Eggs! We love them and eat them all the time; breakfast,
lunch or dinner – eggs always offer a wonderfully light nutritious protein
option. For me, for now, I buy eggs that are from cage-free chickens fed
organic, vegetarian food. I also rely on the kindness of friends who have
chickens, and getting fresh eggs from a backyard chicken is my preference! My
families love for the egg coupled with more recent headlines related to the
unnatural way animals raised for consumption are being massed produced, led me
to dig further down to my roots…I bought our family 5 beautiful little chicks,
hens in the long run we hope!
So…did I mention I live in a suburban neighborhood in a
small house with a backyard we affectionately coined the courtyard? We moved into this house 7 ½ years ago just
10 days after my daughter Liv was born. The plan was to live in this house for
2 years then move back to the country…and so now nearly 8 years later we laugh
and somehow make it all work. The biggest issue for me is I am a true country
girl, so the lack of outdoor space makes me, well claustrophobic! I do what I
can to maximize the art of suburban homesteading…I weave edible plants
throughout all of my landscape front, back and side yards. I, of course, live
by the genius concepts of “gardening by the foot” in my raise beds and I have
worm composting bins in my garage right alongside the new baby chicks!
You see, I was raised in the country on a farm. We raised
animals both for companionship and sustenance. Yes I named, groomed, exercised
and loved the very animals we eventually turned into food. But this process
gave me tremendous respect for life, food and the process of getting from A to
B. There is something very special about knowing where your food comes from and
the kind of life it lived. The best I could do for now is share what little
space I have in my yard with some lovely egg producing hens; Maude, Maven,
Molly, Mary and Morgan! This has also satisfied my kid’s recent request for a
puppy, double win! While more animals will have to wait for more space (maybeJ),
we can do a lot with fresh eggs.
Frittatas are so wonderful because they fit the bill for breakfast,
brunch, lunch, dinner or a snack; you can make them super low fat and low
calorie too! I like to make-over the traditional frittata with a lighter,
healthier version. Thanks to my all-time favorite fitness-forward eating mogul
Tosca Reno, clean eating is the term and concept I live by!!! She is amazing,
if you haven’t done so already check out her website www.toscareno.com.When I
know there is no real feasible way dinner can be made from scratch, frittatas
are a simple, fun, go-to idea! I mean who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner? It
takes no time to put together and 20-30 min to bake in the oven, the same time
most of us take to check our email or help with homework. Sometimes I have it
all ready and covered in the fridge with instructions for my hubby to throw it in
the oven when he gets home if I will be a bit later with the kids. It’s great
sliced up the next day in a lunch box too, for adults or kids for that matter.
I use more egg whites to egg yolks and non dairy or non fat dairy milk for the
base of this frittata and load it with yummy veggies and only a sprinkling of
cheese to really lighten it up. Now it’s not as rich as the traditional
frittata using all whole eggs and lots of cheese, but it is just as tasty and
satisfying with no guilt! This one features asparagus, artichoke hearts and
goat cheese, but get creative with any “mix-ins” you’d like!
Baked Asparagus, Artichoke and Goat Cheese Frittata
4 whole eggs
6 egg whites
¼ cup non fat milk (I use goat milk, but you can use
whatever you like dairy, non dairy etc…)
12 oz of asparagus, the woody ends removed
12oz of artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
½ tbsp of lemon zest
4 oz goat cheese
1 tbsp fresh chopped herbs (basil, tarragon and thyme are my
favorites for this)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive or vegetable oil as needed
What To Do:
Preheat oven to 375 and mist or lightly grease a 10” pie pan
with olive oil. In salted boiling water blanch asparagus for 1 min (do not go
any longer or they will be mushy) immediately remove asparagus stocks and place
in ice bath for 2 min. Cut asparagus stocks into 1 ½ inch pieces, set aside. Mix
eggs and egg whites together add milk, herbs, lemon zest, artichoke hearts,
salt and pepper. Pour mixture into prepared pie pan, arrange asparagus pieces
throughout the dish in a single layer, and crumble goat cheese over the top.
Place dish in the oven and bake for 20-30 min until eggs are completely set.
Remove from the oven and let cool 10 min before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Waste Not Want Not Tip:
Don’t throw out your egg yolks! You can freeze egg yolks to
use in future recipes that call for only yolks. Make sure you stabilize the
yolks prior to freezing; if they are not stabilized they will be thick and hard
to mix. To stabilize egg yolks separate into two categories, sweet and savory;
for savory mix 1 tsp salt per pint of egg yolks, and for sweet mix 1 tbsp of
sugar or honey per pint of yolks. Freeze in ice cube trays for easy access.
