Green Jeans Ranch | Atwater Village, Los Angeles

An eggshell has a certain minimalist perfection, a grace to its ideal curve.

Yet amidst the visual onslaught of a trip to the farmers' market, the simplicity of an egg display can be lost amongst the hillocks of citrus or masses of greens.

But when we recently noticed a new vendor at the Sunday Atwater Village market with drab-colored orbs on display, we forgot about produce altogether. Driven down from Green Jeans Ranch in Tulare County, these are pastured eggs ($4 for a dozen), their shells encasing deep orange yolks enriched by the birds' diet of grass, clover, bugs and more.

Raised by rancher Michael Cocoran in the Sierra foothills, these eggs have fast become a staple of our kitchen. We've been eating Green Jeans Ranch eggs throughout the day: fried on toast, hard-boiled in salads, or poached and perched on asparagus.

Cocoran sells meat too. His birds are never bitten by freezer burn; even the breasts are more flavorful than insipid supermarket thighs.

The duck eggs ($9 per dozen) have us excited for the meat that will be available in the coming months.

Atwater Village Farmers' Market, 3250 Glendale Blvd., Atwater Village; greenjeansranch.com