An Eggs-cellent Storage Plan - Water Glassed "Limed" eggs

Every once in a while a brilliant idea hits me and sticks! Such is the case with the plethora of eggs I ended up with during a spell in December!  I had asked for unwashed eggs from one of my "egg dealers" and they provided an 18 pack along with an 18 pack of washed ones for us to eat!

The unwashed ones I wanted so that I could try "Water Glassing Eggs" aka "Lime Eggs".  I had been hearing about it for a while and decided to check it out.

Lisa Bass at The Farm House On Boone has great directions and advice for this!

It takes Pickling lime, filtered water, a great glass jar and unwashed eggs!  Simple!  When I say unwashed eggs they are eggs that have not had the "bloom" taken off them by washing them in any solution - straight outta the chicken is what you want!  I did wipe off a few bits of feather or dirt with a tissue - very gently so as not to remove the bloom.  Seems to have worked fine but the cleaner the egg laying boxes are the cleaner your eggs will be - straight outta the chicken!

Mix 1 oz (6 tsp of my product) Mrs Wages Pickling lime with 1 quart of filtered water and stir it in to incorporate it.  It doesn't dissolve into the water - it will look cloudy or milky - no worries - still good!  I used filtered water out of my fridge filter - mind doesn't make cold water - its basically filtered room temp water - if yours makes cold water - let it warm up to room temperature before using!

Gently lower the eggs "pointy side down" into the lime water.  My eggs did not stay pointy side down and Im not sure it matters at all?  Just be gentle - I used a long handled wooden spoon to help me lower them into the jar and that worked well.

Once you have a dozen or so eggs in there (I put 18 in this jar to start and they all fit with about 2 inches of the water on top, Im sure it depends on the size of the eggs too) you can seal up the jar.  I just used a Ball lid and ring system for mine.

Here you can see the Mrs Wages Pickling lime bag - I got mine from Amazon but you might be able to find it local too.

Then store the jar in a cool dark place!  Easy peasy!  The label you see here is how I am doing my jars.  This way if something didn't work I can adjust and retry.  I just did another jar of this size today.

The lime on the bottom of the jar is normal and nothing to worry about!  There is still wnough lime inthe water to preserve the eggs!  DO NOT try to tip the jar and mix it in!  You might break one of the eggs and ruin the whole batch!  It wont dissolve in anyway!  The water takes all it needs and leaves the rest on the bottom!

Truuuusssssttttt Mmmmeeeeee! 

So - here we are 4 months later getting ready to use a couple of the glassed eggs to make cookies!  I took out the amount I needed - in this case two.  They smelled and looked fine and the shell didn't really feel "fragile" like I expected.

I started by cracking them into another bowl first just to make sure - didnt want yukky eggs in my batter if this process hadnt worked!

First one and the yolk didnt even break!  Beautiful!  Smells good and looks good!

Second egg - I broke the yolk on this one cracking it but still smelled like an good egg and looks good!

Into the batter bowl they went and made perfect cookies!  They didnt taste funny or make a different dough and no one who tasted one could tell that the eggs had been stored for 4 months in a jar of lime water!

I have not stored eggs for two years yet - I have heard that they can be stored for at least two years - I will keep you posted as I go!  I dont know if you can use the lime water again - I have not been able to discover that.  I have however added eggs to the startup jar and not had any problems with them!

May you be brave enough to try this and blessed enough to have eggs anytime you need them!

Blessed Be in All Things!

 

Ive Been Mugged! In a great way!!!!!

There is a new trend in appreciating coworkers and others who are special in our lives right now - MUG THEM!!!  Sounds horrible I know but it really is a good thing in this case and maybe - might just maybe be life changing - maybe - dare I say it -  even world changing!  

I came to work the other day to this on the door...... an "I've been Mugged" sign!

And to this on my desk...my new drinking "Mug" that says "Never forget the difference you have made!"  I need the mug and the reminder every day as I sometimes struggle (as I have wrtiien about before) to see the purpose for my being here on the planet.  I also need to drink more water during the day!  Double win!

There was also the directions for how to continue the "Mugging" as sort of a pay it forward system - if you are "Mugged" this way you get to "Mug" someone else too!

So much fun and so uplifting to the giver and the getter!

But my favorite part was this, a little note that said - "Check the Culinary fridge for a Saturday morning treat" and this lovely Butterscotch Bubble Bread" ready to go in the oven for a delicious Saturday breakfast with my coffee!

In its own brand new bundt style pan and with all the fixins and directions for baking!

Easy to read and follow for perfect success!

Baked to perfection and ready to flip!

Now we just have to wait a minute for it to release from the pan......

And viola!  Beautiful Butterscotch Bubble Bread Mugging to make my Saturday!

I mugged a couple of people at work with funny mugs, some fresh sourdough bread, and a jar of Honeyberry Jam - easy peasy and it doesnt have to be expensive - just from the heart!

May you be blessed with good friends who Mug you in a good way when you most need it and with the wisdom to know the good you have done, and to spread it around!

The Golden Birthday! A Reedo Episode

 Often times I get caught up in whose stories are whose in my life and who should get to tell them.  Its not that I dont want all the stories told, but that my kids who are still here to tell their own stories should be allowed to do just that - tell their stories!

Once in a while though it really IS my story - but also Reeds and so I will tell the story of his Golden Birthday!  He turned 24 on the 24th, which is what put the "golden" in the event!

(One year old here and so cute in his litte plaid jumper)

Since he was born early in the morning and bloody and purple from "difficult birth circumstances" he has always been very food motivated and has mostly never stopped smiling!  He was our "Rainbow Baby" and so, so very special from the very get go!  We had to keep food next to his bed because he would grow so fast that he was starving in the middle of the night often and if there wasnt food there he would wake up the house trying to make something!

Always very independent and resilient, Reedo would climb the fridge shelves to get to the butter - that lasted until he was about three and we figured out if we kept a protein bar handy always, it would cure what ails him!  He was the one who taught me that "hangry is a THING!"  "I do it my own self" was his mantra as he grew into the amazing human that he is, and when he was smaller, until he was about four his nick name was "Osama Bin Reedie", because he was always so busy and he lived up to his Aries sign with his "head down horns first" tenacity!

The nickname stuck until Nana said it was time for a new one - so Osama Bin Reedie became Boone - or Reedo Bandito!  Much better!

He loved and still loves his Carhartts from the Hat to the Socks after he outgrew his tiny Harley coat it was Carhartts or bust!

It has always been a special occaision when Reedo got a haircut - the mullet has been king since he was about two years and could actually grow one!  Above is right after he got it cut off and he really didn't love the haircut result but....still smiling... and very handsome if I do say so myself!

Mullets back!

He has always been the Fisher King and that has been his go to when he couldn't play hockey (you know you can fish all year right - not just when there is ice)?

Hockey always trumped just about everything - except maybe fishing - but maybe sometimes- still not sure on that one!  Reed had "older brother factor" since Rye was 7 years older than he was and often had to take Reed with him to clinics, practices, games, shinny, and pick up hockey.  Reed always got a chance to play with the "big guys" until he got to be one of them and stood out as a Champion always!

But sometimes on special occaisions - like birthdays - he would do other stuff too!  Like play pool while we waited for the food to come!

We were of course so happy to have a guy get to 24 at all and for it to be Reedos Golden birthday made it even better!  While we also breathed a bit of a sigh of relief too.... and watched im open his presents and enjoyed his presence!

Among friends in the house he grew up in..... one of the kindest, most generous of spirit and of money or things, a good friend and the best son that a mother could ask for!

May you be blessed with continued great friendships, many, many more birthdays, and fireworks always whenever the occaision strikes you!  Happy Golden Birthday Month Reedo Bandito!

Day at the Museum of Anchorage

I recently had the pleasure of being invited on a field trip with some of our High School classes Life Skills students and we got to spend a bit at the Anchorage Museum!  It was amazing!  So much fun and I learned a lot of things about a lot of things!  If thats a thing?

Yes!  We took a yellow school bus on a crappy road day with an amazing bus driver who made the trip seem easy and one of the kids just wanted to "nap" on the bus - he slept the whole way there!  

But then he was ready for the interactive Museum Experience!

First thing in the door was a giant interactive kinetic and hydraulic display that had all kinds of ball bearings, marbles, gears and other stuff that kept the kids and the grown ups enthralled! 

These kids are some of my favorites at the school - they are always joyous and the spread it everywhere!  One of them always tells me that Im "Legendary"!  He also believes that he is Legendary!  I love that about him and it always makes me smile - no matter what!

One of all of our favorite sections what the Comic Con section with an amazing library like reading area that was all animated/cartoon books and the kids could grab a book and Chill!

The Murals on the walls were done by local cartoon artists - I was not able to get the names of the mural makers, but the kids sure enjoyed finding the artifacts hidden in plain sight in the murals.

They also got to draw cartoons in part of the exhibit in the Comicon area - tons of different styles and lots of colors to use - you can trace something or make up your own characters! So Fun!

This part is also a fun and interactive section where you scan a QR code with your phone or the ipads provided and when you focus your device on the orange frames the picture that comes up on the device is all in color and tells you the story about that page of the comic.  Mind Blown on that one!

Then there is the Snapping Turtle - (thats Mr Brandt the teacher in this picture) but the turtle is a medium sized guy who loved the kids but the grown ups not so much!  He would go right to the spot where any kids were standing and swim and show off right in front of them!

You can see him swimming right in front of these two - He is an intersting addition to the Museum and kind of a "one of these things is not like the others" display!  It sounds like maybe someone had him as a pet as a baby turtle and then he grew into a big snapping turtle and this was his best option for great care?  I learned from this display that this type of snapping turtle can live up to 50 years!

There was even inspiration for us quilters there in the Alaska Native/Eskimo display - how beautiful is this regalia?  I could not resist taking a picture of it as I have quilt dreams of it now!  We couldnt take a lot of pictures in this section of the Museum due to the "No Flash" rule and that the lights are kept very low in this part - many of the artifacts can be damaged by the light - even from flash cameras!  

The elevator even has a marvelous mural on it!  Everywhere we went there was art and wondrous things to see and do!  We only had a couple of hours there so we did not get to even see and do everything but I give two thumbs up to this "Legendary" experience!  If you havn't been to the Museum please make plans to go - you will not be sorry!  If you are not local here in Alaska Check out the link here to the Museum - or check your area for a museum that is close to you - I know Seward has a great one also!  

Blessed Be and may all your adventures and field trips be Legendary!