Duck Eggs Frittata with bok choy

These are confusing times and to have a leader who is utterly devoid of compassion, empathy or intelligence is downright depressing. We Americans are perhaps the most ill informed, misled and utterly clueless about what to do in this current situation. TV and newspaper news is full of what stunts the moron and his shrill voices are saying rather than information about how to handle the disease. I look to foreign news be it Indian or Japanese which are much clearer and consistent about what precautions people need to take and where to look for help. I am one of those ill informed with nary a clue about what to do. But I am armed with wrong statistics and what the blowhards on TV are saying. Add to that the misinformation that is being spread on social media, I am starting to wonder if this country and its leaders have what it takes?

But folks we don't control over the larger things but we have control of everyday things we can do. Keep a routine, eat right, exercise, think positive thoughts and don't watch too much news. I joined a virtual mountain climbing training group. It also helps these are folks who I went to college with, so it is double the fun. Getting connected after a really long time and motivating each other to get out of the sedentary life style. Hope we continue once this lockdown is over.

Now on to the food,

I have had chickens for the past 3 years. They lay eggs starting in early spring and stop by late Fall. Once you get used to eating eggs from he chickens you grow it is almost impossible to go back to the store bought eggs. The problem during the winter months is that we don't have any eggs, the chickens are on a break :) We decided to add a few ducks to our flock because I had read somewhere that unlike chickens the ducks lay throughout the year.

So now we have an abundance of duck eggs. No not complaining. We love them. They get used in a lot of dishes that traditionally use chicken eggs. They are more creamier and richer than the chicken eggs. So if you want to build volume in a cake, duck eggs are what you want to use.

Anybody who has extra eggs should want to make frittata. Quick and easy and so delicious. Perfect for brunch or breakfast. Use any vegetable that does not release too much water or make sure you sauté the vegetables well to remove any excess moisture. I had some freshly harvested bok choy and that is what went into this frittata. You could use spinach, kale, chard or any other greens you have on hand.

Saute the onions and jalapeno peppers followed by the bok choy.
Break the eggs into a bowl and add the pepper and salt.
Take the pepper jack cheese and grate.
Add the grated cheese to the eggs and whisk it in.
Add the cheese to the sautéed vegetables.
Bake for 10 minutes till the frittata is well set.
Cut into wedges and serve.

Serve with some ketchup.

Duck Eggs Frittata with bok choy
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10-15 minutes
Ingredients

1. 6 duck eggs or 12 chicken eggs
2. 1/2 cup of finely diced onions
3. 4 jalapenos seeded and diced fine
4. 2 garlic cloves finely minced (optional)
5. salt and pepper to taste
6. 5-6 heads of bok choy washed and roughly chopped (see note:*)
7. 2 tsp of oil
8. 1- 1 1/2 cups of grated cheese (I used pepper jack cheese)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a wide mouthed pan (I used a cast iron pan) that can go in the oven (see note:**), heat oil and sauté onions and jalapenos and let the onions get translucent.
3. Add the chopped bok choy and sauté till it is wilted.
4. Take the eggs in a bowl and add the pepper and salt. Whisk it till its smooth. Add the grated cheese and mix it in.
5. Add the eggs to the sautéed vegetables and gently mix. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.
6. Now move the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove it while it is slightly jiggly.

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Ragi Onion Pakoda

The last few days we have seen both people and leaders rise up to the challenge or not. The population of the US which is forced to watch the bad actor turned politician bumble through one crisis to another and is better off not listening to the fool at all. The one thing that confounds, is what did we expect from somebody who has failed miserably at everything he touches to actually do something as a president. Add to this the misinformation that is being spread on social media.

The one thing we can all do is eat right, exercise daily and follow some sort of discipline. While doing this might seem difficult, at best we simply have to do it to prevent us from going crazy. We perhaps will never be able to appreciate enough what sacrifices the doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, grocery store employees, farmers, law enforcement and everyone who are in the front lines serving us have done. We can all strive to be kind and perhaps treat the earth a little better than we have been?

April and March are the best times of the year when everything is green and sparkling but it is kind of hard to predict the weather. Warm one day, rainy and cold the next, windy the day after but now that we are under lock down none of that should matter because we are not making plans to go anywhere. In a farm this is the busiest time of the year. After working hard a few the rainy days are actually quite welcome giving some much needed rest.

It was one of those days when it was rainy and drizzly making it impossible to go outside and work. Rain causes the mouth to crave for deep fried stuff. I wanted to make some onion pakoda. The recipe I had from a friend's wife asked for kadala mavu (chickpea flour), rice flour and ravai. There is usually rice flour laying around even though I don't use rice flour all that much. But this time after searching in the pantry, fridge and freezer and coming back empty handed I decided to substitute ragi flour in place of the rice flour and it actually turned out to be quite a good combination. Not exactly like the onion pakoda we are used to but different and still delicious.

I used a bit more onion than the flour could take but with fried onions what is there to complain? It is a fairly simple procedure but the bulk of the time is for deep frying.



The recipe in pictures,

Slice the onions really thin. Put the oil to heat.
Whisk together the flour, spices and the salt.
Add 1/4 cup of the heating oil into the flour mixture. Sprinkle water and make a batter with the flour. Add in the onions, coriander, curry leaves and green chilies.
Sprinkle the onion mixture into the oil. Let it cook till the bubbles start subsiding.
Sprinkle the onion mixture into the oil. Let it cook till the bubbles start subsiding.
Check if the pakoda is golden brown and remove from oil and drain.

For a deep fried snack it is fairly easy to cook. Other kind of vegetables can also be used.

Ragi Onion Pakoda
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 onion sliced thin (I used yellow onion)
2. 1/2 cup of Kadalai Mavu or Besan
3. 1/2 cup of Ragi Flour
4. 1/2 tbsp of Ravai or Sooji
5. 1/2 tbsp Red Chili Powder
6. Curry leaves, coriander leaves finely chopped (a handful)
7. 2-3 green chilies finely chopped
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for Deep Frying

Method

1. In a pan suitable for deep frying add enough and let it heat.
2. While the oil is heating whisk together the besan, ragi flour and sooji along with the salt and chili powder.
3. Begin with 1/4 cup of water and a 1/4 cup of the heating oil. Add the oil and add the water in small quantities into the flour mixture. Mix to form a smooth paste. Ragi is slightly denser flour than rice so a slightly more water might be needed.
4. Add in the sliced onions, coriander, green chilies and curry leaves and let them coat evenly.
5. Once the oil is hot, take some of the coated onions and spread it into the oil.
6. Let it cook and when the bubbles starts to subside, you do not have to wait till the bubbles are fully subsided, when the pakoda is turning golden brown remove from oil and drain.
7. Continue till all the mixture has run out.

Crunchy and tasty pakoda is ready. Watch a movie or just enjoy the silent world outside :)

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