raw – Page 9 – The Herbangardener

Christmas-in-July Eggnog Ice Cream

While visiting the Blue Mountains in Australia a few years ago, I was introduced to the concept of Christmas in July. This “holiday” is more of just a marketing ploy (“Book your holiday brunch NOW!”), but it’s kind of neat because southern hemisphere dwellers can experience a northern-style Christmas with decorations, carols, snow, roaring fires, and eggnog. While I love all these things during the winter — and winter sounds pretty good during the oppressive scorch of mid-summer — I can’t seem get into the Christmas spirit in July. However, I have been able to choke down this eggnog ice cream — ya know, in honor of the season (*smirk*).

Click “Continue Reading” for the recipe…

Healthfood Store egg vs. Pastured/Farm-fresh egg

I’ve always eaten raw eggs, and have never gotten sick from them. And for most of my life, the eggs I ate weren’t even the good kind…just the cheap, factory-farmed grocery store brand.

My mom used to warn me about raw eggs, so maybe I was just lucky. Obviously, the deliciousness & instant gratification of eating gobs of raw cookie dough eclipsed any long-range consideration of food poisoning. Still does.

More recently, I’ve been buying eggs from the health food store, which are organic, vegetarian, & cage-free. I can’t taste any difference, so I buy them more for the sake of the chickens they come from. However, these eggs aren’t quite as wholesome as they sound, even though the chickens are treated more humanely. I guess chickens naturally eat bugs and weeds/greens, so while “Vegetarian Fed” may sound good, this means they’re fed strictly on organic grains — ie., they aren’t outside on the grass, eating their native (and carnivorous) diet of bugs, grubs, etc.

And “cage-free” usually means that although they’re not confined to tiny cages, they’re still raised in a barn (warehouse? Quonset hut?) where the living quarters might still be cramped. They probably don’t go outside, either, lest they sneak a non-vegetarian grub or two.