The longer days trigger egg-laying in many birds, including domestic ones. Time to eat more eggs. And what better way to do it than by combining them with weeds in omelettes and quiches, and one of our favorites - angel-ed eggs. (My religion does not believe in a devil, so I can't make deviled eggs. LOL)

To begin, please use old eggs. Why? Fresh eggs won't peel. Ever had a hard-boiled egg that you could not get the shell loose from? Where the egg stuck to the shell, rather than the shell coming away easily? That egg was too fresh. Freshly laid eggs are full and tight in their shells, making them almost impossible to de-shell. After a few weeks, the white loses some moisture and shrinks away from the shell, leaving you with an egg that peels easily. I usually buy eggs from local farms, and they are too fresh for hard boiling. I mark a dozen with the date and let them sit in the fridge* at least two weeks before using them for this recipe. Most eggs purchased in a supermarket are at least two weeks old.

  * Juliette de Bairacli Levy was adamant that eggs should never be refrigerated.

Hard boil the eggs. Cover them with cold water, bring them rapidly to a boil, let them boil for five minutes, turn off the fire, and let them sit until the water is cool, then peel them. Crack the shell into hundreds of tiny pieces by rolling the egg on a hard surface using moderate pressure. Beginning at the large end of the egg, grasp peel and the membrane that underlays it and pull. The shell ought to come right off. Running water and a spoon help if your eggs are too fresh.

Cut hard-boiled, peeled eggs in half lengthwise and gently remove the yolks with a spoon and put them in a bowl. Using a fork, mash the egg yolks.

Choose a pretty plate and arrange the yolkless egg halves on it.

Go outside with your basket and pick 1-2 leaves per egg of any one weedy green, such as garlic mustard, violet leaves, baby mug/cronewort, dandelion, baby dock, gallium, chickweed, or wild chives.

Back in the kitchen, mince fresh weeds very finely. Do not wash them please. One of the health benefits of eating wild food is that they (or rather, the terrestrial bacteria they provide) improve your gut flora, thus increasing the health of the immune system. Washing interferes with that.

Add half of your minced weeds to the egg yolks and mix well. If the yellow and the green (yolk and weeds), are about the same amount, go no further. (Throw the rest of the minced weed in your salad or your breakfast omelet.) If not, add more green.

When you are happy with the ratio of yellow and green, add some salt and a teaspoon of mayonnaise per egg. Mix well. You have made the angel. Put small spoonfuls of angel into the egg whites. Sprinkle with smoked Spanish paprika.

Serve. Enjoy spring. Eat weeds.