I may not have been blogging much lately (enter last week of school and travel, unpacking in the new home, and then traveling again for the 4th of July holiday). But I have been making a lot of poached eggs.

Poached eggs are my current go-to for a fast, but gourmet, breakfast, snack, or lunch. I started writing this post while on the Cape last week (before realizing there was no longer internet at our cottage out there, a good thing since it forced us all to “unplug” for a bit). My 83-year old father-in-law was there and asked what I was writing about, “how to make poached eggs,” I answered.

“Oh, that’s simple,” he replied. “Just drop them in some simmering water, add a pinch of salt and a drop of vinegar…or you can cook them in an empty tuna can.”

I was impressed with how simple he made it sound. But he was right, it is simple. A quick google search turned up both of his cooking suggestions. Until recently, however, I hadn’t made a poached egg in years. My go-to has been over-easy eggs, and I always thought of poached eggs as fancy and complicated. I’m glad to have discovered they are not.

Another bonus: In addition to coming out perfectly cooked almost every time, poached eggs require no added fat to cook. So you don’t have to decide whether you should cook your eggs in butter or oil or whether you should use a nonstick pan or not.