Chooks do their bit to keep veges growing

Vegetable gardens are increasingly popular and now costs are also being cut at home with our dawn chorus now joined by the cackles of chooks.
Eggs are a cheap source of protein and keeping chickens is great family fun.
An oily ragger in Whangarei told us about his backyard chickens.
He bought three end-of-lay chickens from an egg farmer for $2 each and built a makeshift enclosure out of an old shed, discarded gates and shadecloth.
Since then, his household has had a continual supply of eggs at next to no cost because kitchen scraps are used to supplement mash. They also have a continual supply of manure for the garden, which means they save money on vegetables.
So what can you do with an oversupply of eggs? Here are some suggestions.
ME from Auckland says: One of my favourite cheap yummy meals mum makes is eggs and rice. Cut onions into thick slices and cook till translucent, add scrambled egg mix and salt to taste. Cook on medium so it doesn't burn and barely stir so you have nice big fluffy scramble. Take off 30 to 60 seconds before you think it's cooked because egg keeps cooking. Serve on fresh steamed rice. So yum - and cheap.
Alicia Webster: Quiches are easy to whip up any time, and you don't need pastry. For my family of six, we like having mini quiches.
Just finely chop half an onion and fry with a bit of crushed garlic and oil. Put in greased muffin pans and add a bit of grated cheese. Then, in a bowl, mix eggs and milk, depending how much you are making. For us, it was 5 eggs and 1 cups of milk. Add a teaspoon of salt and beat till mixed well.
Then pour over onion and cheese and bake until the tops are golden. Does not take as long as one large quiche. Also, quiches are a great way to use up veges, especially if you find you have some leftovers. Doesn't take long to make and cook.
KJ from Wellington sent in this "no fail" custard recipe. In a big mixing bowl, beat 2 eggs, add 2 tablespoons of sugar (more or less to taste) and a heaped tablespoon of cornflour (more or less for thicker or thinner custard). Measure out a litre of milk and pour enough into the mixture, stirring all the time, to make it smooth and runny.
Heat the rest of the milk on the stove until almost at boiling point then pour about a third of the hot milk into the custard mix, stirring constantly. Quickly pour it all back into the pan and continue to stir continually until the custard is just bubbling, then turn off the heat.
MM from Auckland has a tip when buying eggs. If buying eggs, have a quick look at the price of the dozen pack, as I always find you can save as much as 20c by buying two of the dozen packs instead of a one-dozen pack.
Even if you don't venture into hobby chicken farming, eggs are a relatively cheap form of protein.
The Egg Producers Federation says New Zealand has 3.3 million chickens earnestly producing 85 million dozen eggs a year. That's 230 eggs a person a year.
Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living Off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips online at www.oilyrag.co.nz