I'm in a culinary slump, a gastronomical rut, a food funk.

My cooking mojo has left the building. As I write, take-out Chinese leftovers and meatloaf from the grocer around the corner comprise the bulk of the contents of my refrigerator.

Why? Who knows, really. I just finished a huge project at work and I now find myself amid some sort of transition, perhaps spiritual, or psychological or professional, or even biological. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Or, like everything else, it could be the fault of our overly long, excruciatingly dismal winter. I'm sick of stews and soups. I'd sooner crush my Crock Pot than cook in it one more time. I need some greens, and some beet reds and some squash yellows, but I'd just as soon have someone else cook them for me.

Lacking that, all I want to eat is junk — breakfast sausage and cheese, chips and sandwiches, pasta and pastries.

Ugh.

It's not unfamiliar territory for me. And what I've come to recognize is that even in the bleakest of emotional food deserts, I can always find cooking inspiration in an egg.

Eggs cook fast in a variety of ways, and from frittata to fried rice, you can add anything to them or add them to anything and legitimately expect something wonderful to result. You can bake them or fry them for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And that's exactly what I've been doing.

The most popular entry in my egg repertoire is egg salad: hard boiled eggs, chopped and mixed with some veggies, some condiments and perhaps, some herbs.

To boil and peel an egg, I start with a sauce pan, some eggs and enough cool water to cover them by about an inch. Then I cover the pan and bring the water to a boil, at which point I turn off the heat and leave the eggs to steep for at least 12 minutes. Julia Child taught me that this method will avoid that hideous green layer around the outside of my perfectly hard-cooked yolks.

After 12 minutes, or whenever I remember, I drain the hot eggs and immediately plunge them into an ice water bath. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, crack them and peel them. Most of the time, the shells slip right off.

The whole trick to easy peeling is to get that tough membrane between the egg and the shell to bend to your will. If you can entice that membrane to adhere to the inside of the shell and not to the outside of the egg, you're on easy street. The ice water bath does the trick most of the time. But remember, the fresher the egg, the more difficult it is to peel. Save your fresh eggs for cracking. Boil the older ones. You'll be happier.

But even if you have a peeling catastrophe, the great thing about egg salad is that you're going to chop the eggs anyway, so who cares if your orbs are all poked and lumpy?

My basic recipe is very simple: eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, finely chopped red onion, salt and pepper. That's it. But you can push your salad in any flavor direction you'd like. Cut back on the mayo, add yogurt, curry powder and a dollop of chutney. Or add some finely diced red pepper and celery, a sprinkling of chili powder and a squirt of sriracha. Or hold back on the mustard and add a civilized handful of chopped fresh tarragon. So good.

Enjoy!

Jill Blanchette is the multiplatform production editor at The Day. Share comments and recipes with her at j.blanchette@theday.com.

Inspirational egg salad

Serves 6-8

Eight eggs

1-2 tablespoons red onion, either very finely diced or grated

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

¼ cup mayonnaise or as little as you can get away with

A generous amount of salt and pepper, to taste

Put eight eggs into a large sauce pan and add cool water to cover by about 1 inch. Cover the pan and bring the water to the boil, then turn off the heat and set a timer for 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, put a generous amount of ice into a large mixing bowl and add water until the ice floats. In the bottom of another bowl, medium-size, place a couple of paper towels that you have folded in quarters.

When the timer goes off, drain the eggs and dump them into the ice water bath. Leave them in there until they're cool enough to handle. Then crack each egg and, being sure to penetrate the tough outer membrane, peel off the shell and membrane, rinsing each peeled egg before placing it on the paper towels.

When all the eggs are peeled and they have shed most of their water, remove the paper towel and use a pastry cutter (or two dinner knives) to chop the eggs into whatever size pieces you like. Add the remaining ingredients and combine gently. Taste your salad and adjust seasoning.

Refrigerate immediately or enjoy at room temperature. Makes about 3 cups of egg salad, almost 4 if you use jumbo eggs.