Eggs

It is funny because most times we never think about eggs or buying them. Still with the recent Easter/Passover holidays, eggs played a big part in my shopping and cooking plans. Way back when, my widowed grandmother had a small grocery store and of course she sold eggs. She bought them in bulk. At our house, we saved every egg carton and took them to New Jersey for her use. In my freshman year at UConn, I used the bathroom in the basement of my dorm and discovered that the trash barrel was a five pound drum from powdered eggs. UConn was started as the Storrs Agricultural College and the kitchen used powered eggs. Disgusting! For the rest of my freshman year, I ate no eggs in the dorm. The following year the situation changed and we moved to another dorm and we somewhat controlled the kitchen. There was never a powdered egg served again. I pretty much hate eating eggs in restaurants because they cook them to their specifications and not the way I like them. Buffet breakfasts featuring massive amount of eggs? Never touch them. Where do I buy eggs? I bargain hunt and since my adopted family goes through dozens of eggs, I look for sales. A few weeks ago, Jarjura’s had jumbo eggs on sale for $1.49. Jarjura’s is a small produce market nearby St. Mary’s Hospital. They have a deli counter and a few bottles of sauce and it is very plain inside. Easter week, egg prices jumped back to $2.49 a dozen. I put a few dozen in my cart, checked the price and put the eggs pack in the cooler case. There are also cheeses, milk and a few other items in the cooler. I could, but I don’t, go to one of the many egg farms in this state particularly around Lebanon and the North Franklin part of Connecticut and the neighboring areas of Rhode Island such as Johnson and W. Johnson. I taught in Prospect for 19 years and never went to Farmer Doyle’s egg farm for really fresh eggs. I remember years ago, Farmer Doyle peddled eggs from a station wagon and my father often bought a few dozen and brought them home. Egg farming was common among the newly arrived Jewish immigrants who settled farms in places like Newtown and Norwich. With the coming of the trolley cars, these farmers now had a means of moving their eggs, pullets and milk to nearby cities. This was a chance to increase their income and many did well financially. Of course I open each carton to check for cracked eggs and the woman behind me at Jarjura’s was not happy when I checked 10 boxes. Or was it 11 and I put one back? I buy eggs at Aldi’s. Their policy is one kind of each product only. One kind of ketchup, one kind of paper towel and one size eggs only but they tend to be the cheapest in the area. Plus the store is about 2 miles from my house. Their eggs are stored on wheeled racks and when there is little but a few cartons with broken eggs dripping out, I’ll pull out the front rack and then grab another. Most people seem to stand around confused as to how to get what they need. Aldi’s aisles are narrow and people seem to think three people standing next to each other is fine but this completely blocks the aisle. The beginning of the month brings many, many people and their snap card into shop at Aldi’s. At the beginning of the month, I try to shop at Aldi’s, only when absolutely necessary and at 9 a.m. when they first open. No music here but there are usually a few screaming kids whose mothers just ignore them. I probably bought a few dozen eggs at Walmart but I hate walking for miles to reach the eggs in the back of the store and then risking my life at the check-out lines. Think Waterbury Walmart. I like egg salad sandwiches, the scrambled eggs my sister makes and maybe made a little fancy with pieces of lox and peppers mixed in. Eggs added to pancake or waffle batter is nice but I hate egg whites served plain. The Passover Seder has a lot of eggs involved and I easily passed them up when they are served hard boiled and peeled. In foods such as a potato kugel or a meat loaf, I do enjoy them. It is 1:40 p.m. and I need to eat lunch and get back to my class for my afternoon nap.