Make Egg and Soldiers With Only a Kettle and a Toaster

I like to eat egg and soldiers a lot. Sadly I've never met an American person who knows what this meal is, so for those of you reading this I will explain: you soft-boil an egg so the yolk is runny, then you dip toast into the yolk and eat it. It's delicious.

Things you will need
1. A kettle
2. A toaster
3. Eggs
4. Bread

Things you might need
1. Netting (from oranges, tangerines, etc.)
2. Some string

I was making this meal at work so I didn't have access to a proper cooker. I also purchased my own kettle even though there is one at work because there's a possibility of the eggs cracking and yolk going everywhere. The kettle only cost £5 from my local supermarket, so it's not an expensive piece of equipment.

Step 1: Preparation

First of all, if you've bought a new kettle then you should boil some water in it and pour it away to clean it out. It shouldn't matter too much because you won't be drinking the water from it, but better safe than sorry.

If you have some netting like the kind oranges often come in then you need to make a small sack from it so that the eggs can sit in it without falling out.

Make sure you remove any paper or labels from the netting before putting it into the kettle. The ink on them might go everywhere and ruin your lunch.

If you have two open ends in the netting then use a small length of string to tie up one end completely.

The other end needs to have string threaded all the way around it so that it can be pulled closed like a drawstring on a pair of shorts, or a sports bag.

When it's done you should be able to hold the egg up in the netting using the ends of the drawstring. Make sure you don't cut the string too short as it will be used to dangle the eggs into the kettle.

Step 2: Cooking the Eggs

Boil the kettle with as much water as it takes to dangle the eggs into the water with the drawstring still hanging out of the side of the kettle, but do not have the eggs in the kettle before the water has boiled.

Once the water has boiled lower the eggs in your netting into the kettle and trap the drawstring in the kettle lid.

Make a note of the time and keep boiling the water every minute or so for 4-5 minutes. The actual amount of time taken to boil an egg will vary depending on how far above sea level you are because water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes.

Step 3: While the Egg Is Cooking

You need to make some toast to make your soldiers with. I don't think I need to write instructions for making toast. When the bread is toasted you just need to butter it and cut it up into thin slices. If you have more than one slice of bread then place them on top of each other and cut through them all at once to save time.

If you do not have an egg cup, or have never even heard of such a thing then you may want to use either a shot glass, or perhaps make an egg cup yourself. This is used to hold the egg upright so that you can dip your soldiers into the yolk.

I made my own egg cup out of the egg box itself, as it's perfectly designed for holding an egg.

Simply cut one of the little egg containing sections out and you're good to go.

Step 4: Putting It All Together

When your egg is cooked (times vary according to altitude) you need to hold onto the string and open the lid of the kettle. If you're not holding onto the string then your eggs will fall to the bottom of the kettle and you'll probably have to carefully pour away the water to get them back.

Place the eggs in the netting on a surface that can handle a small amount of boiling hot water and let it cool off for a few seconds.

Once it's cool enough to touch you can pull open the drawstring and take the eggs out (they will still be hot).

Place the eggs on your plate with one in the egg cup and then pat on the top of the egg with a spoon to break the shell.

Slice the top part of the egg off so there's a hole big enough to dip your toast in and you are ready to eat.

Step 5: Pose for a Picture

Your egg yolk should still be runny and will coat the part of your toast soldier (sounds like a euphemism) when you put it in.

Congratulations, you've just made egg and soldiers with the some fairly basic tools. :)