Scotch Eggs

I just have to share one of my favorite breakfasts...Scotch Eggs!  I don't make these too often, usually on special occasions or when we go camping.  I like to make them the night before then reheat them when needed.


This is what you need...

Hard Boiled Eggs
Breakfast Sausage
Bread Crumbs


First, hard boil the eggs.  This may sound simple but for some reason, folks seem to have a hard time not overcooking the eggs.  You know when you get a yoke with green on the outside?  That's an overcooked egg.
I have chickens in my garden so the first thing I have to do is wait for two weeks before I hard boil the eggs.  Freshly laid eggs just wont hard boil nicely.  They just don't solidify correctly.
For perfectly cooked hard boiled eggs, place the eggs in a pot of cold water--enough to cover the eggs by one inch.  Bring the water to a rolling boil.  Boil for two minutes.  Cover and remove from heat.  Set a timer for 16 minutes.  When the timer dings, rinse eggs with cold water.  Let eggs cool then peel.

Dry peeled eggs with a paper towel.  Cut sausage into 1/2"-3/4" slices.  Flatten sausage and wrap around egg being sure to cover all of the egg and seal the edges.  I usually like to use Jimmy Dean Hot Breakfast Sausage.  I've tried using local made sausage but found the fat content to be too high.  The fat cooked off and left my eggs exposed.  Gasp!





Once the eggs are encased in sausage, roll them in bread crumbs.  Most often you will see Scotch Eggs deep fried but I prefer them baked.  Place the eggs on a cooling rack suspended above a cake baking pan. 

Bake in an oven preheated to 325F for 35minutes.  Serve with honey mustard for dipping.  Delicious!

 

 

I hope you give these a try.  They really are wonderful!

'Til we meet again,
Ms. Adventure




 

A bee in the bonnet, or 2 million in the greenhouse.

I have been a busy little bee loading, unloading, moving bees into the greenhouse, moving bees out of the greenhouse, back in again and finally putting bees in their new hives.  One of my many hobbies is beekeeping.  And since I wanted to keep bees and knew others did as well, I thought it a good idea to start up a little beekeeping club.  The club has since grown to include over 150 members!  Who knew what we were in for when we set forth on this adventure?!

Every year our club gets together and puts in a bee order.  We get bees trucked in from California for new beekeepers to start hives or to replace hives lost during our harsh winters.  This year has been our biggest order by far.  We had nearly 100 packages of bees to dole out!  By my estimation, that's over 1 million bees!  All waiting patiently in my greenhouse for some lucky beekeeper.

This is only half of the bees...

Keeping bees isn't all that hard.  The bees know what to do and as the keepers our job is to make sure that the bees have what they need.  Food in the early spring and sometimes in the fall too, a nice place for the queen to lay her eggs and a lovely spot for the workers to store their delicious honey. 

The bee on the right has pollen in her baskets!

I have been watching the girls frolic in the dandelions then bring home bright yellow pollen in their baskets.  Really, they have areas called pollen baskets on their thighs!  I love to watch the color of the pollen change depending on what's in bloom.




I have to admit the best part is the sweet honey we collect in the fall.  The bees are so generous to make extra to share with us.  One has to be very careful to leave enough for the bees to get through the long northern winters. 

Beautiful honey

So what kind of old time or off beat hobbies do you have?

'Til we meet again,
Ms. Adventure