Farm Eggs = a Leek and Cheddar Souffle

Last weekend in Wicklow we stopped at a farm to buy eggs. As we pulled into the drive we had to dodge the truly free range fowl.
The price for fresh eggs? Well your not in Kansas anymore. 6e for 12 (boxes of 10, with the extra to hold in your hands).
Duck Egg, Leek and Irish Cheddar Souffle* Not a recipe from a souffle expert.
Serves 4
1 tsp oil
3 chopped and cleaned leeks
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs flour
1 1/4 cup of warm milk
3/4 cup grated Irish Cheddar cheese
1 tsp thyme
salt, pepper, hot chili pepper
3 duck egg yolks
4 duck egg whites

1. Heat oven to 350f or 180c.

2. Over a med heat cook the leeks in the oil until soft.

3. Make a white sauce with the butter, flour and milk. (Melt the butter in a pan over med heat, add the flour and stir. Cook for about 30 sec and then add the warm milk. Mix Mix Mix until there are no lumps.) Add the cheese, herbs and spices. Let cool a bit and then add in the yolks.

4. Beat the egg whites. (Fresh eggs whites take longer so maybe ask you husband to do this part!!!)
5. Fold everything together and put into little pots or anything you have ( I used a big pie pan).

6. Into the oven and hope for the best. Cook 30-50 (mine was 40 min, i had to put a foil on the top to stop it from burning while I wait for the middle to be cooked)

It was like eating a cloud of fat!

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Veg.

This is the story of two kinds of canned milk and how never ever to use them.

What happens if you make Key Lime pie with evaporated milk when your recipe calls for sweetened condensed milk? A friend of mine tried it yesterday and sadly it did not come out well. Too bad, because that person (who is still nameless) makes great pie!



It got me thinking about evaporated milk. My whole life there has been an opened can in my parents frig waiting for my father's morning cup of coffee. What I just learned is that his 'can milk' habit was inhered from his mother. My Grandma puts it in coffee, mash, mac and cheese and just about everything else she makes. What if one day I stared to cook with it? Maybe I would use cream of mushroom soup or broccoli and cheese too! Worried about my fate I decided to make an anti-can pasta bake.



Take:

1 leek sliced
2 cups mushrooms sliced
2 chicken breast (optional)
2 bay leaves
fresh thyme

Cook until the mushrooms stop giving off water.

Add:

1 broccoli crown chopped

Cook for 3 more min. Remove the veg and return the pan back the heat and start the rue.

Rue:
Add
2 Tbs butter into the pan and let melt
Then
2 Tbs flour stir into the butter for about 1 min
Finish with
2 cups of milk stirring until thick ( I also added mustard and nutmeg at this point)

Salt and Pepper

Mix:

Everything together with 3 cups cooked pasta. Top with cheese and into the oven (200c) for 20 min.