Note to Self

On Writing and Hard-Boiled Eggs

Note to Self #4 for next year:

Carefully cook eggs and chill correctly for the annual Easter pickled egg dish or else large chunks of shell will be impossible to remove without a crowbar and the eggs will look like a chipmunk gnawed on them. Ever-vigilant in-laws will notice and in addition to checking glass and silverware for smudges, they will ask, wearing horrified expressions, "Did rodents gnaw on these eggs, or what?"

So, as I painstakingly peeled shells off eggs, I realized that writing is like skinning a hard-cooked egg.  On a good day, it's effortless; the shells fall off like scaffolding, revealing a perfect product inside.  An idea that has reached fruition and does not require any embellishment.

On a not so good writing day, no amount of re-fashioning, fabrication, or feverish re-vamping can fix the less than perfect article.

So here's how to make the perfect hard-boiled eggs:  Cover in saucepan with 1-2 inches of water.  Add dash of salt. Set burner to low to medium-low and cover with lid.  Bring slowly to boil, let simmer 5 minutes.  Turn off burner and set covered pan of eggs off to a cool spot.  Let sit for 5 min.  Alternately rinse eggs with hot and cold water 3-4 times and let cool to room temp.