When in doubt, boil an egg

One of the most difficult meals of the day for me is lunch. For some reason, I always seem to have a hard time coming up with something nutritious, tasty and filling between the hours of 12 and 2, especially if I will be eating alone. And this is bad. Because if I don't eat, I become one of two things -  a raging beast who is willing to eat practically everything in sight or a woozy slug who can barely make it to the door. So what to do?

Well, I know, I know, a sandwich is always good, and I'm trying, but I can't really seem to find the inspiration for layering things on top of each other between bread when my energy level is at its lowest.

What about soup, you say. Yes, soup is a very good idea and something that I often crave during the noontime hours. The only problem with soup is that I have a hard time mustering up the patience to go through the soup-making process when I am so hungry I could eat my cat (something, I'm sure, he often thinks about me as well. I mean, let's face it, deep down in their hearts even house cats are ferocious, carnivorous beasts - we're just too big to eat). If I happen to have soup, left over and ready to go, great. If not, no soup.

This is a situation, by the way, that I hope to change in the near future. Lunch every day, rain or shine, on my own or in the company of others...

But for now, what is the grand, over-reaching, mother of all solutions? Well today it's an egg.

The egg...


Hard-boiled, plain and simple, no fuss, no frills.

Chop it up and add some dijon mustard, a little bit of pepper, green onion tops, a sliced radish fresh from the garden, some tasty bread and there you go.

And this little protein bomb in a shell can be eaten with all sorts of things or just plain naked with some salt and pepper. So, when in doubt, at least for now, a hard-boiled egg can save the day.

Hard-boiled egg life-saving lunch

1 or 2 hard-boiled eggs, depending on how hungry you are, preferably still piping hot from the stove*
A dollop of dijon mustard (or more if you want a real kick)
pepper to taste
1 green onion top, chopped (I usually just snip it with scissors)
1 small radish, sliced

After you are done hard-boiling your egg (cook it for about 10 minutes in boiling water), run it quickly under some cold water so you don't burn your fingers and peel it. Then, chop it up into rough, "rustic" chunks, add a dollop of mustard and mush/stir it together a little with a fork - just enough to spread the mustard around. Garnish with the green onion on top and add the sliced radish on the side. Break out the bread and enjoy!

*eating the egg nice and hot gives the yolk a creaminess when mixed with the mustard that you just can't get from cold egg yolks


You can take the humble, freshly hard-boiled egg and make it into a simple meal by adding all sorts of ingredients. I'm thinking sliced prosciutto, tomatoes and basil or, maybe next time, goat cheese.