Meatless Monday #6: Hard-boiled Egg Masala

Taz came home last night for his "summer vacation" and I wanted to welcome him back with a home-cooked meal. Even though I'm married to an Indian guy, I still haven't managed to learn to cook very many Indian dishes. Lately, I've been trying to change that, and Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking has been an absolute godsend. This Hard-boiled Egg Masala (which we just call "unda curry" around the house) is one of the first dishes I learned to make, and it seems to improve a bit every time. I can't share the recipe on my blog--you'll have to get the book for that--but here are some modifications I've found helpful:

• Don't drain the tomatoes. In fact, rinse out the can with water, and add that too. Things can get too dried out after the recommended amount of simmering, so be prepared to add even more water after that stage.


• It's ok to supplement the canned tomatoes with fresh, if you have some you need to get rid of, or if you don't have a big enough can.


• Use more cilantro than you think you'll need, and set some aside for garnish.


• You'll probably need more liquid in the spice paste than called for, too.


• Save prep time by boiling (and even peeling) the eggs ahead of time.


• Put out a dish of plain yogurt on the table for those with a lower spice tolerance to quench the flames.

Most Indian food, I've found, ages just fine, and a stay in the refrigerator overnight or even for a couple days will not hurt the flavor of this dish at all. I often cook this on a weekend, leaving only the rice cooking for the night I plan to serve it. I doubled the recipe this time, and that was enough for a dinner for two, plus two lunches for me.

My other Meatless Monday fare was much less impressive this week: raisin bran with soy milk for breakfast, overpriced organic grapes for a snack, and really awful leathery veggie gyoza-style dumplings from the gourmet-ish market around the corner from work. We also had red wine with dinner, but managed to open not one but two corked bottles before we found one that was good. Looks like it might be time to replenish the wine supply...

Random Wednesday

In the spongy blob that has been my brain lately, here's what is squishing around today:

1. Unpaid furlough days are great, except for that whole "unpaid" thing. Good thing I'm enjoying them, because I have to take five this month (every Friday).


2. I am unreasonably proud of myself for getting up an hour early this morning to go for a walk/run on the trail by my house. The weather has been too hot and humid to bike to work lately (no shower at the office), but I had not replaced that activity with anything else (until today), which was NOT benefiting my waistline. Here's hoping I can keep it a daily habit!


3. Speaking of health, it's interesting that my food-related posts have been getting more comments lately than my knitting-related ones (except when they've been getting no comments at all). I hope people don't think this has stopped being a knitting blog!


4. It is totally unfair that I should have so many mosquito bites when I haven't even had the joy of camping this summer.


5. I have no idea what to get my dad for his birthday, which is tomorrow. I mean, I know I should get him a book or a CD, but he already has sooo many of both, how do I choose? He is not the sort of person you give a gift certificate to, either.


6. Now that, post-layoffs, I am basically supposed to be doing the work of two people at the office, my will to actually do said work has almost totally evaporated. I care deeply about the issues I work on, but I would still rather be knitting, reading, soaking in a nice cool pool, or some combination thereof. Not that I'm complaining about still being employed. I'm just sayin'.


7. Another factor that might be contributing to #6 is the fact that Taz is coming home for his summer vacation for 2 weeks, and he gets here on Monday. The closer we get to Monday, the more that becomes the ONLY thing I can think about.

Alpaca Saddle

Oh my goodness, there were definitely moments when I wondered if I was ever going to be able to write this post reporting that the sweater for Taz is done. But it is!!! I wish I had better pictures, but the lighting was far from ideal in his Barcelona apartment, and I was working with an unfamiliar camera. I also wish he weren't so shy and would have let me show his face in these pictures so you could get the full effect of how handsome he looks in his new sweater.

Here's a Rav link to the project info. The pattern is from an old 1966 pattern booklet called “Men’s Classics” put out by Bucilla. I found it a bit difficult to read at first because the pattern is laid out almost like a chart, with columns--one with directions, and the others with the stitch count (or whatever) for each size. It's also written for two different yarn weights, depending on what you prefer. I didn't really do any mods, other than forgetting to use smaller needles for the ribbing. I would have expected so much straight stockinette (in gray, no less) on such small needles to get pretty boring pretty fast, but it truly didn't. I'm sure part of that was because it was such a labor of love (awwww), but I also really found it meditative, and the yarn was so soft and nice to work with, I actually found myself looking forward to knitting on this. That fact could have something to do with the fact that I actually finished a sweater project in less than a year. (Ask me how long it took me to knit Samus, or where I'm at with my other sweater projects).

Anyway, the verdict on this sweater from my end is that it was a joy to knit, and I'm proud of how it turned out. The verdict from Taz is that he loves the color and the softness, it doesn't itch, it seems to fit well, and it's going to keep him so warm he won't be able to wear it until November or December in Barcelona. I'll take that as a compliment!

Reasons to be happy

Top ten reasons I am happy today:

10. The headache I woke up with this morning, although still with me, is not a migraine.
9. The snow that fell yesterday has not completely melted yet.
8. Because our intern at work has her last day tomorrow (sad), we took her out for coffee this afternoon (happy) and congratulated her on her new, paying job (happy).
7. Even though every single one of my WIPs seems to be plotting my demise, at least I have yarn. And I do still love the WIPs and can't wait to finish them, even if they are misbehaving right now (more on them in the next post).
6. I am at work at all today. (My last day was supposed to be Nov. 30th, but I was given a stay of execution an extension until the end of the year).
5. There is a happy hour after work today, and I plan on attending, headache or not. After all, yesterday was Repeal Day.
4. I just got my 15th "bingo" in the Facebook version of Scrabulous. It was SCHEMERS fo 82 points, thank you very much. Who, me, addicted?
3. We're going to put up the holiday decorations this weekend. There will also be baking, and possibly singing. The only thing that could make it better would be snow and a fireplace.
2. I get to see my husband tomorrow.
1. I'm alive, employed (for now), healthy, and loved. And I have yarn and books.

Three

You might recall that Taz and I had been dating for three years and three months when he proposed to me, on January 3rd, at 3am, on my third week in India. Apparently, the number three is lucky for us. And now, in keeping with the "three" theme, we've been married three times:


For more pics from the US party, click here.

I think the third time's the charm, though, so I don't anticipate us planning any more wedding-like events anytime soon. What I do anticipate is years of happiness as we share life's adventures. Thank you for loving me enough to marry me three times, baby! I love you!

Better 6 months late than never!

Finally! I finished the socks I was making for Taz! Sure, they were intended to be a Christmas gift. But then somehow they became a Valentine's Day present, but that didn't quite happen either. Then I was trying for a First Anniversary gift, but the day came and went. His birthday, I thought, surely they'll be done by then! Wrong again. They are now a slightly belated Summer Solstice present, it seems. Even though it's hot and humid, Taz was happy to model them for me:



Nice and simple, just his style. Knit on US size 1's, using Dale Baby Ull (superwash wool). I used the Priscilla Gibson-Roberts short-row toe and heel, and worked them toe-up. I also did a grafted bind-off, which is the stretchiest bind off I've found so far for 2x2 ribbing.



I was pretty sick of the metal needles and the charcoal grey yarn by the end, but I'm happy with them, and most importantly, he's happy. Which makes me happy.