I know that's a rather fattening-sounding name, but this recipe is under the "Light & Healthy" category over at Martha Stewart's Everyday Food. Hmmm...I'm not so sure. Yeah, they're made with unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder and egg whites and light cream cheese, but still. Maybe "lighter" and "healthier" is a better phrase.They sound pretty darn good.

Scientists at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh say that they have developed a genetically modified chicken that lays cancer-fighting eggs. The eggs themselves don't fight cancer (although that does present an interesting mental picture), but they do contain a very high concentration of a potentially cancer-treating protein in their egg whites. This particular protein has been used to develop cancer antibodies before.

These eggs are still being studied, and the first "production line" is about five years away, by some estimates. A few other groups, including the US company AviGenics in Georgia and GeneWorks in Ann Arbor, Michigan, have also been working on developing on producing similar antibodies in egg protein, research which may help to speed the process up. Imagine the surge in popularity that the egg white omelet would have if they were to become commercially available!

When a recipe calls for just egg yolks or only egg whites, there is always a point at which you must decide whether to save or discard the leftovers. On one hand, eggs are fairly inexpensive and if you have nothing in mind for a few extra whites, it might not be worth the bother to save them. On the other hand, why waste a perfectly good egg white (or yolk)? The whites can be saved for souffles, cakes and omelets, while the yolks can often be used in baked goods, ice creams and puddings.

Yolks and whites have different storage requirements. Whites can be kept, covered, in the refrigerator for several days. They can also be individually frozen by putting each into one section of an ice cube tray and defrosted when you are ready to use them. Yolks should be put into a bowl of water, covered, and used within one or two days.

A photo of a souffle that is taken just as it emerges from the oven is a wonderful thing. It is at that moment that the souffle is at its highest and most delicate stage, before the lower temperature of the room causes the dish to gently deflate. This is a Silverbeet and Parmesan Souffle, captured at that very moment, by Haalo at Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once. Silverbeet, a.k.a. chard, has a very slightly bitter taste to it that mellows when it is cooked, but would still provide a bit of contrast to the richness of the cheese flavor in this souffle. The finished dish is much easier to achieve than it looks, particularly if you follow the recipe closely and don't over-beat the egg whites, and is the perfect way to start off light summer meals and warm winter ones.

Yesterday, I talked about the Cook's Illustrated review of egg white substitutes, which concluded that you are best off working with real, fresh egg whites. The pre-packed, pasteurized egg white substitutes didn't hold up when whipped as well as the real thing. There is one more type of egg white substitute that is known for its ability to whip up, though: meringue powder.

Meringue powder is a mixture of dried, powdered egg whites, cornstarch and gums, which help if bind together. Some powders include sugar, but the majority do not. When mixed with sugar and water, meringue powdered can be reconstituted and beaten to soft or stiff peaks. It can be used to make royal icing, baked meringues, and even angel food cakes, which I have tried with good success. It can not be substituted for egg whites in other recipes, though, only in recipes which call for beaten egg whites. Meringue powders, other than being used for frosting, are best used in recipes where the egg whites would have been uncooked, like in some mousses and sorbets. Keep in mind that meringue powder can have a sort of starchy aftertaste from the cornstarch, so don't reduce the amount of sugar or other flavorings in the recipe you're using unless you want to add another flavor to your dessert.

In this month's issue of Cook's Illustrated, the editorial team took on the challenge of evaluating a bunch of egg white substitutes, all commercially packaged egg whites. Egg whites are low in fat and calories and can often be substituted for whole eggs in recipes and dishes like omelets, though there is the annoyance of separating a whole egg and having to dispose of (waste) the yolk with this method. Sold in individual bottles and hermetically sealed packaging, the pasteurized egg white products sound like they have all the benefits of shelled egg whites and none of the drawbacks - and Cook's Illustrated wanted to see if they would really stand up in performance.

They tested three products, Papetti Foods All Whites, Eggology Egg Whites and Eggbeaters Egg Whites, in recipes for Angel Food Cake, baked meringues, meringue frosting and scrambled eggs. They found that Eggology was the closest in performance to regular egg whites, though they made a poor angel food cake. The other products did not fare as well, particularly the Papetti brand, which could not perform even respectably in any of the tests.

In China, eggs are sold by weight and their sale is often unregulated, particularly at local markets and in areas where the customers by large quantities at a time. Unscrupulous vendors have been known to pass off fake eggs to their unsuspecting buyers.

There are three types of faked eggs. The first are empty or cracked shells that are filled with soil. Since the eggs are sold by weight, a few soil-filled eggs in a crate will make it heavier and go unnoticed until it is too late. The second type of fake egg is the red-yolk egg. Because the redder yolks are considered to be more valuable and of higher quality, some egg-sellers feed their chickens very high quantities of food dyes, which causes them to produce red yolks without an increase in the quality of the egg or in the lifestyle of the chicken.

The most disturbing - though some might say disgusting - faked egg is the man-made egg. 

Elise, the blogger behind Simply Recipes, began her blog to document all the things she learned from her parents about how to cook. Since the food blogosphere has grown so much in the past several years, it is no longer necessary to have had culinarily inclined parents to grasp the basics of cooking, because bloggers can fill in the gaps. Elise started a series called Learning to Cook, where she tries to ferret out all the "how to's" and "why's" of cooking from blogs around the world. So far, I would say that she is doing an excellent job. Part 1 has guides of mashed potatoes and ricotta cheese, among other things, while part 2 covers quiche and sushi rice. Part 3 has links to posts about prepping leafy greens and beating egg whites. There will undoubtedly be more to follow, but this is a great start. Thanks, Elise!