Google is keeping a big secret from me. Or maybe “Paneer College Station” didn’t work because it’s actually “Paneer Bryan” (the neighboring city).

In a mini building on a mini corner exists the elusive Mini Mini Mini Mart (and yes, that’s its actual name)… an oasis of Indian/Pakistani groceries.

As a result of my shopping spree, TP and I made an Indian feast. We rarely cook together, so it was nice to share the kitchen. Paneer tikka masala, vegetable korma, red lentil cauliflower curry and rice — enough food to last several days.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Ingredients

For Paneer “Marinade”
½ cake of paneer (about 7 to 8 ounces)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon minced ginger
½ teaspoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon yogurt (I used Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon oil for frying

For Sauce
14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 serrano chili pepper (omit if you want a milder sauce)
1 tablespoons oil
1/2  teaspoon cumin seeds
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½  teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch (stir it into about a quarter cup of water to resemble a paste)
¼ teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro for garnish

For the paneer: Cut the paneer into one-inch cubes. Mix the ginger, salt, chili powder, coriander, and yogurt in a bowl and gently fold in the paneer. Let the mixture sit for about an hour in the refrigerator.

After an hour, heat the tablespoon of canola oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok. Add the marinated paneer to the heated oil and gently flip the pieces until they become lightly browned on each side. The frying process takes 5 to 10 minutes. Once fried, transfer the paneer to a separate dish.

For the sauce: Blend the tomatoes and the chili pepper in a blender or food processor. You want everything to be a smooth consistency. Don’t worry if it looks a little frothy or liquidy. The consistency will change later.

Heat the tablespoon of oil in the same frying pan you used for the paneer. Test the oil heat by adding a single cumin seed to the pan. If the seed cracks, the oil is hot enough. Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves to the oil and stir for a few seconds.

Then add the tomato puree, coriander, turmeric, chili powder, garam masala and sugar. Cook for 7 or so minutes on medium heat. Remove the bay leaves. Transfer the mixture back to the blender in batches and puree again – BE CAREFUL as the mixture is very hot. You can also use an immersion blender for this step. Add the mixture back to the skillet. Stir in the corn starch “paste” to thicken up the sauce. After about four minutes, the sauce should be thicker.

Add the paneer to the sauce and cook a few minutes longer until the paneer is warmed through and the flavors have mingled.

Serve over rice or with naan. Garnish with cilantro.

Vegetable Korma

Ingredients
1 tablespoon canola oil or coconut oil (coconut oil is preferred if you have it)
1 small onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and cubed
1 jalapeno or serrano chili, sliced
3 tablespoons ground unsalted cashews (I pulsed mine in a food processor)
1 4-ounce can tomato sauce and 1 can of water
2 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons curry powder (modify based on desired spiciness)
1 cup frozen green peas
½ cup frozen green beans
½ green bell pepper, diced
½ red bell pepper, diced
¾ cup milk (you can use heavy cream for richer dish – or, if you’re feeling adventurous, try some coconut milk)
2 tablespoons cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion and cook until tender. Mix in the ginger and garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add the potatoes, carrots and tomato sauce. Fill the can with water and add that water to the dish at this stage. Add the curry powder and salt.

After 10 minutes or so, add the remaining veggies. You want the potatoes and carrots to be nearly cooked before adding the bell peppers and softer vegetables, which will cook more quickly. When the vegetables are cooked, stir in the milk and the cashews. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes or so.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry (Courtesy of Veganomicon)

An aside: this dish would make a wonderful dal (an Indian lentil soup). If you add more water and cut the cauliflower in smaller pieces, you can serve it as a soup.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 serrano or jalapeno chili pepper, minced
2 large shallots
1 (1/2 inch) piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
1 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 ½ cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth or water
1 ½-2 pounds cauliflower (about one medium-size head), trimmed and sliced into small florets
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 ½ teasoons salt

Have all ingredients chopped and ready to go. In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Saute the onion and shallots until tender and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the grated ginger and chili, and saute for 1 minute. Add the spices and briskly stir-friy for 30 seconds, then add the parsnip and stir-fry for another minute.

Slowly pour in the vegetable broth or water, the stir in the lentils. Cover the pot, raise the heat to high, boil for 1 minute. Give the mixture a stir, then cover the pot and lower the heat to medium-low. Allow the lentil to simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. They should turn light yellow and look mushy. Monitor them to make sure they don’t burn and stick to the bottom of the pot.

Add the cauliflower florets, stirring to oat with the lentils. Partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender but not completely falling apart. Remove from the hea and stir in the chopped cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

Allow the curry to sit, covered, for about 15 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to meld and the mixture to cool slightly.

That means you, reader, get to play the part of an ex. And I get to play the role of the groveling, sniveling mess. (I’m not really sniveling, though. A sniveler I am not.)

So can we just pretend my absence never happened? Can we start back up again like not a moment was lost? After all, that’s what old friends do. Time and distance may separate them, but they somehow always can pick up right where they left off.

Here’s what I would have blogged about if I had posted the last two months.

My cats…Duh. Simba is kind of fat right now, but it’s adorable. Since it’s cooled off a bit outside, both Fish Taco and Simba sleep with me at night. Simba on one side. Fish Taco on the other. I call it a cat sandwich (only not in a creepy I-eat-cats sort of way). Sometimes it gets really toasty in between those two lovebugs, but I don’t mind a bit.

My wedding plans (or lack thereof)… I hired a planner. I can’t do this all myself. It takes me ten minutes of deliberation to select a can of soup at the grocery store. Don’t get me started on selecting a wedding dress, flowers, or a color palatte. We do sort of know that we want Indian food at the reception, but I’m worried that could be disastrous. Not everyone enjoys Indian food as much as TP and me. Either way, we were thinking of testing out a few Indian recipes tomorrow to send to a potential caterer, and I googled “paneer College Station.” Making cheese is so time consuming, so I was hoping I could find a place to buy it locally. The first hit was Blogwell. It was a touching moment, and also a little disheartening. (Dear aspiring business owners, PLEASE open an Indian grocery store in this town!)

Food… I have been cooking occasionally, but not as much as usual. Around Thanksgving, I made a few Ina Garten recipes that were delicious. And filled with butter. As every delicious thing should be. I’ll make a point to post a recipe soon.

How TP spent an entire Saturday making his Halloween costume in October. He went as Beeker and it was pretty much the best costume ever. He bought five different types of fabric at Joann Fabrics. During the costume construction process, it looked like a muppet exploded in our living room. I won’t let him throw the Beeker head away. There’s a part of me that wants to put it on to answer the door the next time someone randomly comes a-knockin’ to sell me something on a Saturday. Meep meep, solicitors.

My wishlist for things to learn continues to get longer (despite a decrease in the time I have to learn new things). I have decided to register for a sewing machine (if I ever set up a gift registry) so I can make curtains and pillowcases and jerseys for the cats. I also have asked Santa for a portrait lens for my camera for Christmas, so I will have an impetus to post more frequent pictures as I (hopefully) improve my photography skills. And I’m considering learning how to skateboard so I can get from my car to my office more quickly (it’s a long-ish hike). But we all know how that would turn out.

Anyway, that’s pretty much the latest with me.

So…I’ll try to do better this time around. Take me back?

It’s cool here again, and cold is a sensation I’m not used to anymore. It’s a strange feeling to be back at fall after the interminable summer. Stranger yet is that a year from now (almost to the day) I’ll be getting married. Exciting and surreal and strange.

Surreal is a feeling I’m experiencing a lot lately, too. I heard a story the other day about these people that had to call 9-1-1 because they got stuck in a corn maze. They panicked and needed police to get them out. And for some dumb reason they had their newborn baby with them, but that’s neither here nor there.

The main point of this story is that life is a lot like a maze. You go with your gut to get around the turns and find your way along a path that you hope will lead you in the right direction. Sometimes amazing things happen when you are ready to pull out your cell phone and call 9-1-1 so the flashlight-wielding cops can lead you to safety and hot cider. Sometimes the right turn just presents itself to you as though it’s lighted with cartoonish flashing red arrows. And that’s when it’s surreal–the unbelievableness of things just working out, the magic of finding what you’re looking for right when you’re about to throw up your hands and surrender.

We found a wedding venue. And *knock on wood* I haven’t changed my mind yet.

It’s a new season. I don’t know for sure what’s around the next turn, but I’m excited to find out.

Sometimes I think if I stand still long enough things will just happen. I’ll get a push in the right direction. I’ll become a leaf in the wind, and where I land isn’t up to me. But that’s not how life works. Sure, you’re not in control of everything, but sometimes you are in control, and you damn well better take the reigns because you’re the best person for the job. That can be a tough pill to swallow, a lot of responsibility.

The funny thing about it all is that we could get married at a WalMart and still be thrilled because both of us know it’s not about the place or the date or the dress. The magazines and the blogs may all show nice pictures of rings and flowers and twinkly lights, but all of those things aren’t what make a marriage. I have to keep that in perspective.

So with that said, I’m going to resolve to quit making excuses for not blogging, not picking a place, and not trusting myself like I should. I’ve got the reigns, and I’ve got an amazing man beside me.

It’s easy to question faith sometimes. Lately, it seems like bad news is all around. Wildfires, friends with sick parents, floods, high unemployment numbers, war. While I’ve always believed in some higher power, I’ve never been a church-goer. I’ve been a church-experimenter all my life, trying out various denominations since childhood. But I’ve never found one that truly speaks to me. I’ve always been more like that Emily Dickinson poem “Some keep the sabbath going to church, I keep it staying at home…” I find God in birds and trees and sunsets. I pray whenever it feels right, and most of the time I believe God will hear what is in my heart without me even saying the words.

This past weekend, I went to church out of obligation and courtesy. Patrick’s parents were in town, and so we went. Everything’s bigger in Texas, including churches. I’m not going to say it’s easy for me to attend a giant church. It’s hard to be around a large group of people who all seem so comfortable in a house of worship, who all consider the strangers around them part of their “church family.” I am not wired to think this way. I rarely accept dogma or doctrine, and in situations like these, I recoil, fearing that others around me will see right through me. But I am never turned away. And Sunday’s experience was slightly different than past experiences.

As I sat listening to a song about joy and sorrow, I watched a blind man in the pew nearby. His guide dog waited patiently underneath his seat, her snout the only part of her visible. I had seen this same man in the same pew the last time we visited this church, months ago. As I watched him sing the words of the song he clearly knew by heart, I felt surges of sadness and strength pulse through me at the same time. How could a man who presumably has never seen a baby smile or a field of wildflowers or a full moon believe in God so fervently? While I may be wrong to assume, I could tell just by looking at him sing that this man has been guided by God more than he has been by his dog. Before long, I was trying to hide my tears. There couldn’t have been a more slap-in-the-face way for a higher power to step in to let me know that you don’t need to see to believe and that blessings come in all forms. Faith is something you feel. It’s a magnet that pulls you even when you want to pull away. It’s the light that surrounds you always if you just choose to let it in.

I do not fault anyone (or myself during the moments where I doubt) who choose to not believe. I still do not consider myself religious, and I will continue to celebrate Christmas without much ado about Jesus. I’ll continue to want to meditate with Buddhists and practice vegetarianism with Hindus. After all, faith is a substance that knows no boundaries or categories, and it’s beautiful in whatever color you paint it. It’s wind on the water, creating one small wave after another, and who knows where it will carry you next.

Before you groan and close your browser, this is NOT a post about the debt ceiling. This is a post about food.

And who doesn’t like food?

I haven’t done a cooking post in quite a while, so it’s high time I get back to it.

This weekend, I made my first ever loaf of sourdough bread. TP bought me a dutch oven as an early birthday gift, and I couldn’t wait to break it in.

It tastes as yummy as it looks, and it is great sandwich bread – it toasts beautifully and doesn’t fall apart as you take monster bites out of it. I’m already a messy enough eater as it is; I don’t need my bread to add to my food shrapnel.

Over the weekend I also made seitan (pronounced say-tan) based on a recipe I found on one of my new favorite blogs, (never home) maker. Seitan is a meat substitute made primarily out of vital wheat gluten. I added some red pepper flakes to my seitan and some ground sage in addition to the other suggested herbs.

Since I can’t help thinking of the word “satan” whenever I hear the word “seitan”, the name of the sandwich speaks for itself. It also has a ton of sharp cheese in it, and the devil has, you know, sharp, pointy horns… or something.

WE’RE ENGAGED!

TP will now be my taste tester for life, my eternal guinea pig of strange curries and breads and baked goods. He will put up with my I-have-a-bag-of-white-beans-I-NEED-to-use-experiments (this will be in the vows), and he won’t complain when I suddenly insist on keeping a large bowl on the counter for days on end filled with flour, water and yeast (my attempt at a sour dough starter). He will not, however, permit me to become an extreme couponer, a hoarder of stray animals or tin cans or newspaper, or any other type of person who could one day wind up either on The (I’m Not) Learning Channel or in the loony bin.

Really I can’t think of anyone better for me. He went from being all anti-cat to permitting moments like these to happen regularly — for all the world to see.

So yay! Apparently it wasn’t official until it went to Facebook, but now that it’s in the blogosphere, it’s capital O Official, and we can commence in planning a ceremony that includes songs from the Mannequin soundtrack. You wish I was joking, don’t you?

And since he asked me to marry him, he won’t be mad if I post more pictures of him hanging out with FT on the couch. He’s well aware of all my shenanigans.

So, please don’t be mad if I’m not posting as often. I’ve got a wedding to plan. Suggestions are highly encouraged. Just for fun, feel free to post in the comments one or several songs you think we MUST include in the reception.

Love,

Blogwell + TP + Gatos 4 Life (Simba not pictured)

On my recent trip home, my mom and I reenacted a photo taken of us shortly after she gave birth to me. We were sitting on the front steps of our house. It’s the same house my parents live in today. I love everything about these pictures. There’s a different car in the driveway now (my mom’s Big Fat Cow), a different tint in each photo, and different hair cuts (or in my case, hair where there once was none). A wonderland of flowers now frame the house where once there were just fledgling blooms. My mom was an inexperienced mother then, nervous no doubt. Now, she is an expert, an advisor, a co-pilot, a friend — she’s even a mother to nature (as evidenced below).

On my last day home, this fawn showed up in our backyard one morning. I’m sure the squirrels and birds and skunks and raccoons that my parents have been feeding for many years spread the word throughout the neighborhood that generous people live in the yellow house.

She lay in those leaves all day long, standing up occasionally on jello legs to munch on ferns. The mama deer came back for her baby later that afternoon. My mom pulled into the driveway after dropping me off at the airport to find them both standing there and watched as they trotted off together. I guess that’s what all good mothers have in common. They take wobbly legs and teach them how to sprint.

Before all the computer drama, I went home for a long overdue summer visit. Typically, my visits to Cleveland are limited to once a year during the Christmas season. Snow, ice, seasonal affective disorder, the kind of cold that penetrates your bones… Enticing, isn’t it?

But Cleveland in the summer is a whole different city. First, it’s a respite from Texas in the summer. Texas sucks all the joy from my favorite season with one hot breath. Second, my amazing family lives in C-town, and my parents’ backyard is like the forest in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs – animals flock here from far and wide.

I won’t be able to successfully document my trip in one post, so I’m going to do multiple posts (at least two) with photos documenting the reasons Cleveland is actually a really cool place, full of art and culture and nature. The weather may not be ideal all year round, but it’s good to know a part of my heart is still here, rediscovered on a run along my favorite jogging trail. Mistake on the lake? Maybe in some ways. But no city is perfect. And nobody is gonna talk trash ‘bout my city.

Parade the Circle

Growing up, my mom and I had an annual tradition of attending a festival called Parade the Circle. Various schools, organizations and camps around the city spend weeks putting together elaborate costumes, making papier mache vehicles and learning how to walk on stilts to create a spectacle for the senses. Everyone gathers near the Cleveland Museum of Art to sing, cheer, dance and even cartwheel down the road. Each year it gets better, and the older I get, the more impressed I am with the level of ingenuity and creativity. See for yourself, and I’ll see you back here later this week with more about my trip as well as some exciting news.

Anyway, here is what I learned today.

Lesson 1: I learned that you shouldn’t pack a gym bag when you’re running late for work. Things that look like gym clothes are tricky and try to deceive you. You wind up grabbing gloves when you meant to grab socks. You wind up debating on whether you should skip the gym and drive all the way home or whether you should borrow socks from a stranger. You learn that you’re willing to forsake foot hygiene after a nice lady who swears she doesn’t have athlete’s foot offers you her slightly used socks. (Note to self: wash and return socks to nice lady without athlete’s foot.)

Lesson 2: If a cop pulls you over, do your best to look as un-nervous as possible. Today, on his way to take his broken computer to aforementioned computer-fixer-man’s house, Patrick got pulled over for doing a 41 in a 35. Because cops (and the idea of additional unneeded expenses in the form of speeding tickets) make Patrick uncomfortable, he didn’t smile and act like a chipper schoolgirl. So, the cop said Patrick looked nervous and told him he would need to search the car. Patrick obliged; the cop found nothing and thankfully, he sent Patrick on his way sans ticket. So if you get pulled over, smile and act like you just won the lottery. It’s what they want.

Lesson 3: Texas is too darn hot.

Lesson 4: Sometimes, you can’t beat a simple dinner. I made pasta tonight with homegrown tomatoes and pesto made with basil from the garden. Patrick said it was exactly what he wanted for dinner. At the end of the day, the best thing you can learn is that you just made someone’s day a little better and that you’re still loved even after you broke that person’s computer.