I hope Cinderella had plenty of chickens to feed and keep her company. Chickens do have personalities; friends who raise them have sworn to me that they do, and Google concurs.
Plus, eggs would have enriched Cinderella’s diet, cholesterol be damned. I was always skeptical of the decades-long campaign of “just say no” to eggs. Remember that idiotic ad about drugs where they cracked an egg in a hot, oily frying pan, and said it was your brain on drugs? I still see that as just another attempt to demonize the truly noble chicken egg. I blame you, Big Cholesterol.
Thank goodness that the science began to change again on eggs about 10 years ago—not that I ever followed it anyway. Eggs are nutritious and delicious! I hope Cinderella scrambled them with abandon to keep up her strength.
Sadly, as you no doubt know if you live in the US, we have an egg shortage, largely due to avian flu and transportation issues. You may also be aware that there are people who, in 2024, based the entire future of the United States of America on the price of eggs, so they are indeed important.
They have become America’s caviar of the chicken coop, as prices have continued to rise. To me, the $5.47 we paid yesterday for 12 eggs was still a pretty good deal. I figure Todd and I can use them as the basis of two hearty dinners. One will be brinner (breakfast for dinner). The other will be a frittata filled with whatever vegetables I have lying around. Both of these meals will cost less than $5 each for both of us to eat, which is still very, very cheap.
You may be thinking that Todd and I are only two people, what about the cost of a family of four—two adults and two kids? Todd proudly eats the equivalent of an adult and two children, I assure you. My math stays the same. Eggs are not leaving our diet, even if the price doubles, and I imagine I’m not alone.
I do, however, recognize that the higher cost of eggs may remove a very important and nutritious element from the tables of low-income families, so those of us who can afford an extra dozen should donate them to a food bank. Most food banks will accept clean eggs in good condition.
Eggs are a foundational part of good eating the world over, they contain protein and vitamins and should I ever decide to become a vegetarian (a real possibility), they’ll be an even bigger part of my diet. If I have cheese, eggs and milk along with beans, vegetables, pasta and rice, I can eat as well as Cinderella’s mother-in-law, presumably a real queen.
Crack ‘em open and fry ‘em up, and you too, can live a fairy tale at the dinner table.
Kate Wolford was the publisher and editor of The Fairy Tale Magazine for many years. She’s now enjoying being Resident Fairy Godmother.
Image from Pixabay