The first thing you need is an egg, preferably one which has some relationship to a chicken. Together with an egg, take some kind of a kettle or pan, and fill it with water. Milk, coke and tomato juice all work, but they do nasty things to your kettle. Pour enough water into the pan so it just about covers the egg, so you are not tempted to reach in and pick up the egg with your newly scalded fingers.

Once the water begins to boil, the difficult part commences. Pay close attention to this section of the recipe. If you live close to a stop light, you might consider using this as a guide. A good rule of thumb is three red lights and two greens will boil your egg to perfection. That is unless you live in a place where the light waits until a car comes along to change, you might then find your egg could become a pet rock instead of a meal.

I would suggest from my vast experience that a good strong three minutes is necessary for a soft boiled egg, especially if you keep a cover on the kettle or pan. Five minutes would be about right for the medium hard boiled egg, and beyond that for the hard, hard boiled egg. You are then ready for the crucial moment. Take the kettle and pour cold water all over your poor egg, continue to do that until you can pick it up with your finger, unless of course you are wearing rubber gloves.

Now that the egg is completed, you can use it in a variety of ways. The egg will serve at least one person, unless that person doesn't like eggs, then it would serve two. I would suggest you do not try to peel a soft boiled egg, but rather smash through it with your knife. Be sure you do this over a plate, because it can be runny. For the more hard boiled eggs you may peel it, unless you wish to paint it for Easter.

This egg is especially good with either toast or just coffee, providing you like toast or drink coffee. One suggestion would be to mash it all up, add mayonnaise to it, and Velveeta cheese and then use it on lefse. But there are countless ways to use your boiled egg, if only you use some of your creativity. If you follow the above steps, your efforts should be a complete success. Serves 1.