Fresh Eggs - Juevos de Patio

We lived in Panama for two years, out in the country side where life still goes on without electricity and cars. My neighbor ladies would tell me that I shouldn't buy my eggs in town. Those eggs were old and the yolks were sad. They would bring me one or two eggs at a time from their hens; their pollo de patio.

These chickens had free range of the yard and produced the most beautiful eggs. They had bright, high sitting yolks of a deep marigold yellow; completely different than the store bought eggs. If I didn't wash them they would last weeks sitting on the counter; unless of course the cat got to them.

Somehow our terrible jungle cat discovered he could knock the egg box off the shelf and lap up the gooey rewards. If he was around when I was cooking I'd put the shells down for him to lick before tossing them into the compost.

These days, in Indiana, he distains any offer of eggshells. Even the roadside stand's eggs are not good enough for him. Our cat is right. The eggs from our Panamanian neighbor ladies were just better.