A great dinner comes in a green carrying case

“Green Eggs and Ham”? No, Dr. Seuss wasn’t kidding.

Green eggs are real.

A good buddy raises chickens in what is known as a “chicken tractor,” which is basically a moveable chicken coop. You place it over an area that has grass and weeds and insects, and the chickens will pick the ground nearly clean. Then you move the tractor.

The hens produce eggs every day, and I was the lucky recipient of a batch of green eggs. Really. The shells were a light, jade green, which was surprising – but not as surprising as the color of the yolk, which was a raging fluorescent orange.

My friend explained that the ultra-bright yolk resulted largely from a diet that included insects, which are high in protein. The yolks not only looked prettier but also tasted much better than those in your basic mass-produced, grocery-store egg.

I mention these wonderful little eggs (they’re smaller than eggs marked “large” in the carton) because a recipe I read recently put me in an eggy mood. There are, I’m finding, several different variations on frying an egg other than sunny-side-up or over-easy.

This recipe I read calls for using two tablespoons of olive oil. When the oil gets hot, add a half teaspoon of Spanish-style smoked paprika. Add the egg to the pan and baste it continuously with the spicy oil. From the picture, it appears that the egg gets nice and crispy around the edges and turns a sort of brick-like red color.

I frequently get in the mood for eggs, not just at breakfast, but also for lunch or dinner. Since eggs have returned from the wilderness after being exiled by the diet police, they make a terrific meal when you can’t think of anything else that’s easy to cook and good to eat.

A dinner of eggs is likely to be especially sumptuous and rewarding to those who endured years of egg-white omelets and Egg-Beaters cooked into rubbery scrambled eggs alongside a couple of strips of turkey bacon – all in the name of health. But researchers have reversed themselves, now saying eggs are not likely to contribute to heart disease or other health woes.

To the contrary, eggs now are regarded as a good addition to a healthy diet. Eggs are described as a “complete protein,” containing all B vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12, choline, biotin, and folic acid.

And these ovoid wonders pair well with just about everything. One trend I’ve noticed is to plop a fried egg on top of a green salad.

Eggs also go well with bacon or sausage. Oh, you knew that? But perhaps you hadn’t heard that the food police have put those two savory treats on probation, so to speak. But that’s another story.

I’m not crazy about scrambled eggs, but hard-boiled eggs are wonderful, especially if they have been turned into deviled eggs or mashed into egg salad, which, of course, is the main ingredient in one of the undisputed kings of sandwiches. Another alternative is a fried egg and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla.

Again, it’s a perfect dinner when you can’t face another frozen pizza.

And that’s where I’m headed. Dinner: A couple of eggs, not green just plain old white, and maybe country ham.

Try it. You won’t lay an egg.

This story was originally published May 26, 2016 at 3:50 PM with the headline "A great dinner comes in a green carrying case."