Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

I love eggs. Who doesn't? Poached, hard boiled, scrambled, baked, you name it. They're the perfect portable snack, breakfast accompaniment and can even be the fancy main dish. They also have all the amino acids and protein your body needs. Ah, pure energy. Remember Rocky and his blender full of raw eggs...yeah eew! I certainly wouldn't advise anyone to eat raw eggs, but you get the idea. They are a great way to get high quality protein into your diet to help provide long-lasting energy and decreased hunger throughout the day.

When I was younger my Grandma used to make me boiled eggs. Sometimes she would serve them to me with little thin strips of toast for dipping into the egg yolk. I haven't done that in so long, but I remember it how much fun it made lunchtime. I don't know if this is an English thing, but I've since learned from Jamie Oliver that he calls it boiled eggs and soldiers, and it really does make an awesome meal idea for getting kids to eat their food.

The problem when it comes to boiling eggs of course is that you can easily over-cook them, which leads to an unappetizing gray-green colour that surrounds the yolk when you go to cut into it. That green stuff forms because the iron from the yolk reacts with the hydrogen sulfide in the egg white. The discoloured egg yolk is harmless to eat, but lets admit it, not at all appetizing. This used to happen to me quite often until my brother Matt taught me the proper fool-proof way to hard boil an egg. The other problem I used to have was when I went to peel them the shell would stick to the egg white. 

Now my boiled eggs come out perfect everytime.

A little trick I learned from Jamie Oliver for preventing your eggs from cracking while cooking is adding just a small pinch of salt to the pot of water. The eggs don't absorb the salt so don't be concerned about any unnecessary sodium.

What You'll Need

• Eggs (1-12 however many you need)
• A small saucepan
• Salt (optional)
• Ice cubes

1. Place your eggs in the saucepan and fill with enough cold water to just cover them. Add a small pinch of salt if using.
2. Bring the water to just a boil and then quickly lower the heat of the burner so the water is at a gentle boil. Let the eggs simmer for 5 minutes. 
3. Remove the from the heat, cover the pot,  and let the eggs sit in the water for another 5 minutes.
4. Discard the hot water from the pot, re-fill the with fresh cold tap water, and add a handful of ice cubes. Let the eggs sit in the ice bath for at least 4 minutes before removing them.

You can either peel them immediately or store them in the fridge up to 5 days for fast convenience.

Extra Blueberry Pancakes & Fast Flavours Face Off

Let's take a minute to consider the following:

1. Pancakes are delicious.
2. Rainy days are perfect for making comforting things. Like pancakes.
3. When making pancakes it is probably best to preheat your pan first...fail!

...I wouldn't serve you burnt pancakes.

I promise.

It's seriously starting to feel like fall around here. We've had a crazy hot and dry summer. Now the pattern seems to be all about raining every weekend. Boo-Urns!

I love rainy days, but seriously, not every weekend. And while were speaking of fall, believe it or not Haliburton Ontario actually had a frost warning last week. Eep!

So to celebrate this fall weather and fall's approach I made warm comforting blueberry pancakes.

These aren't just any pancakes either. These are from Michael Smith's new cookbook Fast Flavours. Penguin Group Canada Publishers are hosting a contest for the arrival of Chef Michael's newest book. It's simple. Make one of three recipes, photograph, and share. I thought it would be great fun to enter and seeing how Michael Smith is one of my favourite celeb chefs, I rolled up my sleeves and dove right in.

I used local wild blueberries to amp up the berry flavour and antioxidants. They're also packed with tons of whole grain goodness.

Comforting + Good for you = :)

Extra-Blueberry Pancakes (serves 4)

Print, Email, or Text this Recipe

• 1 cup all-purpose flour                       
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 Tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups milk or water
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil or melted better
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar (or unrefined sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups blueberries

Directions:

1. Over medium-high heat, gently preheat a large skillet. 
2. In a large bowl whisk the flours, oats, baking powder, nutmeg and salt nice and evenly.
3. Crack the eggs into a separate bowl, then whisk in the milk, vegtable oil, brown sugar, and vanilla.
4. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, add the blueberries and stir to combine.
5. Add a little vegetable oil to the skillet and spoon the batter into the pan, forming pancakes. Smaller ones are easier to flip. Watch for bubbles. When the surface is dotted with holes, you're ready to flip. The second side will cook faster than the first.
6. Transfer to a plate and keep warm in the oven until you are ready to serve with the rest.
7. Serve with a small splash of pure maple syrup or nut butter.

In my family we used to put ice cream on our pancakes with maple syrup. That one was my dad's doing.

They have now been coined with the name Trennum Pancakes.