Happy Chickens Make Happy Breakfasts

This morning I had scrambled eggs for breakfast but they weren't just any scrambled eggs. They were fresh from AJ's chickens, bought at the farmers' market yesterday. AJ is an incredibly cute boy about 10-years old who had a table full of eggs, all sizes and hues, and a scrapbook with photos of his beloved chickens. I can't remember them all but Elvis and Phyllis Diller were memorable and had "hairstyles" like their namesakes. The eggs were fresh and buttery tasting, with rich yellow yolks that colored the cooked eggs. I felt inordinately happy eating breakfast this morning and thinking about AJ and his hens.

We also bought some grass fed lamb from Massey Creek Farms. I thought I was going to have to drag Tim away from his conversation with Bill McCollum of Massey Creek Farms as they discussed people they knew in common and who was related to who. Mrs. McCollum promised to email me recipes for a ground lamb dish her grandchildren love. The lamb and their fresh farm eggs are also available at Twin Oaks Shell Station across from the Hospice facility on Hwy 87/704. Good to know.

We bought nearly fat-free ground angus beef and cubed steak from Sandstone Farms at the market. No growth hormones were used in production. The beef is raised on pasture with a little sweet feed given as a treat to get the cattle to come to Frank Bray when he calls them up. We're still looking for a source for local chicken and pork.

We picked up a basil plant from Running Pine Herb Farm that we topped to use last night in a mozzarella tomato salad that we made for a dinner with our friends Katherine and Will. The tomatoes were Tim's heirloom Marglobes and Rutgers. I also used tiny pear-shaped yellow tomatoes from a farmer whose name I didn't get yesterday. They were mild flavored but added to the color and presentation of the salad. We bought a cheese-making kit and had intended to make our own mozzarella for the salad but ran out of time. This afternoon Tim made his first batch and it's delicious! Based on what the grocery store charged for fresh mozzarella, it's less expensive to make our own and we know what's in it. I'm looking forward to having another tomato mozzarella salad tonight.

It's such a pretty day today that I spent the afternoon floating around in our pond, one of my favorite Sunday afternoon activities in the summer. My exercise today was swimming and peddling the peddle boat around. No one ever said that exercise can't be fun.