"boiled egg" news and stories

I keep four delightful chickens in my backyard for their plentiful fresh eggs and overall charm as pets. Here in Portland, Oregon, backyard chickens are somewhat in vogue, and I subscribe to a lively Yahoo! group dedicated to all that is urban chicken farming. (No. We don't eat our chickens. Because I knew you would ask.)

Yesterday, one of its members, Lori, gathered some eggs from her Ameraucana, and boiled them up for breakfast. Imagine her surprise when she peeled one that had cracked in the pan -- the perfect image of the Virgin Mary!

Lori's trying to figure out if she can preserve the egg. In the meantime, let us know what you think: is God once again speaking to us from our food? And is he reminding us how we should all treat our chickens better? I think so.

[Larger version of photo after the jump.]

Since it is Friday the 13th, it seems an appropriate day to look at food superstitions. Every culture has many of them, some stretching back hundreds of years. What are yours? Did you twist an apple stem to determine the first name of the person you were destined to marry? Were you expected to set the salt shaker down instead of handing it directly to someone? There are so many food myths and legends, I won't pretend that this is the ultimate list; it is just a starting point. These are simply 5 famous food superstitions:

• Throwing rice at weddings ensures fertility
• Throwing spilled salt over your shoulder keeps the devil away
• Garlic keeps evil away
• Push a spoon through the bottom of a boiled egg to “let the witches/devil out”
• Eating specific foods on the New Year will bring good luck