Ha! I’ll bet you thought we were announcing the end of our blog – now that we’ve succeeded at blogging for two years. No way, José!
Andy has been heavily into Thomas the Tank Engine research for today’s Andy’s Corner, so it’s obvious as to why I’ve been watching the video of “End of the Line” by the Traveling Wilburys – rather compulsively, I admit (an aside: as I’ve mentioned before – how did we ever live without Sonos and Spotify and YouTube? I can spend hours making playlists, listening to 50 different versions of the same song and watching old music videos – all the time marveling at what amazing things technology has done to make our lives more fun, even while acknowledging the dark side to some of those same technologies.).
Upon hearing my current song obsession, our son got a little concerned that I was….what should I say…maybe dwelling on THE end too much? In fact, I’m thinking about beginnings. Isn’t the end of a train track also the beginning of the track? And I was also thinking about how much I’d love to be going to the end of the line in that train car with George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynne, and Tom Petty as my mates! That YouTube video is a must-watch; I’ve probably already watched it 50 times :). Now I just need to get a guitar and begin my guitar lessons.
I never took a course in philosophy and am sure I couldn’t have passed it if I had. My eyes glaze over and a fake snore comes out whenever Andy the Sociologist mentions anything remotely philosophical. But I do like to think of an ending as just the beginning of something else. That’s the reason we were going to name our gardening business ReBloom.com – that is, until someone offered to buy that domain name from us and we happily switched to MiniBlooms.com! And that’s why I avoid planting annuals but love perennials.
Our grandson Silas is graduating from San Francisco’s Mission High School in a few weeks and will be starting Berkeley (Cal to those of you who grew up in the Bay area) in August. An ending. A beginning.
“You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else.”
― The World According to Garp.
Here’s Silas’s favorite dish that I’ve fixed for him over the years. Maybe he’ll begin fixing it for himself and his UCB mates next year.
Indian Butter Chicken
- 2 T peanut oil, divided
- 1/4 large onion, diced
- 4 T butter
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tsp finely grated ginger
- 1/4- 1/2 tsp chile powder (or to taste); I use Kashmiri; cayenne will work
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional – but adds a nice color)
- 1/4 c yogurt
- 1 c half & half
- 14.5 oz can – or about 1 1/2 c – crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 lb boneless, skinless, chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 pinch of cayenne
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté onion until soft and translucent. Stir in butter, lemon juice, garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon garam masala, cumin, turmeric, and chili powder. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in half-and-half and yogurt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with salt pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat, and season with 1 teaspoon garam masala and cayenne. Stir in a few spoonfuls of sauce, and simmer until liquid has reduced, and chicken is no longer pink. Stir cooked chicken into sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes longer.
Serve over rice.
Listening to near-endless repeats of music? A WNYC jockey played 3 solid hours of Hawaiian War Chant one Saturday in the 80s. I taped it. I’ve recovered, mostly.
Andy here: if you managed to sit through 3 hours of Hawaiian War Chant then you are getting close to what it is like in our household.
Not to be a realist, but I don’t see Silas cooking much of anything for a while. He’s working on smoothies right now.
At least making smoothies is a foot in the culinary door. Butter Chicken can’t be far behind.
Well, there are just a few of us who know how the name “Silas” came to be.
Andy here. Are you saying this is a family name and not from “Silas Marner” by George Eliot, the book I was forced to read in High School English? (sorry for the late reply)
1886-1972 William Silas Hill. Ann’s GP.
Let’s get back to the food…! Indian butter chicken goes to the top of my list! Yummy. I can fully appreciate why it is Silas’s favorite dish. Mine too!
Andy here. The boys never tire of it and neither do I.