Mrs X's nephew, lets call him Mr P, is coming for lunch, and is bringing with him the Awesome Magical Triangles. These crispy samoosas, with their perfect spicy flavour combination and faultless texture are made in a legendary little spaza- type spice shop in town, (called Village Foods) and are the bane and the blessing of my life.
The blessing because it is heaven to eat them, (and Mr P kindly bought enough for all to indulge in) and the bane because Mrs X inevitably says: "Can you make these?" The answer is an irrevocable "no" and the insult to my ego is intensified by the fact that she wholeheartedly believes I could achieve this kind of perfection. It's not for lack of trying that I cannot. I have spent countless hours trying to make samoosa pastry, but there is clearly not even a touch of the required Inner- Indian in my bloodstream. It's a ridiculous task that involves the thankless chore of separating paper thin sheets that have just been baked onto eachother. Don't try it if you value your sanity.
It has recently dawned on me why I can't achieve those perfect magic triangles.Its very obvious. The truth is (and I kid you not) that there is a legitimate kind of magic going on in Village Stores. The proprietor Abie is a mind- reader, in my opinion. But I'll tell you more about his magic tricks later. I feel I have to go and test my theory one more time before I go. But just imagine his business card: Abie X- Samoosa Magician, Psychic Spy.
Enough whinging about food that I can't even give you the recipe for. I spent Day two just shuffling around the kitchen, flicking through Foodie magazines and vouching to cook all the snazzy- looking dishes I never get around to. I have this awesome stash of old Gourmet magazines. Sweet thing is, I don't even need it, because all their recipes are online at www.epicurious.com. I don't even have to type out the recipe for the yummiest little snacks ever for you, wahaha. http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mustard-Cheddar-Crackers-233553
So I made those two days ago and have since had to bake off two more batches from my handy roll of frozen dough. That's moreish for you. The Gouremt issue of December 2004 also turned out to be a gem- it has a grossly amazing section on biscuits. I tried these bad boys: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cardamom-Butter-Squares-231217, just minus the espresso icing, and they were super- yum:
Day 2 was wrapped up with a luxurious diet platter (yet another weight loss tip for all those tipping the scale this season) which consists of 2 hard boiled eggs and a grilled tomato. Douse the tomato with balsamic vinegar and sprinkle some basil chiffonade for and be weightless in a wink. (Jokes, man. What works for Mrs X will probably not work for you.)
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