What's sweet and melts to nothing?

The gals are laying tons of eggs. Tons. We have 24 dozen eggs in the refrigerator waiting for us to do something with them. Honestly, if you were close, you would hate me because I would leave eggs in your unlocked car, just as during our "Great Zucchini Crop" days a few years ago.

But, since you aren't, how about I share with you one of our favorite receipes to use the egg whites?

Meringue Cookies

2 egg whites
1/2 c. sugar
1-2 t. vanilla (or 3 t. cocoa; or lemon flavoring or whatever you have a hankering for today)
dash salt

Beat the egg whites and salt until stiff. Add the sugar by tablespoonsful.

Cover your cookie sheet with either parchment paper or silicone sheets. I use the silicone because it recycles with just a quick wipe! Sweet.

Now, the fun part. I used the cookie press I found at a junk store With All Its Pieces to squeeze the meringue into lovely little flowers. You could drop these from a tablespoon as well. I even added a little food colouring to one batch. Nothing like a red flower that tastes like sweet air and melts away to nothing in your mouth!  Have fun with it!

Bake at 250-degrees for one hour. Then, let them "rest" in the oven for at least two more hours.

Store in an air tight container... unless your Mister is like mine and is standing by the oven drooling and waiting...

We then take the egg yolks and make a lovely omelet or frittata from them. Nothing wasted!

How do you use extra eggs??

Warning!

Never, never, never, ever, evah, put a peeled hardboiled egg in the microwave to heat it and then, once it is heated, stick a fork in it.

Did you know an exploding egg can cover 250 square feet?? And still leave a gob in the bowl?

Don't ask.

Eggs-actly

The girls were too young last summer to do us much good at the farmer's market, but, once they started laying, boy did they! We are gathering about three dozen eggs a day right now! What is one to do with so many eggs?

Omelets, egg salad, potato salad, fritattas, stuffed eggs, pound cakes, meringue cookies, breads, cakes, ice cream... You see how it goes... and you can see why I have a smaller lap when I sit.. anyhow.

One of my favorite cook books is from 1963: Freezing and Canning Cookbook from the editors of Farm Journal. There are so many wonderful ideas in this treasure that I wonder if it is possible to even use them all! However, one of my favorites is how to freeze eggs.

Our grandmothers saved eggs by dropping them in barrels of waterglass to preserve them. However, today we have freezers and our thriftiness is aided by such a wonderful appliance! To preserve your egg surplus (from your hens or a great sale at the grocer's) just:

Break a cup of eggs into a glass bowl.

Add, depending on the intended use:

1/2 t. salt (for scrambled eggs or other egg dishes) OR
1 T. sugar (for baking or custards)

STIR to break the yolks. Do not beat!

That's it. Freeze for up to six months.

What I have done is measure out what I use for my favorite receipts -- cakes, cookies, and so forth -- and frozen according to those uses.

Here is one good use for your surplus eggs:

3/4 c. butter (or margarine -- but why bother?)
1 1/2 c. confectioners sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 c. chopped pecans
3/4 t. vanilla
3 3/4 c. vanilla wafer crumbs

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in nuts and vanilla and add 2 3/4 c. crumbs. Mix.

Spread remaining crumbs over bottom of buttered dish (8" square). Spread creamed mixture evenly over crumbs. Makes 16 squares. Freeze. Serve without thawing.

You can make this ahead of time and store for up to one month. Yummers.