Praise then darkness, and creation unfinished

I made chick pea and cauliflower curry for dinner tonight, because we had half a cauliflower, and canned chick peas are an easy source of protein.

I thought I remembered the recipe/process for this curry better than I did.

Adrian and Cattitude were both happier with the results than I was, probably because they weren't thinking about what they should have done and didn't.

Things I forgot or mis-remembered: I forgot the flour (which should have been added to the mix of dried spices, after sauteeing the onions).

I used twice as much broth as the base recipe calls for (I was thinking of a rice pilaf recipe), and I think the correct amount would have been halfway between (1.5 cups).

I put oregano and ground cumin in the spice mix, thinking of black beans and rice, and I don't think they improved it. Maybe garlic powder next time? (The spice mix is smoked paprika and Penzey's Singapore seasoning, in place of curry powder that includes hot pepper, plus ginger.)

Also: canned coconut milk is a bit thinner than whole milk. Adrian realized halfway through the meal that we have unflavored nondairy yogurt (coconut and cashew based), and added a dollop to her bowl; that worked well enough that Cattitude and I followed suit.

I originally forgot the raisins, but Adrian is temporarily avoiding dried fruit after dental work, so it's just as well I didn't add them along with the broth.

Raw cauliflower cooked this way was bland, so I probably won't make this curry again.

Some garlic powder might have worked well here.

Also, I am out of practice cooking more than one thing at a time, so I got Cattitude to make the rice, as well chopping the vegetables.

I made pork fried rice tonight. I think this is the first time I've made fried rice; if not, it was ages ago and I don't remember.

This is the third new thing I've cooked this week, which is quite unusual for me. Two of the three were prompted by leftovers, but we have leftovers more often than we do anything new or interesting with them. (One of the advantages of the microwave is that we can have reheated whatever, either by itself or with a salad or some rice.)

We had leftover roast pork, and I cooked extra rice two nights ago, to make fried rice with. I got cattitude to dice a shallot because I'd forgotten we had scallions. That worked well, and I cut up the green parts of a few scallions and used them to garnish the meal.

I bought sesame oil back in April, because I was having adventurous thoughts involving scallion pancakes. That never happened, so the sesame oil sat in the back of the fridge, unopened, until today.

Cattitude and I both liked it, and I will be making it again. Note for next time: scramble the eggs in a different pan, so I don't have to wipe out the pan after I remove the cooked egg. (That instruction probably makes sense if you have, and are using, a wok, which we don't.)