Suck an egg.

Inexpensive, portable, versatile, tasty? Yeah, they're staying on my menu. And study after study has shown that eggs are good for you bad for you safe unsafe pick one, humans. I'm at the point where the veritas of any study that comes out in the news is automatically suspect, for its sources of funding to its political implications. When it comes to this topic in particular, though, whether or not this information on my news feed was well meant, I choose eggs.

Apart from being fun to chase, animals who lay eggs, such as ducks, geese, and chickens, can be incorporated into a food-producing garden (depending on local laws, of course) for chemical-free pest and weed control (how many counties have banned glyphosate now?), even against pests as large as mice (it's so satisfying to cross another poison off my shopping list).

There's even a benefit in the output of natural fertilizer (hey, free plant food and even less of a need for chemicals). Also, if animal welfare is a concern, an environment such as a garden is full of enrichment activities and inexpensive nutrition (free fun and food for birds doing what they do with or without humans). If there's no need or room for replacement livestock, there's no need to keep a male around to get eggs, but that's another argument. And maybe it's an oversimplification to say that all these animals need is good food, clean water, a safe place to sleep, and something to do, but it's something humans could stand to relearn (seriously, another new phone, hairless primate?).

Until I get my own birds, though, storebought will have to do. Salted eggs are straightforward enough - raw eggs stored in brine (5 water to 1 salt in my case), then boiled. I'm used to them being some shade of red or (guh) pink, but the color isn't necessary. Apart from its cultural significance of good luck or celebration, I'm guessing the dye is a measure of the saltiness of the cooked product. I would have preferred duck eggs for this, but this experiment's with chicken eggs. Served with tomato and onion, maybe a little vinegar, and some steamed rice, it'll be a simple meal in about month or so.

Pickled eggs, boiled and peeled before they're stored, are more efficient in terms of space (12 eggs fit in a quart jar as opposed to 7 of the salted). Other recipes I've come across on the web season their eggs with dill and jalapeno to nutmeg and clove (the one on the far left - I overdid the cloves). The newer experiment on the far right has a half cup of that 5 to 1 brine, a cup of vinegar, some red pepper flakes and black peppercorns.

Interesting what a news feed can prompt, isn't it? Guess I'll have to stick around a little longer to see how these turn out.