Deviled Eggs

Easter came early!Deviled EggsHow can you resist eggs when they are this beautiful?I was overjoyed when I collected all these the other day. It has been a cold winter and the hens have not been laying until this week.These eggs came from chickens that were hatched this year, so this is their first year of laying which means more eggs per hen, but not more than one per day.It was only a short time ago that we were cautioned not to eat too many eggs because they increase your bad cholesterol. But as it turns out, these powerhouses have gotten a bad rap. Recent studies ^[1]have shown that higher consumption of eggs (up to one egg per day) is not associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.Purchase organic and pastured eggs. Organic standards help lower risk of contaminated feed and organic eggs usually have higher nutrient quality. But remember that the term “organic” does not guarantee a natural lifestyle for the hens. The term “pastured” means that the eggs are on the pasture, walking on soil and scratching around on the soil, eating bugs and being hens!Eggs are an excellent source of vitamin D if the chickens gets a good dose of sunshine each day. They are also packed with omega 3s if the chickens are allowed to scratch around and eat plants, bugs and worms.We cook a lot of eggs in our house. It is our ‘go to’ when we are hungry and we haven’t planned a meal. I prefer my eggs soft boiled and my husband likes his hard boiled. Here’s how we do it:We bring a pot of water to a boil and then reduce it back to a simmer.Then we put our eggs in the water and I set my timer to 6 minutes. I remove my eggs at 6 minutes and keep his eggs in the simmering bath for 4 more minutes. Sometimes I take a soft boiled egg with me on the go and then I cook it to 8 minutes so that I can eat it more like a hard boiled egg- it is soft but not runny!Deviled eggs are about the best hors d’oeuvre you can bring to a dinner party. I mean seriously, who doesn’t love a good deviled egg?And if they are local eggs that came from chickens that have been outside running around scratching at the earth and eating all good kitchen scraps, then the eggs are a real treat!Here is my best Deviled Eggs recipe:6 eggs, hardboiled (9 - 10 minutes ) & sliced in half2 tablespoons mayonnaise1 tablespoon brown mustardA splash of hot sauce, pepper to tastesalt crystals and berber to garnish     Don’t be shy about topping a deviled egg with:Wild Shrimp sliced in halfKimchiPickled Carrots or BeetsPickled Red OnionThinly Sliced CucumberSeared TunaFried OysterSlice of AvocadoCaviarPitted OliveCherry Tomato cut in half^[1] Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, et al. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999; 281:1387-94.