A Good Egg ~ Cozy

A hot breakfast on the weekend is a luxurious way to ease into the day.  If I had my druthers I would begin every day this way.  But during the work week I'm dashing about and can't relax and enjoy the experience as I would like.   Instead it is purely a weekend indulgence.

My enjoyment of breakfast comes from my childhood memories.  My father loved (and still loves) a cooked breakfast and so my mom would occasionally cook a full breakfast on the weekend.   I remember mornings that began with the sound of beautiful music playing, the smell of bacon and eggs sizzling on the stove, and a large pot of tea brewing on the dining table.  Such a treat and so civilized.  To this day I find no more enjoyable way to begin the day.

I rarely cook bacon and eggs just for myself, though, as Steve won't eat it.  Instead I'll make a soft boiled egg with toast.   And, as everyone knows, a soft boiled egg need a cozy.   But (this will surprise you) an egg cozy is a surprisingly hard thing to find.  So I made one for myself.  It's nice to be self sufficient that way.  Really, I could have been a pioneer woman.  If I had been a pioneer they would have buried me along the trail.  The first week.  Preferably.   Since a soft boiled egg is not a common breakfast item, I'll describe how to cook a soft boiled egg as I know you are dying to try this at home. 

Mr. Puffy's How to Cook a Soft Boiled Egg
Bring a sauce pan of water to a boil.  Use a spoon to gently lower the egg(s) into the boiling water.  Cook to desired firmness.  A typical egg timer is 3 minutes, but I find that a 3 minute egg is too undercooked for me.  Instead I will boil my egg for 6 minutes which is long enough to almost set the egg white but still leave a runny yoke.  Opening the egg is tricky.  You can either open the egg by using a knife to lop the top off or, as I prefer, you can use the bottom of a spoon to first crush the top surface of the shell and then lop it off with a spoon or knife.  A soft boiled egg is nice served with buttered toast.  If you have children it is fun to cut the toast into strips that can then be dunked into the yolk ("toast fingers").  I still do this on occasion.    An egg cozy to keep your egg warm until you are ready to eat it, is optional.

Particulars: This egg cozy is wet felted using a resist made of bubble wrap.  I allowed for 20% shrinkage and, at the final felting stage, I used an actual egg to ensure a proper fit.   Materials:  merino roving (for the egg cozy); wool felt sheets (used to cut the flower embellishments); and beads from my bead jar.  This is an extremely simple project.  If you are new to wet felting you might consider Uniquely Felt by Christine White as a basic resource and I have a few wet felting blogs listed on my sidebar.

Note:  All the eggs used in this post are from my sister's chickens. She has Arucana chickens that lay the prettiest eggs I've ever seen.  They are naturally shades of blue and green and some have speckles.  How cool is that?  Apparently owning and raising chickens is on the upswing and according to my sister they are fun to raise, particularly if you have children. 

The MisAdventures of Simcha

Simcha, our german shepherd, is approximately 16 years old in human years and in the middle of the dreaded teenage years.  We're just hoping he doesn't steal the car keys; a six pack of beer; or otherwise raise hell in the neighborhood.

Until next time, be well and love well and try beginning your day listening to beautiful music.  If classical music is not your taste, you might try soloist such as Sarah Brightman, Andrea Bocelli, or Helmut Lotti or music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber.  I think you will find this an inspiring and uplifting start to your day.