There was a week there where I fretted a lot about the eggs. I had a pretty serious backlog of unsold eggs. I’ve got my local CSA customers, whom I love and have allowed me to see first-hand the real benefits of the CSA model. However, I had several bad days in a row at my local farmer’s market, the worst of which I sold only five dozen in three hours. Right now we’re getting about 35-40 dozen per week from our 145 or so hens. Chickens take a while to get to the point where they are all laying every day, and in the record heat we’ve been having, it takes even more time. I knew that if I couldn’t sell them all now, what on earth was I going to do later? I frantically began searching for other options, trying to figure out what I could do to either entice the customers I had further, or to get more of them.

The answer to my woes came, as so often it does for many of us young Georgia farmers, in the form of Judith Winfrey of Love is Love Farm. Judith is our very own rock-star farmer, food activist, leader, and general liaison to anyone and everyone in the farm-to-table world in Georgia. She answered my Facebook shout out looking for a farmer’s market that was looking for eggs. Judith manages the super-duper-awesome East Atlanta Village Farmer’s Market, where I have been selling out of eggs at my $6/doz price every week.

Having successfully crossed my first business hurtle (thanks to the powers that be that it was a small one!), I got to thinking more seriously about the value of food, and specifically, what an egg is worth.When I discussed egg pricing with Judith, she said that she’s stood by Love is Love’s $7/dozen price, despite the turned-up noses. She said, “I guess people really are getting to know the true cost of food.” She’s right, I think, and there’s a fair few of them who aren’t happy about it.

Recently, Time Magazine published an article based on a USDA study that showed that an organic egg was not appreciably different from a regular, industrial egg, and thus asserting that the price difference is bunk. However, what Time Magazine fails to mention is the tools the USDA used to measure egg quality in its study, the Haugh Unit. This tool is used to measure the physical characteristics of an egg, primarily with regard to freshness (the height of the albumen directly correlates with freshness). Of course, almost all eggs, industrial or organic are no more than a few hours to a few days old when they are graded. They are therefore, always fresh at the time of grading and get to bear the Grade A stamp (provided they have a reasonably uniform shell, and show a white and an in-tact yolk when candled), no matter how fresh they are by the time they arrive at your supermarket. Infuriatingly, the Time article also asserts that factory farm eggs are “safer” than organic eggs 1) without siting the claim, and 2) without noting that the organic eggs in a grocery store are industrially produced as well, and are therefore subjected to the same standards and regulations as non-organic factory eggs. One article I came across in responce to the Time article works to redress the mis-measurement of organic eggs and, quite rightly, asserts that the Haugh Unit is not a measure of nutritional value. While I applaude this, I can’t help but think that there is some real value in debating the differences, nutritional and otherwise, in a typical industrial egg and an industrially-produced organic egg. This value is not just for the sake of debate, but really and truly because I do not believe that the differences are in fact appreciable and I think that is something worth exploring and pointing out.

What neither the Time article nor the USDA research address is the existence of small-scale producers who direct-market their eggs, many of whom manage their hens on pasture.  Pasture, folks, not “free range” and not “Organic”. “Free Range” has a specific USDA definition that in no way includes grass nor guarantees that the birds will actually find their way outside. “Organic” likewise, has a specific USDA definition that primarily addresses the feed and drugs given to an animal. A pasture-raised hen actually lives on fresh, green grasses with access to sunshine and insects that she wants to leave her nest box to enjoy. If she eats a certified organic feed to supplement her intake on pasture, all the better for the health of your chickens and your customers who can be assured there is not chemical residues or other funky stuff in their eggs. I am stunned at the fundamental lack or research going into showing the public that it is this, this egg which you can ONLY get (as far as I am aware) directly from a farm, farmer’s market, or supermarket that has a direct relationship with such a farmer, is not only ethically superior, but a nutritionally superior product.

Studies from the Journal of Nutrition and the Journal of Animal Science point in this direction, but unfortunately, only publications such as Mother Earth News (while wonderful, it is not scholarly and not widely read by nutrition “experts”) have published anything that seeks to find direct links. We have to understand that until the USDA starts to look at an egg from a nutritional standpoint and conducts the research that will allow it to have real nutritional data on different egg production methods, we will be stuck with, frankly, lame comparisons of “freshness” of eggs laid in one style of factory farming versus another style of factory farming. The really good egg, unfortunately, gets left by the wayside while customers are left unaware of the real value of their egg.

Michael Pollan, in a recent Wall Street Journal interview, lays it out plainly:

We’ve been conditioned by artificially cheap food to be shocked when a box of strawberries costs $3.

But it’s important to know that farmers aren’t getting wealthy. When you see strawberries being sold for $1 a box, picture the kind of labor it takes to pick those strawberries and the kind of chemicals it takes to produce those kinds of strawberries without hand weeding.

Eight dollars for a dozen eggs sounds outrageous, but when you think that you can make a delicious meal from two eggs, that’s $1.50. It’s really not that much when we think of how we waste money in our lives.

What is artificially cheap food? Food that is subsidized. A single egg may cost $0.50 to produce (which is what ours cost), but when you start feeding them corn that is subsidized and providing housing that is subsidized, and drugs that allow them to live in cheap conditions that are subsidized, and disposing of the toxic waste chickens produce in an industrial setting that we don’t pay for, you have a veritable cornucopia of costs that you and I, taxpayers, cover that I promise you, ends up being more than $0.50 an egg. I recently had a conversation with Owen Masterson (of GROW!) where we thought somebody out there needs to do the research (or if it’s been done, let us know where), add up all the costs, and let us all know what an industrially-produced egg actually costs. It would be powerful, powerful knowledge.

Last week at market, I watched a woman with three young children pay for grass-fed steaks and ground beef with food stamps. I wanted to cry with joy. Some folks might be annoyed. They’d say this woman could get a whole lot more food for that money if she shopped at Kroger. But hold on a moment my fellow taxpayer and let us ask: how much more? What kind of more? More calories? Probably. Probably in the form of processed sugar and refined carbohydrates, leading her and her children a few steps closer to obesity. The meat she would be purchasing at Kroger would certainly be corn-fed, contributing to heart disease and other serious degenerative illnesses linked to corn-fed beef consumption, and because it’s cheaper, she could buy more of it, filling bellies a little longer now, and costing thousands in healthcare and suffering later.

And so I implore you, farmer’s market shoppers, when you’re at market, buying good, clean, and fair food for your family, realize that, unlike the supermarket where you’re paying very little for a whole lot of bad stuff (yes, even if you’re buying organic), you’re paying a little more for a lot more of the good stuff.

A quick update: Take a look at these stats from today’s New York Times. My favorite part of the article is, “Many people don’t approve of cage confinement, but they’re ‘basically asking for the cost of their food to go up’ said George L. Siemon, the CEO of Organic Valley Farmers cooperative, ‘you’re not going to produce eggs that sell for $1.50 a dozen without cages.” Indeed, Mr. Siemon, customers are asking for the price of their food to go up. It seems, contrary to the designs of industrial agriculture, that the consumer is in fact motivated my more than cost.

I perfectly ripe, orange-fleshed melon (like cantaloupe)
1 pint fresh blueberries
2 or 3 sprigs of fresh mint
juice of one lime
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Remove the mint leaves from the stem and cut into slivers (my favorite technique is to stack the leaves and roll them up like a cigar, then cut the roll horizontally). Put in a bowl with the lime juice, salt, black pepper, and olive oil. Give the mixture a little stir and let the flavors marry while you get on with the fruit. Remove the rind and seeds from the melon. Cut the melon into small cubes, about one centimeter and toss into the mint and lime juice mixture. Add the blueberries and mix well. I enjoy this dish best at room temperature, but it’s lovely cold as well. Serves 6, generously.

Mushroom Napoleon:

Puff pastry, cut into two 4×4 inch squares
1lb shiitake mushrooms
1/4 lb crimini mushrooms
1/4 cup cream
1 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
1 tbs dried thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
3 tbs butter
1/2 1 large shallot

Sauté the shallots on medium heat with the butter, thyme, and salt until golden and caramelised. Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until tender. Add the cream and nutmeg and stir. Leave on heat, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and cream have emulsified. Meanwhile, put your two pieces of pastry into the oven around 350 degrees. Bake until puffy and golden. Do not underbake, otherwise they will collapse.

Slice each pastry square in half lengthwise and place a bit of the mushroom mixture onto the pastry so as to make little sandwiches. Serve immediately with the soup below.

Broccoli and zucchini soup:

1 litre veggie stock
1 large head broccoli (about a pound)
2 medium zucchini
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/2 1 large shallot
2 tbs olive oil

Roughly slice the zucchini and broccoli, discarding the main stem of the broccoli. Sauté the shallot in the olive oil over medium heat until translucent. Add the vegetables and salt and pepper and cook until tender. Pour the stock over everything and allow to simmer and meld for about 20 minutes. In batches, pour the veggie mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. If the soup is a little thin add cream to taste. Serve piping hot with a dollop of the horseradish butter below.

Horseradish butter:
1 cup best salted butter
1/4 cup best fresh horseradish

Allow the butter to come to room temperature. Put the horseradish in the butter and blend with either an electric beater or with a wooden spoon. Serve spread over meats, vegetables, bread, whatever suits your fancy.

Note: I’m generally a big proponent of what a marinade can do for meat, but I don’t always have the time. Then again, ribs aren’t exactly a fast-food, but to allow for spontaneity, you can drop the ribs in the marinade for an hour or two before you are ready to cook it, just give it a roast in the marinade alone for the first half-hour of cooking.

For the marinade:
3-4 lbs pork spare ribs
1 cup apple cider or juice (not apple juice that’s more sugar than apple, but the real stuff)
1/2 cup dark molasses
1 tbs chilli powder
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
dash of Tabasco, or a couple of slivered hot peppers, if they’re handy

For the braising sauce:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
4 tbs of your favourite Worcestershire sauce
4 tbs dark molasses
1 tbs ground ginger
2 tbs ground cinnamon
2 tbs ground dry English mustard
1 tbs chilli powder
1 lemon, plus juice
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tbs bourbon or whisky (I use Southern Comfort or Maker’s Mark)

Make small incisions on both sides of the ribs and put the bits of crushed garlic inside them. Mix all the other ingredients for the marinade together and rub into the meat. Let sit overnight, or for a couple of hours (see note). Bring meat to room temperature and drop it with all the marinade dregs into your roasting tin. Then mix together all the ingredients for braising sauce, and brush onto both sides of the meat. Roast for about 2 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. If you have more time, turn the temperature down to 250 and give it another hour or so. The longer the meat cooks, the more tender it will be. You could cook it for 6 or 8 hours at around 200 degrees, but despite my inner slow-foodie, practicality rears it’s head. About every 20 to 30 minutes brush meat with the braising sauce. After the first hour of cooking, turn the meat and roast the other side, remembering to faithfully brush this side as well.

Allow to sit for a few minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 4, generously.

24 oz fresh Ricotta
1 lb fresh spinach, washed in two changes of salted water
2 eggs
11/2 tsp salt
16 oz large shell pasta
1 1/2 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated Fontana cheese
generous pinch fresh grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shells in salted water until al dente, about 5 minutes. Mix the ricotta, eggs, and salt in a mixing bowl. Chop and add the spinach and mix well. Set aside and make the béchamel. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk and cream, then whisk in the flour, a little salt, the nutmeg, and the grated cheeses. Allow to bubble gently but not boil. Add more flour or milk to achieve the desired consistency. Your béchamel should not taste floury.
Generously stuff each cooked shell with the ricotta mixture and snug up in your 9×9 baking pan. Pour the béchamel over the shells and pop in the oven for 25 to 35 minutes, until golden and bubbling.

Allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving, or make the day before; it’s better after it’s sat overnight. Serves 4-6.

for the potatoes:
1 lb fingerling potatoes
2 sprigs rosemary
4 cloves garlic
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Take the rosemary, crushed garlic, sliced shallot and butter and melt all together in a pan. Allow the aromatic herbs to infuse in the butter and let stand at a low heat for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into smallish cubes, drizzle with olive oil, and toss in the unpeeled cloves of garlic and rosemary sprigs. Go ahead and pop them in the oven at about 400 degrees.
While the potatoes are roasting, dredge the lamb in the now cooled butter mixture until well-coated. Rub lamb with salt and pepper. Pour the rest of the butter mixture into a frying pan, get the pan very, very hot and sear the lamb, no more than about 30 seconds on each side. As soon as you turn off the heat, pour the red wine into the pan to deglaze.
Once the potatoes are tender, pull them out of the oven and arrange the lamb on top of the potatoes, make sure to pour in the jus from the pan. Turn the oven done to about 275 degrees and put the lamb and potatoes in the oven and roast for 5 to 10 minutes, for rare to medium-rare meat. Pull the pan out of the oven and allow the meat to rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle a little balsamic on the lamb before serving.

Serves 4 generously.

salt and pepper to taste

Cook the grits in the hot stock or water until done, about an hour. Meanwhile,
melt butter in a large skillet and heat until foaming. Toss in shallots to brown, once browned, add shrimp and the Old Bay and cook until done. Salt the grits and pour into the skillet with the shrimp and seasonings. It’s okay if it’s a bit liquidy. Cook together for 5 more minutes and serve.

Serves 6 generously.

Cook rice in the water until a little al dente. Chop shallots and the small hot-hot pepper finely. Place shallots, hot-hot pepper and pork sausage in a large pan and cook until shallots are translucent and the pork is done. Pour the cooked rice into the pan with the sausage. If there’s a little cooking water left, that’s fine. Cook until the rice is tender, all water has evaporated and everything is well mixed.

Pre-heat the oven to 400ºF. Cut off the tops of the stuffing peppers and remove the seed head. With a small spoon, stuff as much of the pork and rice mixture into the pepper as you can, using the back of the spoon in a circular motion. It’s okay if the pepper tears a bit. Just stop if it does and be gentle. Place the stuffed peppers in a roasting tin with a little lard or other handy oil. Cover peppers with the cheese and the molé sauce. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the peppers are hot and the cheese bubbles. Serve hot with a few sprigs of cilantro and/or slices of avocado, if available.

Serves 6.

Measurements are very general here. Really, it’s all to taste (as cooking should be).
Also, all ingredients are the absolute best quality available, as should be yours.

2 pounds ground lamb
8 oz feta cheese
2 tbs ground cumin seed
1 tbs ground coriander seed
3 tsp sea salt
1 bunch fresh mint
1 large shallot
2 whole eggs, beaten (optional)

1/4 cup whole, plain yogurt

Finely chop the mint and the shallot. Crumble feta into a bowl. Mix all ingredients together (it’s fun to squish meat between your fingers!) and form into patties, approx. 1/2 inch thick and 2 inches in diameter. Fry in a large skillet or charcoal grill until done, but still slightly pink inside. Sprinkle with a little chopped mint and drizzle with plain yoghurt. Serve hot alone or with warm pita bread.

Makes about 12 burgers.