So it's my birthday, so I ought to blog and say hello and whatnot. The Indian food I cooked for friends yesterday was awesome. I made a double batch of cardamom ice cream from scratch. I only had 2 not 3 cups of heavy cream, so I used a big scoop of plain yogurt as well, and then it smelled like yogurt, so I through in the cinnamon flakes used to make the cinnamon water for the recipe, and it came out really well. Very cinnamon-cardamom. Though it was smoothie consistency not ice cream consistency by party time. This morning it was ice cream consistency however. [grins and shrugs] At the time, however, it was great, because we could dip the bread (naan) into it, since they both had yogurt and so complimented each other.

The Naan came out well too. simple recipe: four cups flour, two cups yogurt, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder. Sift the dry ingredients together, stir in the yogurt till stiff then knead longer (it was sooo sticky). Then roll it into a ball, put it in an oiled bowl with a damp cloth over it for an hour. Then, cut into 10 pieces, roll them out into tortillas, cook them in a non-stick (non-oiled) skilled a couple minutes to cook the bottom, then broil in the oven for a minute or two to make them swell up like balloons, and you're done. I already experimented by using 2 1/2 cups of white flour and 1 1/2 cups of spelt flour (which some lady in the store recommended for its flavor). Next time I'm going to try vanilla yogurt and see how it comes out. [laughs]

Lastly, the rice pilaf was excellent. Mine was a Currant and Almond Pilaf, but to make any rice pilaf, simply use a little butter and oil to sautée some ingredients (onion, garlic, ginger), then add the rice and seasonings (coriander, salt), sautée a couple more minutes, then add the rice and any other ingredients (currant raisins) you want to add to the "stewing" phase where the rice soaks up all the water while it simmers, then top with garnish (toasted almonds and sesame seeds).

Before dinner, we had fruit (sliced apple, orange, avacado), cookies from the store, and cheese cubes (Robusto with a strong cheddar-esque flavor that complimented the avacado, Morbier with a light flavor and a layer of vegetable ash between two layers of cheese, and Drunken Goat Cheese with a sharp flavor on the back of the tongue that was good unless you ate apple slices first). We all had tea with dinner, and afterward some went home for homework and Lara, Patricia, Chris and I went for a walk in the nearby park. mmm.

I'm in the process of cleaning my room right now, because I had covered my desk with papers and books and such to do laundry a couple days ago, and now I need to actually go through everything and put it where it needs to go. I'm listening to Blue October, and I want to read a book. Lorna Doone just had a fun revelation while I was standing in line at the post office [laughs]. I know, I'm a nerd. My bike is working out wonderfully as transportation. My jobs are going well, though the muscles on either side of my spine are very tired by the end of the day. I just joined a choir that will be performing Handel's Messiah on Dec. 3, with professionals hired for the solos. It should be fun. I'm done blogging, so I'll catch you laters. [smiles]