The Best Frittata Ever - The Firefly at Madison

We had two reasons for producing the Best Frittata Ever this week. One was an exercise in eating abundantly with a very short supply chain. The other was that we like Frittata. Anyhow at the end of it all we have a story, and sometimes it is about the story.

As it so often does, at the Firefly, the Bed and Breakfast near Madison GA, the Bed and Breakfast Life is about being aware of our food sources and telling a story.

Back Story

We make egg dishes all the time because we like them. It’s also a matter of interest to us to be thoughtful about the supply chain. In this case, we are using ingredients, including edible landscaping, from the surrounding unmanicured abundance which is the Firefly.

We all got the message in 2020 that we should start to pay attention to the supply chain thing. We found out at the time that despite living in abundance, we’re vulnerable to eggs being shipped in from someplace called “Eggland.” Eggland must be some magical place, surrounded by fluffy white clouds and little lambs running around, so the eggs are just that much better, right?

How Do You Like Your Eggs?

What is a Frittata?

Well we have it from no less an authority than Wikipedia to fill us in: Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche or scrambled eggs, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, or vegetables. The word frittata is Italian and roughly translates to “fried”.

Is “Eggland” in Italy? Unlikely. Here, in rough order, are the production steps for the Best Frittata Ever.

Layers of Mushrooms and Vegetables

Okay, in this upscale version of the Best Frittata Ever, the first step is to soften up some mushrooms and some vegetables in an appropriate frying pan. You need to add a little bit of frying medium, and the one of choice here is pork fat from a local wonderful, magical animal.

The veggies were of the mixed variety, and came in a bag from the corporate supply chain. Do we care about this? Well, we like to avoid it, but in this case, because it is not season for that here, we had to accept reality. A relatively local onion fell into the mix at this point as well.

You do know, don’t you, that we’re living in a miraculous time. We can get “fresh” mixed vegetables out of season (in North America) in exchange for a few dollars. Actually this is a broccoli slaw, with carrots, red and green cabbage, and those things will store for a long time. 85% of the carrots in this fine nation come from California, so the supply chain is as long as it gets. This is ironic because your government subsidizes the water to grow it, the highway system to transport it, and a lot of other activities in between.

The other irony is that we’re perfectly capable of growing broccoli, carrots and cabbage right here, as we learned the other day at the community garden.

So what is being subsidized is “convenience” at the expense of diesel fuel.

Mushroom Farming

These were the classic button mushrooms that came from the chain grocery store uptown. According to them, 2/3 of the nation’s supply of mushrooms is ironically grown in Pennsylvania. We got the management special, a whole bag for the “move this stuff” price.

We’re also perfectly capable of growing mushrooms here too, as we found out the other day. Since these things are often grown under carefully controlled conditions, the mushrooms don’t know if they’re in PA or not.

There is a mushroom farm in Coweta County that I have linked below. Let’s say optimistically that our mushrooms came from there, rather than PA.

Can you grow mushrooms from a kit?

Add Eggs and Edible Landscaping

Okay then, it’s time for the eggs and the edible landscaping. The supply chain for the eggs is about 200 feet, sometimes shorter since that’s how far it is to the chicken run at this place. The first edible landscaping is “Lemon Balm” which is a member of the mint family.

We have some of it growing not too far from the back door.

We used this the same way you would normally use spinach. Add directly to the eggs and whip up.

Adding Leftovers

The egg mix is poured onto the softened mushrooms and veggies.

Do you remember the Pate we made the other day? Well, I linked it below just in case. We had some of it frozen. According to the link below, this is allowed. You can put whatever interesting ingredient you want into this. We favor protein, but it could just as well have been some colorful peppers or cheeses.

Flipping Out

When the eggs are firm and good looking, it’s time to flip the Frittata onto the serving plate. Actually there is a second option, which is to flip the Frittata back into the skillet to brown it on the other side. A little video is worth a thousand words

The Best Frittata Ever: More Edible Landscaping

Around these here parts, the newly emerged violet plants can be rescued from the yard and used as a garnish.

According to the University of Minnesota, violets, which are found wild throughout North America, have healing properties. We have this in abundance in some of the corners of the backyard. It’s nice and soft this time of year.

The people at the Foraging website below also highly recommend them as an anti-inflammatory and also blood cleaner. Violets are a popular ingredient in salads as well.

Serving Suggestion

This serving suggestion, with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and a little baby spring mix, is also here conveniently.

According to the source below, most of the cucumbers in the US between November and May are from Mexico. Tomatoes come from either Florida, California, or Indiana. Since Indiana had both tornadoes and a blizzard the other day, let’s say that these came from Florida, since it is close.

We don’t feel too bad about the olive oil being from some olive oil producing land.

The olive oil we used as dressing probably came from Spain or Italy. This is bottled, and shipped all over, and is also a bit of a modern convenience. The homemaker of 1960 probably never heard of it, except in the context of washing someone’s feet with it.

Looks like between 2000 and 2021, the usage of olive oil in the US has roughly doubled.

Do Over

If we had to do it over, would it be any different? Well, if sufficiently challenged, we believe the Levity Farms crew can come up with some organic vegetables that we can substitute for the imported California, PA and Mexico stuff, but that’ll have to wait until it’s veggie time.

We have options with regard to mushrooms, which we explored the other day. We also have options with regard to more edible landscaping, which we have in abundance.

You know what would be great?

Click the “book now” button, and come and visit us. We’ll tour you around our unmanicured abundance, and set you up with the Best Frittata Ever, and it has a story behind it.

As for “Eggland”, we’re not completely sure they are friendly to visitors.