Soft-Boiled Eggs for An Egg-Hater

+ my chopping onions music playlist

I've never really been an egg person. Scrambled—yuck. Omelets—gag me with a spoon. Sunnyside-up, over-easy—eh, not my thing. Poached—every once in awhile. But last year I noticed myself drooling a little over photos of gooey, soft-boiled eggs (there are a lot of these photos out there). Then a friend made one for me and for some strange reason, it hit the spot.

Now, I want to eat this for breakfast every morning: soft-boiled egg showered with flaky salt and pepper and many drops of Green Tabasco sauce. Or, if I have time to sit down and eat (which isn't often), my breakfast might look something like the photo above: eggs with wilted kale and smoked salmon. Also pictured: the ever-present blue Hatchimal egg carton in the background, a fixture on our table. If you don't know what Hatchimals are, there's no need to find out. (Note: My husband thought the Hatchimal egg carton next to the real eggs was funny and on purpose, but it was purely a coincidence.)

My friend's method for soft-cooked eggs: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Carefully drop in eggs. Let boil for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on how runny you like the yolks. Transfer eggs to a pot of cool water. When eggs are cool enough to handle, peel right away. (A friend with British roots recently scolded me for serving him a cold soft-boiled egg. So beware of the final egg temp, especially if there is a Brit at the table!)

Flashback to 2004: My best friend and I are riding in a cramped, beat-up bus in Central America. We've been traveling for months, with little to entertain ourselves on the long bus journeys other than a strange pictorial journal we've been keeping, and an electric Spanish-English dictionary that we refer to as "Dictionario."

We're chatting with a fellow traveler on the bus, and we notice him playing with a small white gadget. He's got headphones attached to it. "Is that a Walkman?" I ask. "No, it's an iPod," he replies. We'd never heard of an iPod, and obviously had never seen one. He casually explained to us that he could fit his entire music collection on it. My mind was blown. I couldn't even imagine. I resisted the urge to grab it from him and jump out of the moving bus.

Nowadays, iPods are old news. Most of us use Spotify or Apple Music and don't even have personal "music collections." Isn't it crazy to think about how our access to music has changed over the course of 15 years?

Which brings me to 2018. It was the year that I remembered how powerful and mind-altering music can be, and finally took advantage of the unlimited music at my fingertips.

Music soothed me when I was on edge. When I was feeling extra emo and didn't want to be soothed, it also allowed me just be present in that emotional space. It propelled me up The Big Hill in my neighborhood on many a jog. It, along with copious amounts of alcohol, made me dance like a fool (and convince myself I was The World's Best DJ).

Music also changed my cooking routine. I used to get home from work and dash to the kitchen to frantically chop and stir so I could have dinner on the table for my family. But I realized that if I put on some music and allowed myself to slow down a bit, there was a shift. My entire body relaxed and I was able to enjoy the experience. I went from chopping onions in silence, with tense shoulders and a grim look on my face, to chopping onions while swaying and belting out "All Through The Night" by Cyndi Lauper.

So, here is a prize for anyone still reading this rambling post. A playlist for you: my favorite songs to listen to while cooking. If you don't care for my music, make your own playlist of songs you'd like to chop onions to, or stir or blend or wash dishes to, and turn up the volume a little too loud. And reply in the comments with your favorite songs. I'd love to listen!

Angus and Julia Stone - Paper Aeroplane

Broken Bells - Holding on For Life

Alabama Shakes - This Feeling

First Aid Kit - Emmylou

Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place

Bahamas - Lost in the Light

Otis Redding - Dreams to Remember

Brothers Comatose - Morning Time

Stevie Wonder - Boogie on Reggae Woman

Mandoline Orange - Cavalry

Cyndi Lauper - All Through the Night

Mr Eazi - Pour Me Water

Electric Guest - Oh Devil

Fleetwood Mac - Gypsy

Milky Chance - Stolen Dance

If you want to find me on Spotify, I'm Julia Nelson Newberry and this playlist is called "Chopping Onions."