Easy Eggs Benedict

This is the moment you want to be in North Dakota.

We've been cooped up for six months, bundled under thermals, sweaters, coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and often big bulky snow boots, just our pink noses poking out, scurrying from our pre-warmed-with-car-starter vehicles to the nearest heated office building before going home to our heated garage and sitting by our gas fireplaces, complaining that, OMG, it is so freaking cold out. And let's not talk about all the mornings that started with an involuntary shoveling workout, mm-k?



But now, right now, is our moment of exhilaration, our moment of glory as the wonders of a North Dakota spring/summer begin. The thermometer says 72 degrees. The snow banks have been reduced to small slushy piles on the curbs. The birds - oh the birds! - they shatter winter's icy silence with their pretty little chirps, startling you with their song that you didn't realize you missed so much until now.

Of course, everyone is outside. People cancel their gym memberships and Netflix subscriptions because, well, who goes to the gym or stays in and watches movies in the summer? However, we don't just sit outside or stroll. We find projects. We build garden boxes. We wash windows. We walk the dog. I came home yesterday and found my husband in the driveway, building some contraption that might have been a goose blind or his attempt at a homemade camp cot, I'm not sure which, but it was his way of being outside on a perfect spring evening.

With spring comes rhubarb, strawberries, chives, fresh eggs, and of course, asparagus. This morning, while the birds chirped through my open kitchen window - yes, finally, throw open the windows! - I made these easy eggs Benedict with pile of asparagus, took a luscious bite, and officially welcomed spring and all its wonder.

Easy Eggs Benedict
This serves two (well, two plus a toddler of us), so size up accordingly for your family. Adapted from Family Circle magazine.

2 English muffins, toasted and buttered
4 eggs, plus 1 yolk
8 oz. asparagus, trimmed
Fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt or sea salt
Small pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbls. butter
Chopped parsley

Fill a large flat-bottomed pot or pan with about 2" of water. Bring to a boil. Add asparagus and cook up to 2 mins, until crisp tender (don't overcook!). Remove asparagus with a slotted spoon, toss with 1 tsp. lemon juice, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside.

In the same pot with the same water, reduce heat to a simmer. Crack the four eggs and gently let them slip into the water one by one. Poach eggs 3-4 mins or until whites are set (yolks will still be somewhat runny). Remove with slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.

While eggs are cooking, place egg yolk, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt and cayenne in a blender; process until combined. Melt butter in a cup; let cool slightly, then slowly stream melted butter into blender while running; the hollandaise sauce should thicken immediately.

To serve, place two toasted and buttered English muffin halves on a plate, top each muffin half with a poached egg, sprinkle a little salt on each egg, drizzle with hollandaise sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve with asparagus on the side.