Yes, I'll freely admit it, I'm spoilt. Jay is quite a cook and his background with typical tropical spices is unsurpassed. We have a whole regular kitchen cupboard dedicated to all sorts of things in bottles and jars. I recognize the familiar tastes but as I've admitted before, I don't know my coriander from my cumin. He's been feeding me for 32 years, with my nary lifting a finger in the kitchen.
As he was just getting out of the operating room for open heart surgery last week at this time, there are all sorts of restrictions on what he's supposed to be doing around the house. Mostly because they cut his collarbone to get inside his chest, Jay is restricted in reaching to the top shelves and lifting more than five pounds. Mostly that's meant that today he was the supervisor and I was the cook.
Oh my God, what a lot of work! Just cutting up five potatoes made my hands hurt. I'm not adept at all with knives. At least spices, once I get used to the names, will be easier. In this type of cooking knowing 'just how much' is more of an art than a test in measuring. We made a chicken curry as well as a potato one. I love the chick peas, but I'd not have suspected they needed to be soaked overnight. These will form just a small part of our lunches for much of the rest of the week.
Oops, I've got to get moving. I hear the whip cracking!