holiday indulgence.

i've been pretty good about staying away from the sweets and treats i've been baking and those that have been given as gifts, but all this running around has made me hungry! my big overindulgence this holiday has been eggs--poached, boiled, fried, scrambled, salted, you name it. it's sort of funny because during my college days i was not a fan of eggs at all, and recently i've had a bad case of mayonnaise aversion. but i've been having one a day for the past week, and i can feel the cholesterol sludging up my system, so i know i better cool it and soon. still, there's something about a warm runny yolk on a pile of hot rice, a soft-boiled egg smashed onto a chunk of buttered wholemeal toast, or egg whites with a bit of sea salt and fried minced garlic....mmmm.

so then two of my favourites: a chorizo hash with sweet potatoes and white potatoes, onion, celery and carrot, topped with a poached egg. simply chop everything up, crumble the chorizo, sautée and yr done. a little harissa adds a little complexity to the kick, but it's fine on its own.

and of course, the loco moco, made a little more luxurious with a grilled sirloin beef patty on steamed red-grained rice, topped with a fried egg and gravy made with oxtail and shank stock. after making a standard roux i whisked the hot beef stock into the mix until it became a thin gravy; i shredded some of the oxtail and shank meat, added it in and seasoned with salt and pepper. really, nothing to it workwise, but flavourwise, it's on a whole 'nother level of loconess.

gaah, where has the time gone? recipes in a bit (maybe after xmas if you'll forgive me--'tis that time of year after all)!