The day I ate a dozen eggs.

Last month, I got the chance to hang out with some folks from the Ohio Poultry Association for two days chock full of eggcentric cooking and Ohio Eggs information sharing.  I left with nearly 12 pages of scribbled notes about the ins and outs of the egg business in the U.S. (fascinating!) plus tips and tricks for cooking with eggs.   I’m sharing some of my favorites below.

Egg Size.  

Did you know the egg size printed on egg cartons (Large, Extra Large, Jumbo) is determined by the weight of the carton, not the individual egg?  A dozen large eggs, for example, weighs 1.5 pounds.  That’s why you sometimes see eggs of varying size in one carton!  I had no idea.

Egg Grade.  

Grade has to do with the age of the egg.  In the U.S., Grade B eggs aren’t sold in the grocery stores, rather they are used for processed foods and pet food.  Interesting fact:  the older the egg, the runnier white.

Egg Labels.  

Ohio is one of the top egg producing states in the U.S., but some of the eggs sold in our stores still come from other areas.  Did you know every carton of eggs sold in the U.S. has a USDA plant code printed on box?

In the example above, P1008 tells you processing center, which you can look up on the USDA website.  This carton came from Sunnyside Farms in North Manchester, Indiana.  June 11 is the best by date.  134 is a Julian Date, which indicates that the carton was packed on May 13.  In the U.S., eggs must be packed within 36 hours of being laid.

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Eating Columbus: Breakfast Edition

Greetings friends!  I’ve been bouncing around Columbus knocking places off my to-try list, and wanted to share some of my recent favorite breakfast spots!  (For even more Columbus restaurant recommendations, check out the first post in this series here.)

Dough Mama is an adorable, cozy cafe in South Clintonville that serves modernized comfort food.  Everything they serve is scratch made, even the ketchup.  Their avocado biscuit is one of my favorite breakfasts in all of Columbus.  It has greens, tomato,  pickled onions, avocado, and an egg smashed between a cheddar scallion biscuit.  I’d definitely recommend their steak-fry-cut roasted potatoes and the lemon poppy seed muffin, which happens to be gluten free and has the texture of a doughnut.  They also have a vegan lentil-loaf sandwich (served on Dan The Baker bread) that I need to try ASAP.

Skillet, another favorite Columbus breakfast spot, is located in a cozy building in Merion Village (near German Village).  Their steadfast commitment to local sourcing is reflected in the ever-changing menu.  Each morning, the day’s menu is posted to their website for your viewing pleasure.  Last summer, I had an incredible tomato salad at Skillet that I still think about.  It was so very simple, but the TOMATOES.  The tomatoes.  Skillet’s food, including the egg scrambles and omelets, are cooked with more care and precision than you’d see at a typical daytime cafe.  Recently, I tried the fingerling potatoes with cheese curds.  The potatoes were crusty and salty on the outside and the skin sort of popped in your mouth when you bit into it, releasing a tiny explosion of creamy potato.  Divine.  There is usually a wait to get a table at Skillet, but you can call ahead to put your name on the list.  Plus they have free coffee outside while you wait.  Open Wednesday through Sunday, 8am to 2pm.

Trism.  Continuing this breakfast trend, I found a great weekday deal at Trism in the University area.  From 9-11am, you can get a breakfast sandwich on local ciabatta for only $5, plus you can throw in a coffee for $1 more!  Pictured below is the Numero Uno, with local eggs, jalapeno-jack cheese, zesty black bean spread, and sriracha aioli.

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Easy as Potato Pie {vegetarian & gluten free recipe}

I wrote this Potato Pie post as part of a series for Tasteful Selections Potatoes, which is sponsoring Katie’s Krops, an awesome hunger-focused nonprofit fueled by kid-run gardens, through January 2016 (details below). 

There’s something simultaneously romantic and nostalgic about gathering for a meal while you’re still in your PJ’s.  And with all the eggs, potatoes, cheese, and bread, breakfast is the clearcut best meal of the day.  The problem with breakfast, though, is that most of us are too tired or too hungry to throw together a hearty meal first thing in the morning.  Oftentimes, I circumvent this issue by having a pre-breakfast snack.  Which, since I’m already starving, ends up being the equivalent of a normal-sized breakfast, and ultimately results in me eating two meals worth of food.  And then I have to go for a run when I really just want to curl up on the couch and drink my coffee dangit.

Kale & Onion Potato Pie

Easy breakfasts are key.  I call this easy recipe “Potato Pie” because it has lots of potatoes and it’s shaped like… a pie.  The concept here is simple:  thinly sliced potatoes, eggs, and whatever vegetables or leftovers you have on hand.  Use of a food processor makes quick work of the potato slicing, and using thin-skinned baby potatoes means no peeling is required.  I prepared this version of potato pie with kale, but there are lots of options.  Broccoli, squash, or mushrooms?  Perfect.  Cheese is always welcome.  To keep things light, I used a mix of whole eggs and egg whites, but if you aren’t on the egg white train, just use a dozen eggs.

The key to making a good potato pie is making sure the fillings taste great on their own.  Season them until they’re good enough to eat solo. Then be sure to season the eggs before you combine them with the potato mixture.

potato pie {gluten free vegetarian breakfast recipe via FerventFoodie.com}

Few things beat sharing breakfast with your loved ones, buy you can add a little more love to your meal by purchasing Tasteful Selections potatoes.  Through January 2016, Tasteful Selections is sponsoring Katie’s Krops, a non-profit organization that donates crops from youth-run gardens to help feed people in need by donating a portion of the profits from specially marked bags of Tasteful Selections’ Ruby Sensation and Honey Gold Potatoes.  So pick up a sack of their potatoes and give this Kale and Onion Potato Pie recipe a try!  If you’re interested in learning more about Katie’s Krops, check out this video.

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Crazy Easy Crustless Quiche with Arugula Salad {as seen on WBTV}

Now that fall is finally here, it’s time to bust out some comforting cool-weather breakfast recipes.  I’m a self-declared morning person, but when I wake up with a grumbling tummy, the less hands-on time required of a breakfast recipe, the better.  That’s why I love baking eggs in the oven.  Call it a casserole or a crustless quiche (or a frittata if you start the cooking process on the stove top).  The method is simple:  eggs are whisked with a little milk (or half-and-half or cream, whatever you have on hand) and then combined with one to two cups of the fillings of your choice—sausage, leftover veggies, cheese, whatever sounds good–and baked for 30 minutes.  Breakfast done.

Turkey Sausage Crustless Quiche 4To take the dish up a notch, top it with a simple arugula salad tossed with an olive oil and lemon dressing.  Not only does the arugula salad add extra veggies, but the tartness offers a nice contrast the richness of the eggs.  Plus, look how fancy!

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120 Calorie Cheddar-Kale Scones {recipe}

So, kale.  It gets lots of buzz in the health food world, and it should.  It’s loaded with calcium, vitamins A, C, and K, anti-cancer carotenoids and flavonoids, and it’s been shown to help lower cholesterol.  But, uh, it’s kale, and people aren’t always sure what the heck to do with it.  The good news is the options are vast:  make a salad with a warm vinaigrette, add a bagful to soup or stew, wilt it down with garlic and serve it as a side , throw it in your frittata or fruit smoothie (seriously!), add it to pasta, or make a kale and caramelized onion grilled cheese, if you please.  

A few weeks back, I got an email asking me to make my 2014 the year to KALE UP.  I’m down for healthy food challenges, so I checked out the KALE UP site, to see what this campaign was all about.  Their first blog post introduces kale as your “new friend with benefits” and explains the year to “kale up” means finding easy ways to get kale in your daily life.

I suggest we all start with these 120 calorie savory cheddar-kale scones–they’re a tasty way to score some kale points for the day.

Cheddar-Kale Scones 4

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