Where the eggs are Bleu ....

Have you seen these beautiful eggs before? I had seen these eggs before, gracing

Helen's

and

Bea's

photographs and was on a lookout for them. Then, late last year I spied them at a stand in the farmer's market. I chatted with the lady selling them to find out more about the eggs and their intriguing color, but, surprisingly, she didn't have much information to share. Apparently, some of her hens laid blue eggs and she sold them since everybody seemed to be crazy after them..

Anyway, I was going to be travelling shortly after that and so, sadly, couldn't satisfy my curiosity then. Imagine my joy when I found these lovely blue eggs on the shelves of Gristedes!! I grabbed them without a second thought (the $3.40, for 6 eggs, price tag notwithstanding).

I am not much of an egg eater. We go through a few cartons a month, yes, but that's mostly from my baking and not so much the Sunday omelette or egg preparation. But, in order to really compare the taste, I decided to go with a simple fried egg.

As soon as I cracked open the egg, I noticed that the yolks were HUGE! And, of a deep yellow hue. The yolk to white ratio was very skewed relative to the standard brown or white eggs. Then I tasted them! Oh! they are indeed different; lighter (I can't figure out how, given above point) and so much milder without any of the egg-y after-taste.

If the smell and after taste of eggs, typically put you off, I definitely recommend trying these blue beauties. Next I am going to bake with them and see if there is any perceivable difference...

My lunch today was a Masala fried egg with a simple salad and toast. It was perfect!

P.S. Information from the carton - These eggs are laid by Ameraucana hens of

Platine Bleue

, descendants of the hens domesticated by the indigenous people of Chilean Patagonia.

Masala Fried Egg

(I picked this idea up at the cafeteria of my grad school. This used to be the only way, I'd consume eggs for breakfast!)

For each egg:

1 T finely diced onion (I mean real fine)

1/2 green chilli, finely diced

1/2 tsp chopped mint

pinch of chilli powder

salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients together. Crack open the egg on the pan. When the white starts to become opaque, slit the yolk with a sharp knife and quickly pat all the above mixture into the yolk.

Flip the egg to cook for a minute on the other side and serve

Easy Lunch Salad

Handful of mixed greens

grape tomatoes, sliced in halves

For the vinaigrette:

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 T olive oil

1/2 tsp chilli powder

salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients and fold over the salad leaves and tomatoes. Optional: Add toasted walnuts.