A Weekend Agenda Ends in Flashbacks to Childhood

I knew that Sunday would be a busy day.  Busy and domestic at the same time.

I was reminded of it when I walked into the front door way too early in the morning.

Having had a birthday last week, we got to go out to lunch finally.   Instead of doing the regular repeated thing where we'd do a Nice Restaurant For Dinner and end up having a Nice Posh Burger, it was time to step outside of the box.  The phrase Posh Burger fit, and frankly it got tired.  Way too many restaurants with the same food over and over, I insisted on Indian food. 

As we walked into the dimly lit building I smiled at the romantic imagery carved into the door in white.  A Turbaned man, elephant, and some intricate graphics greeted us.  The scent of savory curries wafted on the breeze. 

It is incredibly easy to fill yourself stupid on Indian food.   There is much more vegetable fiber and dairy protein than the usual American diet, and it will give you a good change of pace.  I've made my own attempts at a curried dish, with varying results.  I was still full the next morning when I opened the front door at breakfast.  I do have a rule though, never dine out on something that you can do better at home.

My own burgers aren't salt laden.  "Meat, Heat, and Eat" is my own way to cook them.  I'll stick with the big blue grill in the back yard for a while, but I can't make a good lamb and spinach curry to save my soul.

Enjoying the strongly perfumed food, we finally headed home.   The afternoon would be like one out of childhood.   The night before we went to the supermarket and got 14 Roma tomatoes, sliced 12 of them, and roasted them in the oven.  The other two would do duty on my home made hoagies.  Two quarts of stewed tomatoes joined the Roma tomatoes in the blender with some garlic and fresh basil.  The Recipe itself is not terribly difficult, it simply takes all day to make it well.   What you end up with is a large pot on the stove simmering all day and into the night.  Any Italian mother worth her wooden spoon will tell you, cook it low and slow or you'll scorch your sauce!

Here I was well past my childhood experiencing a flashback.   We could have opened the windows to share with the neighbors those scents, but I am glad we hadn't.  For a couple days the house will smell of richly savory tomato sauce.  That large pot stayed on the stove all day and was only emptied when the water was cooked out to render the proper stick to your pasta thickness. 

Anything you make at home can be better than what you buy at the market.  It merely takes time and care.  The salt levels in most prepared sauces is punishing, you can get a day's worth of salt in one small serving, and most people don't have one serving at a sitting.  I never was a fan of over salted food at a restaurant anyway. 

This was more of a journey than the destination.  I saw a smallish bowl of red sauce that greeted me when I opened the refrigerator door.  A bit surprised that it cooked down that far, I did promise myself to try it at dinner.  Until then, I'll have to enjoy the hint of it that lingers on the air.