomato - i think i used about 5 porters and one Japanese Triefel - about 3 regular tomatoes
• 2 serranos, sliced
• Bunch fresh basil, chopped
• Dollup of left over gazpacho
• Small onion, diced
• Cheese would be great - but i didn't have any

I used a round pyrex - this made a very thick bake, i think it would have cooked more quickly if i'd used a dish with more flat surface area. This shape also caused the veggies to float to the top, a wider dish would have mixed things more evenly. I didn't mind though.
Spray the dish, or coat with butter or olive oil. Mix eggs and milk in a separate container- you don't have to scramble, but break up the yolks. Add dry seasonings and truffle oil to the milk/egg mixture, mix, then our into the cooking dish. Add the veggies and fresh basil - scattering them evenly. Cook until the middle is cooked through - stands up to squishing from above with no liquid escaping. There will be moisture from the veg, but no runny yolk and the 'casserole' will be puffed up some. 
I waffled the temp around from 375 to 400 and cooked for about 30 or so minutes - time will depend on the size of your cooking dish.

This served the two of us heartily: high protein, lots of great vitamins and minerals, and very low carb - unless you count the roll i gave the husband ;).  Would be great for brunch, but was awesome as dinner too. I drizzled the plates with a little homemade mayo and some homemade habanero sauce which both added some nice zest. I didn't use any cheese, and didn't really miss it. Often i feel that cheese just adds calories but that its flavor isn't overly noticeable. Cheese is good for holding the texture together, but we both agreed this was tasty without it.

What's your favorite thing to do with a whole lot of extra eggs? Cook them on the spot, or store them for the lean months?

Mashed Cauliflower/Potato with Herbs and Garlic

Scrumptious!
A while back my friend in New York asked how to mash cauliflower. I mentioned some ideas, but was really shooting off the hip as i'd never made such a thing before. i was wandering through  my local market and saw some cauliflower, i thought to myself "i've been eating like a pig lately, it would be nice to make a low cal but hearty meal tonight" and purchased a head of cauli and a medium sized white potato. Along with some fresh herbs from the garden and some olive oil i roasted some garlic in the other day, this turned into quite the feast.  Accompanied by the first eggs laid by our girls, this feast was fit for a king!

• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 medium white potato
• 3 garlic cloves
• 3 ice cubes of turkey stock (about 1/2 cup)
• fresh rosemary, diced from 2 inches of stalk
• 1 jalapeno, chopped
• salt and pepper

Cut Cauliflower and Potato into uniform sized chunks. Boil together in a large pot, just barely covered by water, until potato is soft enough to poke a fork into without resistance. Drain off all liquid (save it to mix with your chicken's mash or pour into compost) and put drained veg into a good sized mixing bowl.   While the veg was boiling, mix together remaining ingredients in the mixing bowl - heating briefly in the microwave to melt the turkey cubes.  Place cooked veg on top of ingredients in the bowl and blend well with an immersion blender. This makes a very nicely whipped and creamy mashed potato like dish without the heavy carbs of straight potato. Next time i will try this without the potato to see if the cauliflower can carry the dish on its own. 
I served the potato drizzled with some garlic olive oil (Yum overload) and more salt. For the hungry husband I also served with a link of chicken sausage and some meunster cheese on top. (I added a little cheese to my seconds, it was reeeaaal good).
I served the whole meal with the first fried eggs from our chickens - they were uber flavorful and delicious. I put some ketchup on the plate, but regretted that decision. Yard fresh eggs do not require ketchup to make them palatable, the ketchup just got in the way.