Celebrating spring’s arrival with grandma’s egg sandwiches

It’s finally starting to act like SPRING out there!! It’s about darn time. I mean, I’m pretty sure I remember a 70° day back in January, so…

I don’t trust the calendar anymore. I stay sick from November to March, so “spring” is just an idea, really. I put my faith in my local Tractor Supply. When I see that the peeps are in, I bust out the garden tools and gumboots, start surfing the internet for picnic food recipes and begin the debate in my head over how many rows of sweet corn to plant in my tiny garden this year. Ah, spring.

Do you get excited about the peeps, as well? Do you raise chickens? If you do and want to share your fresh eggs with us Farm and Dairy folks, we won’t say no. I promise. (*Wink* I was joking… please don’t bring us eggs. Our luck, those suckers would hatch in the lunchroom and I’d have to take them home and raise them, name them names like “Mabel” and “Tallulah” and I’d fall in love and never want to give them up, all while sleeping on the couch next to the makeshift chick pen… in my living room! Quite the fiasco, indeed.)

Seriously, there’s something wonderful about fresh eggs, isn’t there? My grandma used to say she could tell the difference in the taste of fresh eggs versus store-bought eggs. I have no doubt that she could. They used to have chickens when their kids were younger, before my time. Every year around Easter they would let a few hatch. More chickens = more eggs = more full bellies = happiness all around!

It’s no secret that I love eggs. I love egg salad on whole wheat bread with lettuce and tomato. I love deviled eggs. I love cheese, spinach and mushroom omelets. I love scrambled eggs. From my head down to my… feet!! Haha. But most of all, I super-love the egg sandwiches my grandma used to make. I have the recipe for you. Keep reading…

Okay, okay… you wanted the perfect hard-boiled egg directions? Here ya go.

1. Always use eggs that are about a week old, as they peel much easier than fresh eggs.
2. Place your oldest eggs in a pot and cover them with cold water. COLD water, very important.
3. Heat on stove over medium-high heat until the water comes to a rolling boil.
4. Let boil for 1 minute, cover and turn heat off.
5. Leave eggs covered in hot water for about 15 minutes.
6. Let cool in refrigerator and enjoy your perfectly hard-boiled eggs!

What a perfect time of year to celebrate all things egg related. The Easter Bunny knows what’s up.

Go make something awesome,
Jen

Grandma’s Egg Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 pieces of super-soft whole wheat bread
• 2 Tbsp. real butter, softened
• 1 egg
• 1 slice American cheese, or 1-2 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese
• Yellow mustard

Directions

Butter one side of each piece of super-soft bread, set aside (Disclaimer: if the bread isn’t ridiculously soft, you shouldn’t proceed with making this sandwich – you’ll thank me for this advice later). Melt about 1 tablespoon of butter in a small frying pan, add egg. Let egg begin frying, and break the yolk with a fork, pushing the yolk outward toward the edges Flip, and continue frying. When almost done, cover egg with cheese, and cover pan to allow cheese to melt. While cheese is melting, draw a smiley face on one slice of the bread with mustard. This is an important step, as “a happy face makes a happy sandwich.” – Words of wisdom from my grandma. Place fried egg on the other slice of bread, cover with the “happy” slice, cut in half diagonally and enjoy!