Fresh Eggs Daily® with Lisa Steele

Mojitos make the most of an abundance of fresh mint from the garden. If you ask me what my favorite cocktail is to sip while laying in the hammock or slowly rocking back and forth on the porch on a hot summer day, my answer would have to be the Mojito.

Each summer, my husband and I choose a "signature" cocktail and try different recipes until we've hit upon the perfect formula. This summer, it's the Paloma. My husband retired from the Navy in 2015 and we packed up our household belongings, chickens, ducks, our corgi Winston, our German Shepherd Bella, and our cat Linus, and moved to a farm in Maine.

Converting a horse stall into a chicken coop can save you time as well as money. Getting started with chickens can be expensive, especially these days with prices of everything going up across the board. And when you total the cost of the chicks and their feed, plus coop accessories like feeders and waterers, heat lamps, and a brooder, it can add up fast. And that's not even talking about the coop and run - which will be by far your largest expense. 

Fresh wild Maine blueberries make the best pies and cobblers, but if you can't find them fresh, then frozen will do. Fresh wild Maine blueberries make the best blueberry pies and cobblers, but if you can’t find them, then frozen will do. And if you can't find any wild Maine blueberries, then regular blueberries will do.

Watermelon slushies provide chickens essential hydration as well as beneficial nutrients on a hot day. Chickens not only can eat watermelon, they should, and they love it!  And it’s one of the best summer treats for your chickens because its high water content helps keep them hydrated.

Eggs are so versatile and can be prepared in so many different ways - which requires that you have some essential tools in your kitchen to prepare them correctly.  I eat eggs almost every day for breakfast (at least when my chickens are laying!) And since the average American eats about 280 eggs a year, apparently I'm not alone. 

Don't worry. Those white ropy strands aren't an embryo, an umbilical cord or a sign that the egg has been fertilized. They're actually a sign of freshness. Contrary to popular belief, that white stringy thing floating in your egg isn't a baby chick’s umbilical cord. It’s not an embryo, either. It’s actually a sign that the egg is super fresh.

Chickens and ducks are very different when it comes to feeding, housing and caring for them. Although we have been raising both chickens and ducks for almost 15 years, and they have been sharing a coop and run for the majority of that time, they are actually very different in so many ways. 

Celebrate spring with fresh herbs and tangy goat cheese baked in fresh eggs. Frittatas are sort of like crustless quiches. I love how quick and easy they are to make - and they're delicious warm right from the oven or at room temperature. Unlike quiches, they're not technically baked, but instead briefly cooked on the stove top, then finished up under your broiler.

This new and improved brooder box design requires only a plastic tote, some wire screen and a few zip ties. Years ago, I made a brooder box out of a plastic tote for my brand new baby chicks. It involved cutting boards, screwing together nuts and bolts, and required a saw, a drill... That box served me well through several batches of chicks and is probably out in the barn still somewhere. 

You won't even miss the carbs in this elegant twist on a traditional Eggs Benedict recipe. Flavorful asparagus provides the foundation for the fried egg, and then the whole thing is drizzled with decadent homemade Hollandaise sauce in this elegant Fried Egg with Asparagus and Hollandaise recipe.