Cracked, chipped, shattered

Making Chinese tea eggs today for a not exactly Easter hard-boiled egg activity. Pleased to report I've not fallen off the edge of the earth in my travels this month. Journeyed with John Man on the trail of Marco Polo, an audiobook short on car chases and explosions. Read Edmund de Waal's slow search for Earth's places with the right clay to produce porcelain. White Road lacked the power and engagement of his Hare With Amber Eyes, but it did cure insomnia.

Into the brew with tea bags and Kikkoman soy sauce I threw everything but the proverbial sink--coriander seeds, whole black pepper, mace, tumeric, red pepper, and fennel. The two warm eggs I ate for lunch were nicely spicy, but not clearly decorated with steeped stains. The rest of the hard-boiled eggs will steep in the brew several more hours.

Don't mind me. I'm out in my stately pleasure dome.

© 2013-2016 Nancy L. Ruder