Boiled eggs - hard or soft...always a treat!

Boiled eggs are a popular breakfast food around the world and here in Cape Town most street vendors sell them. It is cheap, very nutritious and the perfect breakie to have on the run. In my house however boiled eggs are equally welcome at the lunch or dinner table. Sunday nights are egg-and-tomato-sandwich nights, dippy eggs are one of my childrens' favorite lunchtime treats and I even have a savory tart recipe that has boiled eggs in it. I used boiled eggs extensively when I cater, it is divine with caviar, smoked salmon or served as a deviled egg.
In January I had a function for 1200 people and made deviled eggs. I had to boil 240 eggs and it was quite a daunting task. I bought myself a nifty egg boiling machine and ever since making boiled eggs is effortless and easy.
Most people find it difficult to get the eggs exactly to their liking and I am sure you all have "just the right way" to do it, but it is not easy to give exact times, because factors like, size of the eggs, salt in the water, ect does make a difference. I have taken the trouble to give you a few easy steps to help you along.

1.Place you eggs in an empty pot, be gentle. If you suspect that you have an cracked egg, add salt or vinegar to the water. It may help the proteins in the egg white coagulate faster to close the cracks in the shell.

2. Fill the post with enough cold water to cover the eggs and have the water level about 2 cm above the eggs.

3.Add salt to make the water "tasty". Adding salt to the water also helps to make peeling the eggs easier.

4. Place the lid on the pot and bring the water to boiling point and turn off the heat. Keep the lid on the pot and set your timer for 10-15 minutes. It is important you do not start the timer until the water starts boiling, and you turn off the heat. Too much time will make the eggs discolored and smelly, while too little time will cause them to be runny.

5. Stop the cooking process by cooling the eggs off under cold running water. Let the eggs sit for a while to cool completely.

6. Peel the eggs under cold running water so make it easier. Fresh egs are difficult to peel, o when making boiled eggs, go for eggs that are slightly older. Eat with salt and cracked black pepper or let you imagination run wild!!!

On Saturday I made this divine breakfast, my family was in a state of uforia and all I could get from them was : " Hummmmm, mmmmmmm, yummmm, ahhh this is so good....

So for my Boiled eggs and Asparagus Breakfast, this is what you will need.

Ingredients

2 eggs per person
about 4 spears of asparagus per person
2 rashers of bacon per person
black pepper
sea salt
toasted bread of your choice.

Cut the bacon in 2 lengthwise and wrap each piece around the asparagus. When all the asparagus are done, place on a baking tray and roast in the oven until the bacon is done. In the meantime, boil your eggs and when ready serve with freshly toasted bread, slat and pepper and a good cuppa java!!!