Exploding eggs for lunch

Since picking up our two dozen fresh eggs this week, we've been quickly making our way through the first dozen.

We've used them in so many ways. But I hate cleaning up the pan after scrambling eggs. No matter what I use to coat the pan, they always seem to stick firmly to the bottom. And while certain non-stick pans would do a better job I believe the pieces of tephlon coating that seeps and flakes off into the food is not worth consuming.

That's why when I heard you could quickly cook hard boiled eggs in the microwave, I was eager to give it a try. The first egg went in on high for two minutes. But somewhere around the one-minute mark the egg made a "pop" "pop" and then exploded with a grand burst. It was a mess.

I wiped up the first egg, saving what I could to feed to the dogs, and put in egg number 2. This time I was much more careful and set the timer for 22 seconds. When that went well, I turned the egg over and cooked for 10 more seconds. I kept turning and slowly cooking the egg until it tested "done."

The egg peeled easily and looked perfect! I thought I had figured it out until I began mashing the egg into egg salad and it promptly... EXPLODED! Hot egg went everywhere, covering me, covering the counter, and leaving tiny bits of white goop on the floor.

Egg number 3 didn't fare any better. I'd slowly microwave each egg, turning it over for even heat penetration and then as soon as it was pricked each one would pop into hot pieces.

I'm sure there's a trick to the microwavable egg (I've obviously not figured it out); So if you know the trick, feel free to share!