Happy New Year! May 2022 be a better year for all of us. Here's a fun post from January 30, 2021.
This weekend, why not have a delicious steamed egg for breakfast?
So many of my readers and viewers ask me how to make the perfect steamed egg - when the white of the egg is firm, and the yolk is silky, creamy, and liquid gold. Steamed eggs, soft-boiled eggs, and hard-boiled eggs are all great with toast, or as an addition to salads, or even alone as a quick snack. My eggs are as fresh as can be - they come straight from my chicken coops every day. Eggs are also very nutritious. A large egg contains about six-grams of protein, plus other nutrients, including vitamin D and choline. And, best of all, making the perfect egg is so easy.
Here are some photos and my step-by-step method for steamed eggs, enjoy.
As many of you know, I’ve long enjoyed raising chickens. I began raising chickens many years ago, primarily for their delicious fresh eggs. And I use a lot of them. Aside from enjoying one or two myself on any given day, I share them with my daughter and grandchildren, I cook flavorful dishes such as frittatas for guests and my crew at the farm, and I use many eggs for various cooking shoots. Here is a bowl of fresh eggs on my kitchen counter. When hens lay eggs, they have a natural coating called the “bloom” that helps keep out bacteria. Washing eggs can drive some bacteria in through the pores of the shell, so I don’t wash them before cooking. I always just wipe them with a warm damp cloth to get rid of any dirt and place them in this giant bowl.
I have about 200-chickens down in my poultry yard. They’re all beautiful birds. I I’ve grown fond of caring for them, and learning about their many different breeds and varieties.
Here’s a hen sitting in her nesting box – I wonder if she’s sitting on an egg? In general, hens become mature enough to lay eggs around six months of age, though this varies slightly by breed. Healthy hens are able to lay an egg about once a day.
To steam the perfect egg, one needs a saucepan with a lid and a steamer.
These stainless steel expandable steamer baskets are easy to find. This is my Martha Stewart steamer basket from Macy’s. The flaps collapse or open to fit various pots and pans.
Just fill the pot to the bottom of the steamer basket – about an inch-and-a-half.
Then place the saucepan on the stove and turn it on high to boil.
While waiting, select your eggs. I chose six large eggs. I do not refrigerate my eggs. Freshly laid eggs can be left at room temperature for at least a month.
The water is just about boiling. A covered pot boils faster than an uncovered one because the cooling presence of the room’s atmosphere is greatly diminished. And notice, the lid is askew on top of the pot – just so it doesn’t boil-over.
I’m using a large spoon to carefully move the eggs into the pot.
I keep a crock near my stove filled with tasting spoons – large spoons intended to lift out about a 1/2 tablespoon of liquid from a pan or pot for sampling. I also keep some tasting forks close at hand.
Place the eggs carefully into the steamer – six is enough for one layer of eggs in this pot. Try not to stack the eggs if possible.
Set the timer to four-and-a-half minutes.
Place the lid properly on the pot and wait.
Remove the eggs as soon as the timer goes off. Remember, these are large eggs, but depending on the size of the eggs and how one likes them, this time may need some adjusting.
To serve eggs in their shells, I use the edge of a serrated knife to cut off the top.
Look at that beautiful gold color – it’s perfect. Egg yolks range in color from pale yellow to deep orange. The color of an egg’s yolk depends upon the hen’s diet. The darker color of a yolk indicates the hen is fed foods high in carotenoids or antioxidants, which are natural pigments found in greens. My chickens are fed the best scraps including organic vegetables from my gardens.
Add a little salt and pepper and it’s ready to eat.
To serve out of the shell, hold the egg over a small bowl, tap around center with a knife, gently pull the shell apart, and then scoop out the egg with a small spoon.
Here’s another egg with its creamy egg yolk pouring out into the bowl – made to perfection. Minutes really make a difference, but after doing this a few times, one will find their perfectly cooked egg.
Here are the two eggs in the bowl. Again, I added just a little salt and pepper to taste.
Steamed eggs for breakfast – so easy to make and so flavorful and healthy too. Don’t you just one one now? Enjoy.
Today we're expecting temperatures to reach 50-degrees Fahrenheit - very mild for this time of year. Northeast winters can be quite erratic. This encore blog was originally posted in December 2019, shortly after an ice storm covered the farm. I hope you all have a very safe and festive New Year's Eve. I look forward to another great year ahead.
Today is expected to be clear and sunny, but bitterly cold here at my Bedford, New York farm with highs only in the mid-20s.
I hope you’ve seen my Instagram posts @MarthaStewart48 - we’ve had quite a stormy week. Yesterday, I posted a video taken from a window at our New York City headquarters during a brief snow squall, a quick and intense burst of snow accompanied by strong, gusty winds - it covered the city with almost a half-inch of powder. Earlier in the week, we had an ice storm, characterized by freezing rain and the accumulation of at least a quarter-inch of ice on exposed surfaces. When I woke up, there was a coating of ice on everything.
Enjoy these photos.
I took many photos the morning after the storm. This photo was taken shortly after 7am. All the branches on the trees were covered in ice. Thankfully, we did not get too much damage.
Look at the ice that formed on this stone ledge – it’s about a quarter-inch thick. An ice storm is a type of winter storm also known as a glaze event or, in some parts of the United States, as a silver thaw.
Here, the ice covered the ground in a sheet of white.
This is a closer look at the ice covering these branches. Bad ice accumulations can increase the weight of tree branches up to 30-times. Fortunately, that did not happen with this storm.
Icicles form when ice or snow is melted by the sunlight and then refreezes as it drips. During ice storms, icicles also form when rain slightly below freezing accumulates. Over time, water runoff causes the icicles to grow. These icicles are on the overhang of my carport.
The ice looks like glass on top of this ‘Miss Kim’ lilac by my Winter House and apple espalier.
The ice has given this stone wall a very shiny new look.
This apple tree is also covered in ice just outside my Winter House. Look closely – there are two apples still hanging onto their branches.
This photo was taken with my new Google Pixel 4 – so beautiful. I love this view looking over the antique fencing and landscape to the ice-capped trees in the distance.
And here’s a closer look of those trees – covered in a coating of ice. This Pixel 4 takes excellent images.
This photo was taken from the carriage road near my stable looking up between the fenced paddocks with the roofs of my Winter House and carport in the distance.
On mornings after a storm, I always drive around to make sure everything is okay. I check all my animals, the buildings, the garden beds, and the trees. This is the original allee of linden trees down by the peafowl palais. Lindens have a very symmetrical conical shape, with strong central leaders. This allee looks so pretty in every season.
This is the netting over my chicken yard. It protects my flock from the hawks that fly overhead. When checking my chickens, I saw it completely weighed down with ice. It’s a very strong net, so it did not collapse.
I captured this photo from the carriage road that runs through the lower hayfield. The accumulations of ice after a storm are classified according to the impact made – nuisance, disruptive, and crippling. During a nuisance ice storm event, less than quarter-inch of ice accumulates.
Here is another look across the hayfield. Thankfully, the wind was not very strong.
And looking down, it’s hard to see the grass underneath.
This is a nice view up the length of the paddocks with the fence shadows on the ground.
This is my Copper Bird Feeder with Four Feeding Ports from my Collection at QVC. It hangs from my pergola and is filled every day for visiting birds.
I hang many bird feeders during this time of year. With 125 different bird varieties visiting my farm on a daily basis, it is important to keep the feeders full, especially during winter. Below is the hedge of boxwood that lines the beds. The entire hedge is now covered under a protective burlap blanket.
This is the back of my carport. Another series of bird feeders hangs here for all the avian visitors, and the squirrels that wait for falling seeds. Were you affected by this week’s storms? Share your comments below and go to my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.com for more of my photos. We’re expected to hit 25-degrees Fahrenheit today here at my farm. Stay warm.
Here's the continuation of my family excursion to Costa Rica. This encore blog is from December 17, 2019 - enjoy.
There is so much to see in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica is a Central American country with coastlines on the Caribbean and the Pacific. It is bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, and Ecuador to the south. Costa Rica is known for its beaches, its volcanoes, and its biodiversity - roughly a quarter of its area is made up of protected jungle, rich with wildlife, plants, and trees.
Here are more photos from my trip, enjoy.
Costa Rica is not very large. The land area measures at about 20-thousand square miles – a little smaller than the US state of West Virginia. But the views over the water are vast and amazing. We took many photos of these spectacular views.
While driving in Costa Rica, one will see numerous fruit stands – many with pipa fría, or fresh chilled green coconut. Coconut water is full of electrolytes and packed with calcium, magnesium, and potassium – it is so good and so good for you.
Discarded coconut shells are made into beautiful bowls and other natural products and sold at these roadside stands.
We visited the Baru National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses more than 800-acres of land along the Pacific, offering spectacular bird and wildlife viewing. There are many trails through primary and secondary forests, mangroves, grasslands, and even a beach. There are hundreds of types of birds and animals, including sloths, monkeys, peccaries, and toucans. Looking up, we saw this huge ant colony in the tree.
Up in another tree, we saw several capuchin monkeys. They were all swinging through the trees playing with each other. This duo stopped to look at all the activity below.
There are four monkey species that are native to the forests of Costa Rica. They include the Central American squirrel monkey, this Panamanian white-faced capuchin, the mantled howler monkey, and the spider monkey.
Capuchin monkeys, also called white-faced monkeys, occupy the wet lowland forests on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and Panama and in the deciduous dry forests on the Pacific coast. These animals are very curious.
The boardwalks have wire netting along the top to make them more non-slip when wet. This is a great idea.
Here’s Ari next to the buttress roots of this huge tree. In Costa Rica, these roots line the forest floor.
Here are the roots of another large tree. Like the name suggests, these roots buttress or keep the tree from falling down.
We also visited another mountain top animal facility, the Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary – dedicated to the protection and conservation of Costa Rica’s wildlife. the facility provides wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education and research.
Peccaries are adorable little wild pigs found in the deciduous dry forest, tropical rainforests, low-lying shrub forests, and agricultural areas in Costa Rica. They are quite resourceful and adaptable and live in herds of between three and 30 other peccaries, maintaining a hierarchical structure within their herd.
There are six sloth species in the world, and two of the six live in Costa Rica. Sloths sleep about 20 hours a day. Here is a pair napping in their enclosure – they didn’t mind our visit one bit.
Here’s another capuchin monkey at the sanctuary. The sanctuary has a more private area for wounded animals that need special care during rehabilitation.
This is a yellow-naped Parrot, Amazona a. auropalliata. It is almost entirely green, with a large patch of yellow on its nape.
This is the Chestnut-mandibled Toucan or Swainson’s Toucan, a brightly marked bird with a large bill. The male can reach up to two feet in length, while the smaller female reaches about 20-inches long at maturity. This toucan eats a variety of fruit, including different seeds, berries, drupes, and fruit fleshes. They also like insects or small snakes and hunt for birds’ eggs, nestlings, and lizards.
We also went on a Titi Canopy Tour – ziplining through the rainforests. Titi Canopy is the only zipline tour located close to Manuel Antonio. The company runs 12 lines, 22 platforms, one rappel, one Tarzan swing and a treetop suspension bridge. It was a great way to see nature.
We ate at my friend’s restaurant, Restaurante La Parcela, specializing in local cuisine, and seafood, as well as more beautiful views.
On another day, we looked at some of the fruits of Costa Rica. Breadfruit, native to Southeast Asia, arrived in Costa Rica with sailors in the early 1800s. In Costa Rica, breadfruit trees grow up to 50-feet tall and have smooth, brown trunks. This flowering tree, which is part of the mulberry family, can produce up to 200 fruits each year.
And do you know what this is? Theobroma cacao also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree. It is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. After four years, the mature cacao tree produces fruit in the form of elongated pods; it may yield up to 70 such fruits annually.
If you saw my photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48, you may have seen these two black vultures, Coragyps atratus. We saw vultures everywhere – these large, mostly black birds with bald, wrinkled, charcoal-black heads and wingspans up to five feet. With keen eyesight, they can spot carcass from far distances, but these scavengers have a poor sense of smell.
And, on our way back to the airport, we went over the famous Tarcoles River. Driving over the Tarcoles Bridge, you might see dozens of crocodiles. We saw glimpses of some just under the water.
And look at the gorgeous view beyond. If you get the chance, visit Costa Rica – you’ll have a great time. We certainly did.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
