Making Family Connections

Why does boiling an egg remind me of my father? Because 30 years ago he made the ingenious kitchen tool pictured above to assure that the eggs didn’t explode while they were boiling. He was an inventor who used common materials to make practical things.

The “egg-poker”, as we have come to call it, is simply a very bright green golf tee with a needle embedded in the tip and a spring to add some resistence. It never fails to work perfectly.

As I poked 9 eggs as I prepared to make tuna salad for Deborah’s family for lunch today and for my Wolf Trap outing tomorrow to hear Fiona Apple, I once again thought of my father and his inventions. The eggs all turned out cooked to perfection and completely within their shells. Today’s recipe was a variation on my summer salad theme. I put in celery, sweet red peppers, a small amount of Vidalia onion, sweet pickle relish, capers, a little Dijon mustard, mayo, and of course lots of tuna, topped with chopped olives. This chilled tuna salad should taste good on what promises to be a scorcher of a night tomorrow.

I placed my little egg-poker back in the drawer until the next egg to be boiled comes along. My guess is that it will outlast anything in that drawer! Thanks to my Daddy for his marvelous inventions.