Pandemic Dinfast

Here at the Free Range Chicken Ranch. 2019 seems like a generation ago. In the end, we found that “doing nothing” gave our chickens the environment they needed to continue laying their eggs. But that did not quell the stress we endured as we tried to get in sync with the many changes to our daily lives. 

Photo: Rachel Korinek

 With more of us working from home, it seemed as if meal times had gotten a little blurred. Breakfast for dinner became commonplace – think vegetable frittata, an omelette or even waffles. But we don’t often see the reverse: dinner foods for breakfast. So in a world already turned upside down, it made sense to jettison old eggspectations and create some new free-range chicken egg recipes. We call this one the Pandemic Dinfast. It is the perfect stress reducer for dealing with pandemic problems. This satiating breakfast adds protein, healthy fat and antioxidant-rich vegetables by simply nesting our free Range Chicken Ranch eggs on pizza topped with cheese, and vegetables. Here is what you need:

For the Pizza Crust

2 cups almond flour, tbsp arrowroot flour, ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, 3 large eggs, beaten, ½ tsp baking soda, ¼ tsp sea salt

For the Toppings

¾ cup ricotta cheese, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, ¼ tsp each sea salt and ground black pepper, 1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, ½ bunch asparagus, trimmed, ½ cup sliced cremini mushrooms, 4 slices prosciutto, 4 large eggs, Fresh basil, for garnish

Preparation

• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

• In a medium bowl, combine all crust ingredients. Form into a ball and transfer dough to the prepared baking sheet. Press out into a 12-inch circle. Bake for 6 minutes, until dough looks set but not yet browned. 

• In a small bowl, mix together ricotta, mozzarella, basil, salt and pepper. Spread cheese mixture on to the dough leaving a half-inch rim all around.  

• In a medium saucepan on medium-high, heat oil. Add asparagus and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and place over the cheese mixture. Top with prosciutto. Crack 4 eggs onto the surface of the pizza. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes until eggs are set and the dough is browning on the edges. Ponder these pandemic problems while you wait:

1. The Supply Chain Crisis--many factors are contributing to the current supply chain crisis and product shortages. Covid-induced labor shortages and transportation bottlenecks are the two most critical.

2. The Great Resignation-- tens of millions of Americans leaving their jobs in the past two years and the troubling situation of simultaneous low unemployment and high job vacancies.

3. Education Crisis--several lost years of education for our K-12 students

4. Advanced Education Crisis--The K-12 story has similarly been mirrored in the college and university setting, except with bigger people and bigger stakes and risks.

5. Non-Covid Death Rates have Mushroomed--The number of excess deaths in the U.S. in 2020 was 356,000 – quite amazing since our stay-at-home and off-the-roads lifestyles offset much of the “normal” number of fatalities.

6. Declining Birth Rates--the pandemic didn’t slow the trend, let alone reverse it, even though young adults, between 18 and 40, did not face a high risk of serious illness.

7. Business Closures--200,000 more businesses failed during the first year of the outbreak than were expected.

8. Inflation-- inflation rates similar to what they were in that same timeframe almost 50 years ago.

9. Collapsing Retail Storefronts--more online shopping and the use of delivery aps, online ordering, and curbside pickup for restaurant purchases.

10. In-process 2nd quarter 2022

11. In process 3rd quarter 2022

12. Off the COVID tee in 2023

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• The information for this basket of Free Ranch Chicken Eggs was provided by Thomas Frey |
• Nine Unintended Consequences from our Approach to COVID, Feb 10, 2022