i made chana masala and palak paneer last night. For a first effort at the palak, it was not bad. I skipped the roasting and grinding of whole spices - I just went withpre-ground. My chana masala is always underwhelming. The chickpeas didn't soften enough - i should have pressure cooked them first - and I was definitely missing the punch of a good masala powder. As I washed up, I thought of how all these multistep dishes were created in kitchens where there was definitely another hand or two to chop and wash everything. Missed my mom.

Afterwards, I escaped out of the overheated* kitchen into the post-rain dusk to take my tupperware of compost to the community garden. I checked on the plants - 2 broccoli, 2 kale and 2 heads of lettuce. There was a rugby practice happening on the soccer field just outside the gate. On my way home, I admired the lit-up steeple of the school at the top of the hill, and thought for the billionth time that this part of the city has the most spectacular evening skies. I want so hard to love it here but i am eternally a visitor. It always feels like a temporary stop on the way to some forever home in the distant future.

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*in all senses. R and I do not do well when we are both home in this apartment for too many days in a row. I have to remember to just send myself outside for a walk.

8:40 a.m. - 2024-04-05