Twenty- five Seven

On the trail of the perfect egg cup #atozchallenge@AprilAtoZ

April 6, 2016

E is for egg cup

How I long for those days when my breakfast consisted of a glass of orange juice, two buttered toasts and a soft boiled egg served in an egg cup. I loved tapping open the egg stirring the just setting white and the runny yolk and eating it with buttered toast. Alas! With fears of E coli and all kinds of health issues, soft boiled eggs became unfashionable and with it , the egg cup.

But eggs are still good for growing children so when the doctor prescribed them to the grandchildren, I began looking for the egg cups. Naturally, there were none to be found, so I had to hunt the shops.

“Egg cups? What’s that?” asked most salesmen who hadn’t even heard of eggs let alone egg cups.

I thought I’d have better luck abroad so when I visited Singapore last year, it was a good excuse for me to hang around and browse in stores selling kitchen and tableware ( my ultimate passion). But here too, I was disappointed as soft boiled eggs and egg cups really seemed to be yesterday’s menu!

I almost abandoned my hunt when I spied some hiding shyly behind the salt cellars and I quickly grabbed a pair. While packing them up, I suddenly felt I should get some more, so I dashed back to the shop the next day. To my surprise, they were all sold out!

I wonder if the egg cups in my possession now, are some of the last in the world?

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I’m participating with over 1000 bloggers in the 7th A to Z Challenge and will be blogging the whole of April about the ‘ Things around My House’, from A to Z. My object for today is E for Egg Cup.

Do visit the A to Z Challenge posts on Facebook.
How to make a good wine better with a Decanter #atozchallenge

April 5, 2016

Image for D

In my opinion, wine tastes better when served in a decanter . Especially when the decanter is hand cut lead crystal.

In the early days of my marriage, when I had plenty of time on my hands and far less money, I used to make wine at home. This activity kept my little girls busy the whole month of April and was provided a great opening for conversation as I poured out my ruby red, home made wine from a crystal decanter to our dinner guests.

Image of decanters

Hand-cut crystal wine decanters

These two crystal decanters are all that’s left at home now. The tall blue one is Bohemian Lead crystal and was a wedding gift to my in-laws while the clear one beside it was brought back as hand baggage along with a complete bar set from a trip to Denmark.

I love these delicate hand-cut decanters and though they’re not in use, enjoy washing them. It is fascinating seeing them glimmer in the sun as they dry.

I am no wine snob, yet I feel sad that wine is no longer served from decanters. It was such an elegant and gracious way of serving wine, far more stylish than pouring from bottle or a tetrapack !

Hand-cut crystal decanters were once a fashionable and stylish way to serve wine or whisky. However, with today’s oenophiles, wine has to be served from the original bottle so that the guests know its provenance – year of bottling and all.

Similarly, since whisky drinkers have now graduated to Single Malters who claim to know the difference between a Laphroaig and a Yamazaki from the mere aroma, it makes better sense to pour from the original bottle.

I’m participating with over 1000 bloggers in the 7th A to Z Challenge and will be blogging the whole of April about the ‘ Things around My House’, from A to Z. Today I talk about D for Decanter.

Do visit the A to Z Challenge posts on Facebook.
The ONE thing you didn’t know about a COMB #atozchallenge

April 4, 2016

Image for C

Combs are found on most dressing tables and I always imagined that a comb was just a comb, whether it was made of silver, plastic, wood or bone.

One day, last December, I brought home four gorgeous hand crafted combs made of Sheesham wood at a special craft fair to promote and support dying skills in rural India. I could actually feel a halo settling smugly above my head as I bought these combs ( doing my bit for society and all that) .

The difference between the comb of a man and that of a woman

I came home and proudly showed off my purchases to all those at home , announcing that henceforth, I would only use these beautiful works of art to comb my thinning locks. To my surprise, my father-in-law piped up that these combs were for men! I was shocked.

How on earth did he know that?

Simple, he said. Women’s combs were double toothed with finer teeth on one side to help remove nits and tangles. I looked at them carefully and he was right. My beautiful combs were not for me. They were meant for a MAN.

But my curiousity is piqued. Are there really different combs for men and women? I’ll have to wait for the next handicraft fair to buy a carved wooden comb specially for women so that I have a handmade wooden comb to do my hair.

I’m participating with over 1000 bloggers in the 7th A to Z Challenge and will be blogging the whole of April about the ‘ Things around My House’, from A to Z

Do visit the A to Z Challenge posts on Facebook.