narya_flame

I'm getting very into having eggy spicy things for breakfast, it seems!  

I've deliberately not called this a masala omelette, because that would be seriously stretching the truth.  It is an omelette, however, and it involves Indian spices.  What I've done from there is probably heretical.

Indian Spiced Omelette (serves one)

Finely slice half a white onion and a small green chilli.  Grate a small handful of cheddar (optional).

Add a splash of oil to a small shallow frying pan (I used groundnut oil today because it was what I had to hand).  Fry the onions until soft, then add the chopped chilli.  Meanwhile, crack a couple of eggs into a jug and whisk together, together with 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala, and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Tip the egg mixture into the pan and fry gently until the bottom has set and the top is wobbly rather than runny.  Add the cheese, if using.  Fold the omelette in half and cook for another minute or so, then tip onto a plate and serve.  (I had it with ketchup.)

AKA what I had for breakfast.  So-called because I was initially grumpy that my husband had used all the milk and there was none left for my Weetabix.  (I was really being a bit silly, as I only eat cereal once a blue moon, and he wasn't to know I had a random craving for it this morning.)  By the time I'd poked around in the cupboards and rustled this up, though, I was definitely not grumpy any more.

I'm going to start trying harder to write down the random dishes I improvise and enjoy; often I throw together breakfast, lunch or dinner from whatever's kicking around, and then promptly forget what I did.  Putting them on DW lets me keep them somewhere I can easily reference them, and also share ideas with others.   That said, I am not a very good recipe writer as I tend to trust my eyes, fingers and tastebuds rather than pay attention to exact quantities and timings, so...your mileage may vary.

*

Grumpy Eggs (serves one)

Mince two cloves of garlic and one small green chilli.  Finely slice half a white onion and a small bell pepper (or half a larger one).  Also pre-heat the grill to medium-high.

In a small frying pan, warm up a couple of glugs of vegetable oil and then add:

- 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp nigella seeds (I am a bit obsessed with nigella seeds; you could probably tone this one down a bit if you wanted!)

Fry on a medium heat until the seeds are popping.  Add the onions, and cook until soft.  Turn the heat down low, add the garlic and chilli, and cook gently for a minute or two, then add the pepper slices and gently soften.  

After a few minutes, add 1/2 tsp powdered turmeric and 1 tsp curry powder.  Add a pinch of salt and plenty of ground black pepper, then stir to combine.  (If it looks like the spices are sticking and everything's gone a bit clumpy you could add a tiny splash of water to help form a small amount of "gravy", but this is deliberately not a saucy dish.)

Make two wells in the spiced vegetable mix and crack an egg into each.  Fry gently until the egg is almost cooked through, then flash under the grill for 10-20 seconds to set the top of the egg - the whites should be cooked through but the yolks still runny.

Tip onto a warmed plate and serve with orange juice and/or a pot of chai.  Amazing with ketchup.

The autumn nights are drawing in, and this little riddle feels appropriately spooky and mysterious.  No solution is given in the original manuscript, so suggestions welcome in the comments, as well as other translations from any Old English scholars in the house!


Anglo-Saxon




Translation


This air carries little creatures
over hillsides.  They are very bright, 
black, dark-coated.  Rich with song, 
they roam in flocks, cry loudly,
tread woody headlands, even the halls
of men.  They name themselves.



(Some possible solutions here; more about the Exeter Book here.)

Seen all over the place.  Nothing revolutionary in my choices, I don't think, but here they are anyway!

A Place: Loch Lomond by Alastair McDonald
A Food: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree by KT Tunstall
A Drink: Gin Soaked Boy by The Divine Comedy
An Animal: Starlings by Elbow
A Number: I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers 
Something To Wear: Halo by Beyoncé
A Colour: Mr. Blue Sky by E.L.O.
A Boy's Name: Sweet Baby James by James Taylor
A Girl's Name: Rosie by Jackson Browne
A Profession: So You Want To Be A Rock'n'Roll Star by Patti Smith
A Vehicle: The Day We Caught The Train by Ocean Colour Scene
A Day Of The Week: Friday I'm In Love by The Cure

"I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story – the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths..."

- J. R. R. Tolkien, 'Letters'


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Dear creator,

Hello! I'm SO EXCITED about this exchange and I had a really hard time even narrowing down which fandoms I wanted to request, let alone which characters I wanted within those fandoms. Result - I have ended up with a ridiculously long letter. Oops?

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The SWG's block party challenge for Monday was "go behind the scenes of one of your own fanworks," and I forgot to do it because work.  Today I haven't got the energy to think of a fic and come up with something interesting to say about it, so if anyone wants to play, I'm flinging this open - anything you fancy asking about any of my fanworks, or the characters I write, or why Tolkien, or my writing process in general, go ahead.  Ask as many things as you like, though complicated or multiple questions will take me longer to respond to! Who knows, it might get me into the mindset to write again, because who knows where that has gone lately.

(There are some fun ideas for general writing questions here, but I'm also more than happy to answer specific questions about individual fics.)

Dear Writer,

Hi! Thank you for making a gift for me, and for reading my letter. I do a lot of swaps and hurt/comfort is always high on my “yes please!” list, so I'm excited to see it get an exchange all to itself.

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 AO3

Faerie

SWG

Annatar takes a brooding Celebrimbor for a walk in the snow.  Written for My Slashy Valentine 2020 as a gift for erlkoenig, who requested a tender moment between Celebrimbor and Annatar, and prompted “hot cider.”

General Audiences.  M/M (pre-ship).  1.2k words.  Choose not to warn.