C. sapidus

For Valentine's Day I'm picking up Mrs. C at the airport. Assuming she sends me her flight info.

Seared shrimp and zucchini with two roasted chile Poblanos, served on leftover basmati rice. Serrano and Holland chiles, garlic, fish sauce, cumin, and Mexican oregano for flavor, heavy cream and feta cheese for balance. I was very happy with how this turned out.

Fried basmati rice with sauteed okra and chorizo. Onion, Holland chiles, sliced ginger, fish sauce, and cilantro for flavor

More from 'Classic Indian Cooking' by Julie Sahni: Whole potatoes in spicy yogurt gravy (dum aloo): Sauce has brown-fried onions, ginger, ground cumin and coriander seed, turmeric, cayenne, crushed tomato, and yogurt. I forgot to add heavy cream at the end so the meal was inadvertently healthy. Rice cooked in fragrant meat broth (yakhni chawal): I started with Mrs. C's chicken stock, simmered for a couple of hours with onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, and black peppercorns. Basmati rice was rinsed, soaked, and fried before steaming. I made enough for fried rice tomorrow.

I am surprised to see Somali food in Amarillo. Looks good to me! Route 66 really is pretty interesting. On one of our trips out west we jumped on and off Route 66 a few times. Have you been to Rudy's Bar-B-Q? It is a chain based in Texas that we sought out for really good drive-through food when we were traveling out west when Covid was a larger consideration. Drive-through usually worked for the camper van but you might be a bit more constrained with your rig.

Dried. I was skeptical but I trusted the recipe and it worked out well. We do always have frozen grated coconut on hand, so it might be interesting to try the same recipe with that to compare and contrast.

Dinner from Julie Sahni's 'Classic Indian Cooking', one of my first cookbooks. Velvet creamed shrimp (Jheenga malai khasa): Unsweetened grated coconut is toasted in a dry pan until caramel-brown, then blended into a paste with yogurt, garlic, ginger, and chiles. Sauce is fragrant with sauteed cinnamon stick, cloves, and green cardamom pods and brown-fried onion, and thickened with ground cashews (sub for almonds). Unusual and very good. Buttered smothered Napa cabbage: I fiddled this a bit, but began by sauteeing cumin seed, garlic, and ginger in ghee. Add sliced Napa cabbage, turmeric, and tomato sauce, then cooked down until nearly dry. Tasted salty so I added some yogurt. Pre-made mashed potatoes needed using up.

Every once in a while I crave the deep, rich flavors of a Mexican chile paste. This one had toasted ancho and guajillo chiles, roasted garlic, chicken stock, black pepper, cumin, cloves, and Mexican oregano, rounded out with a little molasses. Chorizo, shrimp, mushrooms, and zucchini for sustenance.

Other than the cold water, the waves look just right for bodysurfing. Just sayin' 😉 Food looks fantastic, too! Eating seafood by the sea is one of my favorite things.

Sookha keema matar (dry-cooked spicy ground beef with peas): This is a long-time favorite, redolent of brown-fried onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, and garam masala, sharpened with lemon juice. Roasted baby zucchini rounds: Seared with cumin seed, black pepper, garlic, ground coriander seed, ground cumin, and serrano chiles, and then topped with seared tomato wedges, cilantro, and garam masala. Mrs. C said that zucchini and cooked tomatoes are two of her least-favorite things, but she enjoyed this because nothing was cooked to mush.

Aromatic slow burn for lunch: Shrimp, mushrooms, and roasted Poblano chiles with a blended sauce of Holland chiles, shallot, ginger, and garlic. Finished with gosht masala, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar to balance, and a dollop of heavy cream.

And Maryland goes all the way up to 3,360 feet! But hey, those punk kid mountains out west haven't been around since before trees existed . . .

Good luck with your repair, Smithy. I hope you can get on the road soon!

Bean sprouts, Mexican chorizo, and eggs with shallots, garlic, and red chiles. Fish sauce, cilantro, cumin, black pepper, and garam masala for flavor.

Chorizo and roasted chile Poblano with feta, spinach, and lots of cilantro. Sauteed with white onion, garlic, and chile Serrano. Spices included black pepper, cumin, garam masala, Mexican oregano, and fish sauce. Kinda winged it but loved the flavor.