Sparkle Kitchen: Hard Boiled Egg Mice Snacks
In the Junkyard Tales: All Together Now story, “Now That's A Camp!” Ben wants to create a summer camp for the mice, but he isn't sure how to do it.
Sally gives him advice and encourages him to enroll the other Junkyard animals. Ben knows they are all very busy, but when he suggests they each offer to teach something they truly love, the camp quickly comes together. And what a unique camp it is!
Like the sweet mice in this story, we can't all make it to summer camp. But if you're make-believing-up your own at-home camp, one thing you can't do it without is some fun snacks.
Inspired by the mice in this story, these hardboiled egg “mice” are adorable, easy for even little ones to put together, and packed with satiating protein.
To make them work, though, you will need a group of smooth, nicely peeled hardboiled eggs. If you're lucky enough to have access to farm-fresh eggs and you've had trouble getting them to peel in one piece in the past, you'll get better results if you try steaming the eggs instead of boiling them.
To do so, fit a steamer basket into a medium sized saucepan with a lid. Add water to just below the basket, then carefully add one layer of eggs. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook with the lid on for 15 minutes, starting the timer the second you turn on the heat. Then, immediately place the eggs in ice water, and let them sit for at least 15 more minutes to cool. Gently roll each egg on a counter to crackle the shell, then peel away!
I have no idea why this works so well; I only know that it does. Perhaps that's something we could all hypothesize about for a summer science camp, eh?
Hard-Boiled Egg “Mice” Snacks (makes 6 mice)
3 peeled, hardboiled eggs
a pinch of black sesame seeds
12 sliced almonds
6 chives
Directions
Carefully slice each hardboiled egg in half. Set the eggs and other ingredients out on a tray or cutting board, and let your campers get to work giving each egg sesame seed “eyes” and a “nose”, almond “ears”, and whipy chive “tails”.
Enjoy these wee mice alone as a quick snack, or set them out with other food a mouse might enjoy—crisp veggies, pretzels, and, of course, slices of cheese—for a more sustaining mini-meal.
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
