Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Sunday Supper: Samosas We Have Known

Food is evocative. It just is. There's no such thing as an innocent samosa. Or oyster. Or enchilada. Memories return like smoke, like it or not. The last time I saw Philip alive, he was skinny and exhausted, unable to eat, but still in the kitchen. He piled my plate with samosas, mango chutney and a smear of ghee because he claimed, "You are too damn thin, too thin, my dear. Eat. Eat." Thin because I was hoping to disappear. Thin because being dumped and an ex-wife weren't nearly as glamorous as I'd hoped. Even new accessories, the handbag and laptop, didn't fill the holes of desperate, gaping loss. Philip fed me out of a lifelong belief in the restorative power of food, yet after he died, every samosa tasted like hope misplaced, like the salty brine of ships lost at sea.

So when The Chef decided to come over and crack the nut of the thorny samosa, I said, "Have at it, but you're on your own." Spices were ground with mortar and pestle, the oil heated just so, the dough rolled and shaped, potatoes peeled, wine consumed. By the time Aussie Girl showed up with pups to carpet the floor, he was ready for his close-up. I nibbled, chewed slowly, then stuffed the whole thing in my mouth...amazing. Delicious. The best samosa I've ever had. And suddenly I was full, for the first time in a long time.


Things are looking up.

6 comments:

jmax said...

Segunda,
Suddenly your little blog is a full blown food blog. The best kind really. Ever think about posting daily? Suddenly I'm addicted!

Second Edition said...

Oddly, it has evolved into that without my intention. I guess we now know what I spend most of my time doing: eating, thinking about food, eating, cooking, shopping for wine to go with food. I hesitate to fully commit to a food blog, because there are so many out there that do it so much better. Plus, as we know, I don't really measure. Or follow recipes. Or cook sober.

Lisa The Pretty said...

"pups carpeted the floor" took my breath away. So perfect.

Kylita said...

Yours is a blog that feeds us fortunate readers in many ways, for me it is my Soul, and I am sad to admit that I have never had a Samosa! Where do I get one? (Don't make me cook--I made a tuna sandwich for dinner dumping out applesauce from a jar into at least a pretty purple bowl.)
You are full-up with beauty and glory and healing evolution, Amen, SisSTAR Sea Otter!
(What a sweet dog! There were 5! whitetail deer in our yard when I got home tonight.)

nick tauro jr. said...

That's one suggestive looking samosa.
I'd hit that.

Anonymous said...

i think you do well with food - writting, photoing, and making life analogies with food. so what if there are alot of other food blogs.... there are also alot of other yoga classes out there and you are still teaching, and improving blah blah blah.....

You might not measure or follow recipes but, you can at least give us, your readers, a list of ingredients and a gist of how the creation was created.

Yeah, to the food blog.