Okay...so my work is making me cranky. And today, after the daily grind, while waiting in the Redi-Med to have my stitches taken out, I found myself sharing waiting-room space with a loudly virulent small child and a sallow-faced man who, alarmingly, was handed a barf pail by the receptionist. I couldn't find the birthday present I wanted for my aunt. I'm worried about sick friends and home repairs and getting a sub for my next AM assignment at church so Fellow Traveler and I can go off on our couple's retreat. And my haircut is growing out and looks like heck. It wasn't the best of days.
But then I come home to a meal fit for a queen. Or, more accurately, a maharana.
We've been feeling a hankering for Indian food around here, so FT, exploring the intriguing little jars we've collected in our pantry over months of foodie-foraging, pulled out some Thai red curry paste and some korma sauce. "What can I do with these?" she thought.
While braising the pork steak in the korma sauce, she made lentils with garlic, about a half-teaspoon of red curry paste and maybe a teaspoon or two of brown sugar, as directed on the jar, to cut the heat.
Oh, my. Oh, my. This southern-Asian fusion of flavors was so good. The creaminess of the korma sauce played nicely off the heat of the red curry paste; the flavors did not compete.
Our accompaniment to this feast was a wonderful bottle of wine that I found, in all places, down at the local butcher's shop, dusty, languishing on the shelf. It's a 2005 Toasted Head Viognier -- frankly I'd never heard of this before and had to Google it to find out what it was. Viognier grapes, it turns out, are a very ancient variety, thought to have come to Gaul during Roman times. Unfortunately the grape is very susceptible to a disease that nearly wiped the entire variety off the wine map; but a few vines persisted in scattered vineyards, and now the varietal wine has made a comeback. I love underdogs, so of course I had to go back and buy the bottle.
It's a lot like a Riesling -- very light; slightly sweet but not too sweet. We tasted hints of peach and pear and flowers; like ambrosia. And it went perfectly with our spicy meal.
As FT noted tonight: "We have a good life."
For all your many blessings, Lord, may we truly be grateful.
3 comments:
i'm going to have to try that wine. and i think i'll have a glass of wine myself tonight.
ah the power of a good meal.
That meal sounds absolutely divine!!
Amen.
Tell FT I bow before her. She is obviously the queen of "what can I do with this".
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