Naan

My first taste of Indian was several year ago at an Indian lunch buffet. And I mostly remember my fascination with the little triangular samosas and how at some point, I had an entire plate full of them and a few naan. My second round of Indian food came a few years later, and then a third, and fourth...and so many that I can't keep track. And I'm sure you know what happened next. No less than 3 Indian cookbooks have been added to the bookshelf, and little jars of cardamom and cumin seeds have been added to the spice drawer.

Yet despite all this guidance, I have consistently only produced mediorce Indian food. It's been a little crushing to my culinary ego. But that only means that I've been making the same things again, and again...and again. Luckily, my taste tester is polite enough to not complain about the Groundhog Day of Indian food around here. But finally, after 5 or so tries at naan, I think I got this one right!

Interesting enough, this is the only recipe I tried that was not a yeasted dough! Even the naan at the stores have yeast. (Yes, I checked!) This dough is hydrated with a generous dose Greek yogurt, which I think is what makes it so soft. The leavening is from baking soda and baking powder. The charred spots are from finishing right on the grates on the stove!

Finally! Success! So now the score is - Clarice: 1, Indian food: 10

I sense a comeback

SFMM

I'm not sure when it happened, but the weather has been perfectly awesome here. The days are long and warm and the sun is out when I leave for work and when I get home. This part of the year always makes me feel like the days really are longer, and I have more time. Which means more post-work walks to the store, rather than driving, which helps my tan and exercise routine!

The first decidely warm weekend we had was last weekend, and that also happened to be the weekend we all decided to haul up to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia. I've actually never been there before...which isn't uncommon for someone who has a slight (slightly more than slight) fear of  fast-moving roller coasters. It's not that I can't go on them...I'm just the most annoying person to either wait in line with and to sit next to on the ride because I can't/won't shut up about how scared I am, and how high it is, and did you see that kid that just got off that looks like a wreck??? But finishing your MBA makes you do crazy things, and the next thing I knew, I was in line for Viper.

And then Jet Stream, Riddler, Superman and Tatsu.

I have to admit it was pretty amazing and fun! Especially Tatsu...even after a 2.5 hour wait! I was pretty shaken up after Viper, but I realized that closing my eyes immediately helped a lot. And the screaming. The first thing that really gets you when you enter the park is the how loud the roller coasters are as they zoom by you...and how tall they are...and loopy!! But I guess that's what makes them fun. It was just too bad that all the credit card machines broke, Superman broke and they ran out of turkey legs! But thank goodness there was funnel cake!

I honestly didn't think I was capable of such bravery!