Egg-citing Times

Before heading to an egg workshop, Sean was able to make his first deposit into the bank account.  He was so proud of this opportunity to serve in this duty as treasurer.  He has never done this before, so it was a thrilling experience.

We had a great time with Mr. Scott this afternoon teaching the 4Hers about EGGS!  This was the latest Food & Nutrition meeting.  We spent an hour talking about the many ways to cook eggs, while Scott cooked using many of the variety of methods he spoke about in the presentation.  He was so clever asking the group what type of egg they liked and then creating that egg on the spot...much like a short order cook!  This kept the group interested as he taught his techniques as he went along.

While he was doing this, Rebecca was inviting each 4Her the opportunity to come forward with a sandwich size seal-able baggie with their names on it.  She would then ask what kind of ingredients they would like in their omelette.  There were many choices....from grilled mushrooms and onions to various meats...and of course, cheese!  She would then proceed to cover these ingredients with a  ladle of eggs that had been whipped.  These baggies were sealed and placed in a pot full of boiling water for about 5-10 minutes.  Voila!...omelette cooked to perfection and very tasty!

Scott also showed the group how to practice flipping an egg.  He told theme to start by learning to flip a piece of toast...gradually use other items such as a pan of beans...until this can be perfected, finally trying the egg itself.  He also told us that the action of flipping is all in how you hold the pan and the pivot of the wrist.  As the 4Hers tried this, Scott would coach them on their technique and many were getting very good at flipping the toast.

Mrs. Theresa also shared some of her yard eggs with the group!  She showed the difference between a yard egg (free range) and a store bought egg (caged).  The difference is not only in the appearance but in the nutrients as well.  Scott even cooked some of these eggs for us to try.  There is a big difference in taste also!   One of the things I learned was that there is a special coating on the outside of eggs  when they are laid.  If this coating is not washed off eggs can stay fresh for a month without refrigeration.  This also keeps bacteria from getting into the egg!  I knew there was a reason I love a good fresh yard egg!

In the end, we came away full of eggs!  Edward (who does not even like eggs) ate THREE omelettes!  This was a great compliment to our chef instructor.  It was a great workshop and I am sure my boys will all want to try to test these tricks in our kitchen.  Great job of encouraging their skills in the kitchen.  Also, it is nice to see another dad involved.  We need these male influences in our project meetings!

We then made a mad dash for our monthly club meeting.  We had the regular meeting of information.  However, I must say that Joseph made our roll call very interesting and fun!  He asked the members to make an animal sound instead of saying here when names were called.  Very clever and got everyone to be involved.

Also, the budget committee report was given.  It was very confusing and I will need to get a written report to understand what was decided.  I also would like to know if the budget needs to be approved by the club, which did not happen.  So this will come up again in a later post.

The other big discussion was our fundraiser for the fall.  We will be selling pies...taking orders during the first part of November and distributing right before Thanksgiving.  This should be fun and hopefully turn a profit for our club.  I am so glad we have something other than candy or raffle tickets to sell.  Great job from our fundraising chair, Zachary (and his mom).

Sean was able to give his treasurer report.  We also made sure to get in the reports for the projects.  Then we had to leave the meeting early.  We were sorry to miss the guest speaker for this month, the commander of the Civil Air Patrol.  I will need to ask someone who remained at the meeting for details.  I am sure it was very interesting to learn about this other organization.  However, as involved as we are in 4H, I can not imagine trying to be in another program.  We are just so thankful for the enjoyment 4H brings to our family.