Coronation Chickens, The Dog Days of Summer and Perky Piquant Egg Salad

The Dog Days of Summer

and

Perky Piquant Egg Salad

~Tuesday 2nd August 2011~

Dog Days of Summer as described from and entry taken from Francis Kilvert’s Diary (8th August 1878) for the period in which the dog star rises with the sun, believed to be the hottest time of the year.

St Wilfrid Feast Procession, Ripon,North Yorkshire, England.


Summer Daisies on my back Lawn just for the Dog Days of Summer!

Mardi 2 Août 2011 ~ St Julien

And so the Dog Days of Summer have arrived, and we have had rain all night and morning! This is believed to be the hottest time of the year, but the dog star appears to have let us down today, still, a nice salad is in order, and that will be easy for me to prepare as I have a stack of cleaning and cooking to do later with us having a full house for B and B guests. And, what better then an EGG salad, in honour of the arrival of my new hens! We made it to the fair and bought three LOVELY chickens, and although they will not lay for a few days whilst they settle in, they seem to be enjoying their new hen hut and run! Here they are, scratching around and checking their new home out….

Rita, Deirdre and Mavis ~ my new hens, aka The Coronation Chicks!

Let me introduce you to them individually now……if they will stay still long enough for me to photograph them! I have decided to name them after some characters in the long running British soap, Coronation Street ~ hence, their collective name, The Coronation Chicks, as opposed to Coronation Chicken which is a totally different thing and something we must not mention in front of them!! First, we have Rita…..

Rita, the buxom red hen ~ the biggest of the bunch and with lovely yellow legs!

And her Coronation Street namesake, Rita!!

Then we have Deirdre, minus the specs!

Deirdre ~ minus her specs, but on her way to The Rover’s Return!

And here is her namesake from the Street!

And finally the nervous and mousy little Mavis….

Mavis, making her way over for a cuppa with her neighbours!

And her namesake in Corrie…

They are beautiful hens and already ruling the roost in their run………they seem to like the hut too, a 200 year old stone shed with hot and cold running nest boxes and all mod-cons! They won’t lay eggs for a few days whilst they settle in, but they are eating well and getting quite bold, so maybe we will have a small clutch of eggs tomorrow, who knows ~ but I will let you know when the egg laying event transpires of course! Just a couple more photos of the girls, and then on to my recipe….

Here come the girls…………

Where’s the GRUB?!

Rita showing her bustle off!

So, here is a fabulous egg salad recipe ~ great with lettuce or as a sandwich filling…….we are having it as a salad today with lettuce and tomatoes on the side; I can’t wait to make this recipe with my free-range hen’s eggs, and have a stack of egg recipes lined up, so they better start laying soon!

Perky Piquant Egg Salad

(Serves 4 people as a light lunch or in sandwiches)

Ingredients:

4 large free-range eggs, hard boiled
2 tablespoons low-fat/light mayonnaise or salad cream
1 teaspoon creamed horseradish sauce
½ teaspoon garlic granules
4 gherkins/cornichons, very finely chopped
1 spring onion/green onion, finely chopped
Parsley, finely chopped, about 1 tablespoon
2 to 3 drops Tabasco sauce or chilli sauce, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Lettuce and tomatoes to serve

Method:
Peel and chop the boiled eggs – I use an egg/tomato slicer and slice them both ways to get fine slivers of egg, see photos.

Place chopped egg in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients, mixing well but carefully as not to mash the egg. Season with the Tabasco to personal heat taste ~ we like it spicy!

Place the egg salad in a bowl that has been lined with lettuce leaves and serve with sliced or crusty bread, fresh tomatoes and dressed salad leaves.

Can be used as a sandwich spread and filler too.

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