
remedy for a chilly night ~ eggs in spicy gravy
We’ve been in the deep freeze here, with nary a snowflake to be seen. Tonight there is a light snowfall at last, and it is still falling as I type. I’m happy to see it softly blanketing the frozen grass. This means great birdwatching tomorrow morning ~ the feeders are full and I’m hoping for a siskin or redpoll to join the usual suspects.
I was in the mood for something really spicy to ward off the chill, but I wasn’t in the mood for a ten-step evening in the kitchen. Plenty of eggs on the counter and plenty of onions too, hmm…
Here’s what I whipped up.
Eggs with Spicy Gravy
6 hard boiled eggs, yolks removed
For gravy, spray a pan with non-stick spray* and fry:
1 big onion, roughly chopped
1 inch ginger, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
1 big green chile, slit
2 dried red chiles
Fry until onion is golden brown and starting to stick to the pan. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

browning the onions etc
To the pan, add:
1/4 c coconut (mine is frozen finely shredded)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 TB chana dalia
Dry roast this mixture until browned and fragrant. Remove and set aside. Don’t wash the pan.

roasted coconut and spices, fried onions and chiles, tomato
Grind the onion mixture and the coconut mixture up together (yep, skipping steps, lazy lazy…)
Add 1 c water to the grinding bowl and rinse the residue — reserve this water.
Now heat 1 scant tsp oil in the pan. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 2 red chiles. Fry 2 minutes, then add 1 small chopped tomato. When the tomato starts to soften, add the ground mixture. Cook five minutes, stirring, then add:
1/2 tsp red chile powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp methi powder
Cook a further 2 minutes, then add the reserved rinsing water and a very small bit of jaggery and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes, stirring. Add the egg whites.
Voila! Quick and spicy eggs
note: the addition of methi may seem strange — I did not add this initially but when I tasted the gravy, it was lacking something — I tossed in the methi on a hunch and that was the missing link!
*Non-stick spray can be substituted with a couple of sprays from an oil spritzer — I’m trying to avoid excess oil and this treatment makes the onions brown up nicely.

they’re getting along swimmingly!
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My sister and I went to a Top Secret Location on the weekend. Feast your eyes, and see if you can guess where!
disclaimer: I did my best to keep people out of photos, but on the busy weekend it was not so easy. Any appearance of you, your family member, your best friend or next-door neighbor is strictly unintentional! My goal was the food not the folks

entrance with worker serving up fried king trumpet mushrooms, gift boxes of mandarin oranges, persimmons, giant fuji apples and asian pears

just a few of the dozens of kinds of tofu, with a few bean sprouts thrown in for good measure

wide view of produce section

the giant korean radish section

hot and spicy kimchi alley, also many prepared specialty dishes in here

a smattering of the pickles and miso on display

fresh noodles, yum!!

rice (ok, this shouldn’t shock anyone)

overview of seafood section, frozen in foreground, fresh counter off in distance to the left, where they will fix your selection Any Way You Please. I have seen fresh kingfish here… hmmm

frozen dumplings ~ some of about a hundred varieties! various Asian specialty seafood and meatballs, sausage, etc fill the upright cases.

myriad dried noodles, from japan, china, korea, vietnam, and more

even more dried noodles!

dried shiitake mushrooms, some in fancy gift packs

condiment central ~ one of the endless aisles

the fabulous food court ~ lunch anyone!?
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This is truly only a taste of the wonder and delight your local Top Secret Location has in store (no pun!). If you’re lucky enough to live near one, run, don’t walk, especially on a weekend, and be sure to get there early and have a small bite of breakfast before you leave. If you’re a foodie like me, it will take you at least 3 hrs to get through the place, and that’s on the first visit.
The preferred plan of attack, developed over several months of experimentation, is to arrive around 10 am on a Sunday (not as crowded as Saturday). This is sufficiently early to secure a parking space, but not so early that you’re tired and cranky by the time they start whipping out the endless free samples. If you don’t get enough for lunch that way, you can haul your purchases out to the car and come back for lunch at the food court. I highly recommend the soondubu
Stop by the bakery on the way out for a mini-loaf of pan bread or a green pea pastry, and perhaps just one last bite of the sweet persimmon samples as you head out the door…
I tried to get a snapshot of that tropical fruit sample table as we were leaving, but a manager-type caught sight of me (what, after 2 hrs in there taking photos??) and sternly ordered me to put my camera away. He did not, however, confiscate my camera — so while my evil plan of stealing trade secrets lies in pathetic ruins, my ultimate goal of the epic tour is realised.