Southern Appalachian Herbs

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

From The Omnivore's Guide to Home Cooking: Eggs, fried and scrambled

There are hundreds of ways to cook chicken (and other) eggs. Let’s explore a few.

Fried eggs

How you cook fried eggs depends on how you like your fried eggs. Use a well seasoned pan.

I would not recommend heating the pan higher than medium-high, and only then, if you like hard fried eggs, with crispy edges. If so, add cooking oil to the pan and cook at just under the smoke point - this is shallow frying in oil, not pan frying…even though you are frying in a pan. Crack your egg into the pan and break the yolk. Salt and pepper the top. Cook about 2 minutes, then use your metal spatula to flip the egg. You can judge how quickly the egg is cooking by how much the side that is now up has browned. I only cook eggs this way for fried egg sandwiches. My grandfather used to cook these for us when he was campaigning for political office. We would hitch up the horses to his antique surrey, a Cadillac surrey that once belonged to a governor of NC, and we would enter into parades with a sack full of fried egg sandwiches with mustard, a couple of cold sodas and maybe a few dill pickles. I told him at the age of 6-7 or so that I could make the sandwiches. We ended up with runny yolks! He laughed at the egg running down my shirt and ate them anyway - just as proud as could be that his grandson was part of the team. Never underestimate the extent to which food, memory and familial love are connected!

For medium fried or softer fried eggs, you can use less oil and a lower temperature.

Over-easy eggs are cooked like medium or softer fried eggs, but without breaking the yolk or flipping the egg. These are fried on one side only. The best way to cook eggs in this style…in my rarely humble opinion. Is to cook them in butter or bacon grease (or a combo of the two), at a temperature below which the butter will brown. Use enough fat so you can spoon some over the top as it fries.

Scrambled eggs are generally cooked in a well seasoned pan with just enough butter, bacon grease or other fat for flavor. For the best scrambled eggs, take your eggs out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature before scrambling. Break your eggs into a bowl and add no more than a teaspoon of milk per egg, and very briefly beat them with a whisk or fork until the whites and yellows come together. As I mentioned, I love soft scrambled eggs. I cook these in my favorite, well seasoned pan, with butter and bacon grease at a medium-low heat. I pour the eggs into the heated pan and allow them to set for less than thirty seconds, then I begin gently stirring and folding them with a fork or spoon. This allows for nice, big, custardy curds. If you prefer smoother, smaller (sometimes creamier) curds, begin stirring the eggs around immediately. Season the eggs with salt and pepper while they are still runny. This is also the time to add herbs and/or cheese. If you add mushrooms, onions, peppers, etc, sauté them first. You can either stir them into the eggs as they cook, or serve them over the eggs on the plate. If you are using tomatoes, it is best to add them to the plate, as the water from the tomatoes can interfere with the egg cookery. Remove the eggs from the pan and transfer to a plate when they are 75% cooked. The eggs will continue to cook on the plate, due to “carryover” heat - essentially, they stay hot for a while.

Lest you think me a scrambled egg fanatic, my way of cooking eggs is elementary compared to how Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe liked his eggs. Rex Stout was not merely the author of America’s best mystery/detective novels, he was a true gourmet and plant breeder. His passion for food and orchids was reflected in his character, Nero Wolfe. His sister, by the way, was a pioneer of organic gardening who also wrote some excellent books. In one of those classic novels, Nero Wolfe insists that eggs must be cooked over a double boiler, the pan in which the eggs are cooked positioned just over simmering water. The room temperature eggs are beaten with cream, salt and pepper. This mixture is then gently cooked in the double boiler, covered, for 15 minutes before stirring with a wooden spoon until the degree of firmness is achieved. The eggs are served with a sauce made from browned butter and a few drops of vinegar. I have tried cooking eggs in this way and the result is very creamy and delicious…. But a bit more involved than I would normally do for breakfast.

This article is an excerpt from

Available on in paperback on Amazon:

The Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: Carroll, Judson: 9798354856374: Amazon.com: Books

Also, I am back on Youtube. Please subscribe to my channel: @judsoncarroll5902 Judson Carroll - YouTube

Read about my new book:

https://sophiainstitute.com/product/herbs-that-heal/

Sunday, October 18, 2026

Show 311: Money, Antennaria solitaria, Aplectrum hyemale and Apocynum

Listen to "Show 311: Money, Antennaria solitaria, Aplectrum hyemale and Apocynum" on Spreaker.

We discuss Pussy Toes, Putty Root and Dogbane... and why most people don't understand money and value.

To watch the video version of this podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/@judsoncarroll5902

Tuesday, October 13, 2026

From The Omnivore's Guide to Home Cooking: Intro to Eggs

Now, we come to the egg. These days, we mostly think of chicken eggs. In Asian markets, duck eggs are often more popular. Duck and goose eggs are more rich in flavor than chicken eggs, but are not much different. The ancient Romans preferred peacock eggs. From ostrich to plover and the egg of every bird in between, this ingredient has provided flavor and nutrition for mankind. Just a few generations ago, turkey and guinea fowl eggs were popular. Even today, although not as commonly served as they once were, quail eggs are considered a gourmet specialty.

Birds are not the only creatures that provide us with eggs. Fish roe (eggs) are among the finest foods known to man. Caviar comes from sturgeon, an ancient fish, the rarity of which demands extremely high prices for its roe. Even a few generations ago, sturgeon was so common that caviar was given away free in bars so that its saltiness would encourage drinkers to buy more drinks! Fortunately, conservation measures and fish farming are helping the sturgeon make a slow comeback. Just as tasty, although different in flavor, are salmon and trout roe. These are preserved with salt, just like caviar and are very nice. The streams are stocked with trout where I live, so I have the opportunity to preserve my own roe and use it quite often. Shad roe was commonly sold in cans when I was a child. Due to environmental regulations, if you want shad roe now you usually have to catch the fish yourself. Shad are in the herring family and run upstream to spawn late winter into early spring. I try to go shad fishing every year, saving the roe and smoking the fish for later months. Interestingly, the now hated carp, was encouraged by our government to be raised as both a meat and roe fish in the early 1900s. Mr. Herter said that carp roe was among the finest. He also enjoyed the roe of sunfish such as bass, bluegill and crappie - I agree! Shad roe is often cooked in “sets”, the membrane in which the eggs are contained is left intact, with the eggs inside, and fried in butter. Most other fish roe is removed and salt cured or eaten fresh.

Crab, lobster and sea urchin roe are considered true delicacies. The roe of most saltwater fish can be eaten but a few, such as barracuda, are poisonous. The eggs of both sea and land turtles were loved by our ancestors. It is absolutely illegal to harvest sea turtles now. The alligator snapping turtle is also off limits. The common snapping turtle, which was absolutely beloved in turtle soup until only a few decades ago, when American tastes turned to processed and fast foods, was traditionally served with the eggs.

One interesting egg that few people even know about is that of the snail. When British and western European immigrants settled the Americas, they often brought with them snails. Depending on the region, these may be the turban snails served in French restaurants as escargot, or even the common brown snail. Later, giant African snails were farm raised and canned as a commercial product. These are snails; they have shells. They are absolutely NOT slugs, which have no shell. Snails are, essentially, like clams that adapted to live on land (major simplification, I know). Snails are very clean animals that eat fresh vegetation. I tried snail farming for a while and will certainly do it again when opportunity presents. Snails are delicious, very productive and very sensitive to environmental conditions. They lay thousands of small, white eggs that are just like fish roe… except, they taste like mushrooms! There are a few people raising snails for their eggs and making a caviar from them. If more people knew how easy it is to raise snails as a small backyard livestock, and just how good snails taste, I think more people would become snail farmers - this is livestock you could raise in a small apartment and feed on your vegetable scraps!

There is a saying that, “Eggs love eggs.” Combining bird eggs with fish roe has long been considered a delicacy. An omelet or a soft boiled quail egg, topped with caviar is a classic presentation. The favorite breakfast of my childhood was hot, buttered grits, served with a soft scrambled egg and shad roe.

They also say that each person only has one favorite way to eat eggs. Unfortunately, in this era of fast food breakfast sandwiches, too many people grow up eating only rubbery, flavorless eggs that are anything but fresh. Eggs should always be fresh. The eggs from a naturally raised, backyard hen, that can roam about in the sun, eating all sorts of grass, weeds and bugs will have a richer, orange yolk, a better aroma and far better flavor than a “factory raised” chicken.

I am not sure that I have just one favorite, though. I love soft scrambled eggs cooked in bacon grease and butter. My regular breakfast is an egg cocotte - an egg in a buttered ramekin, with fresh herbs or maybe some leftover salmon and asparagus, cheese, or tomato, gently simmered until just firm but still custardy. I love omelets, especially with a soft, flavorful cheese like chevre, blue, brie or Camembert and a few herbs. I enjoy all manner of frittatas and quiches. Deviled eggs are at least a weekly staple. My mother and my grandfather preferred either eggs fried hard or hard boiled. My grandfather liked his hard boiled eggs either with salt and pepper or pickled My mother prefers hers in egg salad or as deviled eggs. My aunts vary from eggs medium fried to “over easy”, which is an egg fried on one side only, with the yolk still intact and runny.

As you may have surmised, I like my eggs in ways that many folks would consider to be under-cooked. These days, the “experts” demand that eggs be thoroughly cooked, and even pasteurized, to prevent salmonella poisoning. Again, I will not contradict the experts. But, it is well worth noting that salmonella is primarily found in “factory raised” eggs. Technically, that is called a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation. These birds are closely packed together, eat a very unnatural diet and require a great deal of medication and veterinary care to prevent serious disease. I do not consider this to be sanitary or humane, but it is what our government and the poultry industry insists on. As of the writing of this book, and after a ton of research, I have not found evidence that the egg from a naturally farm raised chicken has ever sickened anyone with salmonella. Again, you have to do your research and use your own judgment, but I use even raw eggs in some sauces and dishes… “And I ain’t dead yet!” Obviously, when considering the very young, the elderly and the immunocompromised, extra precaution must be used.

I think the biggest mistake many people make when cooking eggs is to cook them at too high a temperature. For instance, when cooking scrambled eggs in too hot a pan, the proteins may separate, causing the eggs to become grainy and watery. In frying an egg, if the pan is too hot, the fat can burn. Egg cookery takes a bit of practice both to find your favorite techniques and to get a feel for the time and temp you like.

Most any culinary herb or spice mix goes well with eggs. My favorites would be French tarragon (Russian tarragon is much easier to grow, and is useful medicinally, but not as flavorful), marjoram, thyme, parsley, sage, dill, celery leaves, basil, chives and all the alliums…even mint can be nice. Eggs love pepper, chili peppers, tomatoes, curry powder, chili powders, hot sauce - most anything really.

This article is an excerpt from

Available on in paperback on Amazon:

The Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: Carroll, Judson: 9798354856374: Amazon.com: Books

Also, I am back on Youtube. Please subscribe to my channel: @judsoncarroll5902 Judson Carroll - YouTube

Read about my new book:

https://sophiainstitute.com/product/herbs-that-heal/

Sunday, October 11, 2026

Show 310: Angelica

Listen to "Show 310: Angelica" on Spreaker.

We discuss Angelica, which is one of the most important medicinal herbs that is also considered a wildflower. To watch the video version of this podcast, go to https://www.youtube.com/@judsoncarroll5902

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Show 309: Anemone

Listen to "Show 309: Anemone" on Spreaker.

We discuss Anemone virginiana and Anemonoides quinquefolia.... and, there is now a video version of this podcast on youtube. So, if you want to see my ugly mug, go to https://www.youtube.com/@judsoncarroll5902

Herbs that Heal
(Catholic) Home Remedies to Forage and Grow
by Judson Carroll, Stephen Cunningham
https://sophiainstitute.com/product/herbs-that-heal/?oid=853&affid=281

The Medicinal Wildflowers of the American Southeast, An Herbalist's Guide Vol. 1
by Judson Carroll
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HH1T8VB1

Sunday, September 27, 2026

From The Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking: Broth and Stock

Until recently, I think most folks knew the difference between a stock and a broth. But then came the “Bone Broth” fad. So called Bone Broth is certainly nutritious and I am glad people are making it, but it confused definitions and clouded the understanding of cooking. For centuries, and the definition I still use, broth was any liquid in which food had been cooked. You could make chicken or beef broth, vegetable broth, fish broth, etc. You can even make a surprisingly good broth by simply boiling some hard rinds from old cheese. Broth was simply the liquid left in the pot after you boiled the food in it. This broth was full of nutrition from the food. It would be turned into soup, strained and served as a clear broth for the sick, perhaps a bit of cornmeal added to make a gruel, etc.

Stock is the correct term for the liquid obtained from boiling bones, vegetable scraps, shrimp shells, etc. Stock is made, mostly from scraps. The interesting thing is that these scraps produce an essential ingredient in cooking that is far more refined and useful than broths. Stocks are foundational to the sauces we will discuss later. Stocks can be used to make soup or consomme. But, stocks can also be reduced to make demi-glace. Stock is full of gelatin. The fat is removed. Stock is truly foundational to good cooking.

As I have stated, the best cooks waste the least amount of food. This is especially true in making stock. Many home cooks find making stocks daunting, especially as the old recipes include several pounds of bones, some scraps of beef, veal and pork, roasting and simmering for two days or so and constantly skimming off the fats, proteins and solids. In past centuries, such a laborious and time consuming process just came naturally. The stock pot was kept at the back of the stove or fireplace, was added to daily and simply simmered all day and most of the night due to heat from the fire. While that is not practical for many of us now, we can still make excellent stocks with reasonable amounts of time and effort in the modern kitchen.

Let’s start with a simple brown stock, made from beef bones. First, you will need some bones… say 2-5 lbs of beef shin. If you don’t raise cattle and do not know anyone who does, ask the butcher at your local grocery store. If they do not carry “soup bones”, they should be able to order them for you and they should not be very expensive. I recently found a 3 lb bag of frozen soup bones in a local grocery store for $2.99. Additionally, we need just a few scraps of meat. The bones will likely have some meat on them, so that is sufficient if you have no scraps of pork, chicken, game, veal, etc. Using two or three different critters gives more depth of flavor. But, it is not essential. If you have a little ham or something, feel free to use it, If not, don’t worry. Now, we need vegetable scraps.

Whenever you trim vegetables for cooking, or a salad, save the scraps - onion and garlic peels and ends, tomato peels, carrot tops, mushroom trimmings, fresh corn cobs, cabbage hearts, pepper stems and seeds… literally any scraps you have. Keep a bag in the freezer and add to it until you have enough if you just use a little veg per week. If you use enough veggies to fill a gallon sized bag in just a few days, simply keep them in the fridge. Make sure though, that nothing is rotting. Cut out all bad spots and don’t use anything that is mushy. When you are ready, put your bones and vegetable scraps on a roasting pan and roast them for an hour in the oven at 400 F. When the roasting is done, and everything is nicely brown, take out and let cool.

Now, comes a treat. We do not want much fat at all in our finished stock. The nicely browned bones will be full of fatty marrow. This marrow is delicious! Many people love to dig it out with a knife and spread it on bread like butter. I find it a bit rich that way, so I dig it out and combine it with softened butter and a few herbs like garlic, chives, parsley, thyme, etc. This marrow butter is amazing melted onto a nice, medium rare steak! It is also good on popcorn… and probably anything in between. Marrow butter is rich and indulgent… as I said, before, profound.

While your roasted bones and bits are cooling, heat your stock pot with just a bit of fat and well brown any meat scraps you are using. The beef left on the bones will be very brown. Then, toss everything in the pot, fill the pot with cold water and bring to a simmer. Add no salt. The stock we are making is an ingredient in dishes we will season later. Traditionally, a bundle of herbs, called a bouquet garni is added - this is bay leaves, parsley and thyme, often with green tops of leek….and really, any herb you would want to add to suit your taste. I always toss in some onion, cloves and peppercorns, too. Then, just simmer all afternoon. You can skim off the foam as it rises to the top, or add a beaten eggwhite which will form something like a natural filter to catch all the fat and bits, then scoop that out and discard. Do not stir though if you use the egg whites - if you do you distribute everything back in. You might think of making stock as making a tea of the ingredients. Once it is all done and strained, it will yield a brown, mostly clear liquid.

That is honest brown beef stock. It can be used immediately, or frozen for later use. Many cooks like to pour the cooled stock into ice cube trays and freeze it, then transfer to a freezer bag, so they can add a cube or two to anything they wish. After straining, you can continue simmering to reduce the liquid through evaporation. As the water evaporates, the liquid thickens and becomes richer and richer until finally the demi-glace is achieved… the ultimate essence of meat flavor and rich, browned flavor.

A brown chicken stock is made much the same way, just using the scraps of roasted chicken and browning the bones. Otherwise, it is the same. A white chicken stock may be made by just skipping the browning process. The flavor of cloves goes surprising well with chicken. A classic technique is to use a whole onion, making slices into it and inserting a bay leaf into each of those two or three slices, then “nailing” it in place by sticking in a few cloves to secure the bay leaf.

You can do this with most any meat. And, of course, a vegetable stock is made just using the vegetable scraps. Fish stocks are made using fish bones. Shellfish stocks are made using shrimp, crab, lobster, crawfish, etc. shells. Game stocks are made just the same way - use deer, elk, bear, etc bones as you would a beef stock and wild turkey, pheasant, quail, grouse, etc. bones as you would chicken. I always think that a turkey stock taste best if it is just made with turkey and used specifically as turkey stock. Ditto on pork. While you might use some pork in your basic brown stock of beef bones, a stock made from pork bones yields a distinctive porky flavor. I love using pork stock with beans, BTW.

Milk, interestingly enough, has traditionally been considered as its own stock. The French call it a natural fonde, or base. While we often combine broths and stocks with milk, milk and cream need no special preparation.

I recommend keeping a brown beef stock, a chicken stock and a fish or shellfish stock on hand at all times - frozen or home canned. Vegetable stocks can always be thrown together in a hurry. Game and shellfish stocks are generally less often used. Obviously though, if you live at the coast, or are an avid hunter, you may wish to prioritize these stocks. I always keep some pork stock frozen, as well. Whenever I cook barbecue, I reserve the smokey, intensely flavored bones and freeze them. When I plan to have dry beans, I simmer the bones for the stock, as I soak the beans overnight.

Three things can elevate your cooking to the next level - garden fresh vegetables, herbs and real, honest, homemade broths and stocks. While some folks say that store bought broths and stocks are good… I find them only occasionally acceptable. When you consider that the very best stocks are made from the scraps you would otherwise throw away, not to make your own is a true shame.

This article is an excerpt from

Available on in paperback on Amazon:

The Omnivore’s Guide to Home Cooking for Preppers, Homesteaders, Permaculture People and Everyone Else: Carroll, Judson: 9798354856374: Amazon.com: Books

Also, I am back on Youtube. Please subscribe to my channel: @judsoncarroll5902 Judson Carroll - YouTube

Read about my new book:

https://sophiainstitute.com/product/herbs-that-heal/

Show 308: Herbs that Heal_ Natural Remedies for Tiny Tots

Listen to "Show 308: Herbs that Heal_ Natural Remedies for Tiny Tots" on Spreaker.

Steve and I discuss herbs for kids, home remedies and a variety of other topics.

Disclaimer

The information on this blog is not intended to diagnose or treat any disease or condition. I am not a health practitioner and am not offering advice. No content on this site has been evaluated or approved by the FDA. Following any information on this site is at your own risk.

Do your own thorough research before following any herbal advice. Be aware of interactions (drug or herbal), allergy, sensitivity or underlying conditions before proceeding with following any health information.

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