Winner!

Yahoo, congratulations to our winner, lucky comment number 76 (chosen via the random number generator)!

Your tri will love his little red/white friend! Be sure and contact me with your address so that i can get your package in the mail. :)

Thanks to EVERYONE who entered the giveaway! So much corgi love! I love it!! Didn’t win but just have to have a fiber friend of your own? You’re in luck! Visit the new “Fiber Friends” page here at Pocket Pause for links and information on how you can order your own custom feltie, or purchase one already scampering about my studio.

Corgi on, everyone! Now, off to do some serious felting… i’m hankering to see some rainbow spotted giraffes…..

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Filed under Dogs/ Corgis, Felting, Giveaway

PICKLED Eggs? Yes, Please!

If you have never tried a pickled egg, you are most likely seriously skeptical about this post; i know i was when i learned my first egg pickling recipe. Let me tell you, though: if you like boiled eggs and you like pickles, this is a dream come true!

Pickled eggs came to be when folks needed to travel with their protein and lacked sufficient storage to keep eggs fresh and unjostled. When pickled, the eggs can be kept for a few months unrefrigerated. I found a recipe on my local poultry meetup group and experimented with it. In the future, i might add more ‘heat’ via some whole jalapenos, but this was a pretty good first try, in miniature. (This is a re-post from An Austin Homestead and the eggs came from my first 4 hens. I’d never tried pickled eggs before and wasn’t sure i’d like them, so i didn’t want to waste any eggs.)

Apologies for the lack of measurements…. if in doubt, just use the liquid leftover from our favorite pickles.

  • Malt and cider vinegar
  • water
  • 1 whole clove
  • Small cinnamon stick
  • 1/4 teaspoon or so of pickling spice
  • Dash mustard
  • Some hot peppers and cayenne powder
  • 1/2 T rapadura
  • pinch sugar
  • 1/2 T pickling salt
  • Garlic cloves

Bring all ingredients to a boil, simmer 15 minutes, cool and pour over the eggs in a glass jar. You can supposedly keep these pickles at room temp, but that weirds me out a bit too much and i opt to use some refrigerator space.

I actually like pickled eggs SO much that i tend to store up all my favorite pickle juice just to make them. Egg salad made with pickled eggs cannot be beat, the eggs are already tangy and full of flavor! The longer your eggs hang out in the pickling liquid, the picklier they’ll be and the farther the pickle flavor will soak into the egg.

Have you ever pickled eggs? Yay or “ew!”  ?

 

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Filed under Cooking, Preserved Food

Another Easter-egg Recipe: Devilled Eggs!

Here’s another eggy recipe to help use up those boiled eggs. I normally advocate only using fresh and local eggs, but you may want to choose eggs that have sat around for a week or 3 for boiling, especially if you want to make devilled eggs vs egg salad. Freshies are just too darned hard to peel!

I love deviled eggs, despite them maybe not loving me so much. The husband loves them even more, so what better snack to whip up post Easter…. especially when you’ve got some smoked salmon on your hands! Firstly, one must boil eggs to be devilled CORRECTLY.

To boil the eggs:
Place eggs in pan and cover with 1 inch of COLD water, along with 1 tsp of baking soda if using fresh eggs. Bring to a boil on med/high heat. Once boiling, cover and remove from heat, set a timer for 15 minutes. After the 15 minutes have elapsed, pour out the hot water and put the eggs in a bowl of ice water then the fridge until ready to use.

Deviled Eggs:

Most ingredients are to taste, you just need a creamy consistency, this is about what i tend to:

  • 6 boiled eggs, halved with yolks removed
  • 2 spoonfuls of mayo, use the real stuff
  • 1-2 spoonfuls of dijon or spicy mustard
  • a pinch of fresh dill, paprika (i love the spicy smoked variety), garlic powder
  • finely chopped smoked salmon and green onions, about 1 slice of salmon
  • salt and pepper
Mush the yolks with the seasonings and mayo/mustard until rather creamy/sticky. Add the onions into the mixture along with about half the salmon, diced up small. Taste and adjust to your liking. Carefully spoon the filling into the halved egg whites (which hopefully look less gnarley than mine did) and garnish with some green pepper, a larger pice of salmon and a dusting paprika.
The smooth texture of egg yolk and salmon go together divinely, and are accented by the crunchy brightness of the chives. Yum!
Are you a deviled egg fan? Can you eat just one??

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Egg Salad

It’s the week after Easter, which means many of us have a lot of boiled eggs needing to be used up.I love egg salad at all times of year, so now is the perfect excuse to whip up a batch. My egg salad is a little different every time, depending what i have on hand and what my mood is. It tends to be a bit crumbly and escape from betwixt the sandwich bread every so often. This weekend i will mush it with my potato masher to reduce this effect some.

The basics revolve around these elements:

  • Boiled eggs, 1 or 2 per serving depending on hunger
  • Finely diced onion
  • Finely diced pickle or green tomato relish
  • Salt
  • Mayo
  • Mustard
  • Dried basil
  • Cracked pepper

Added elements:

  • Other dried herbs: turmeric, oregano, thyme, cumin
  • Finely diced garlic or garlic powder
  • Paprika, sweet or smoked
  • Bacon bits
  • Smoked salmon
  • Cayenne/ pepper flakes
  • Sun dried tomatoes

I like to finely dice up the onions and garlic first and place in bottom of small bowl. After cooking the eggs, i burn my little fingers peeling them while still hot, cut in half on cutting board and place cut side down onto onions. There, i cut with a knife into little dices, then mush a bit, mixing the egg with the onions. Repeat with as many eggs as you plan to use.  Let’s base the amounts in this recipe on 2 eggs.

Mix the eggs with the onions, add pickles if you’re using them and a good spoonful of mayo. I usually use about equal amounts of mayo and mustard, and not a ton of either. I can always add more mayo to my sandwich bread, right? Mix well and add whatever herbs/spices you like to taste. Finally, throw in any special touches like bacon bits or smoked salmon at the end and serve on some soft bread. You could also serve on toast, a waffle, or eat out of the bowl with a spoon!

I love egg salad. I think the most important thing is to be sparing with the mayo, don’t forget the mustard, and taste as you mix as too many flavors can muddle things up a bit.

What will you be doing with your leftover Easter eggs?

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Filed under Chickens, Cooking, Easy, Lunch