08/12/2026
Not for sale at The Gilded Moon ๐
Earlier today I was wondering what I'd have for dinner and then I found this is my pantry. I'd totally forgotten about it and thought, "Oh yum! It'll be reminiscent of Sweet Rice!"
I started a pot of Royal Basmati Rice (Grown in the shadow of the Himalayas, says the bag. I buy it in the convenient 20 pound sack which is a plastic bag of rice inside of a cute, burlap sack with handles and a zipper.). My rice for a healthy dose of ghee and summer ayurvedic spice mix.
Meanwhile, I heat up evoo in the cast iron skillet Mawmaw probably used in the rooming house, slice some red onion thin, go through the veg and chop up a collection of baby carrots, sugar snaps, and various peppers.
The onion gets sautรฉed with garlic, it then toss in the other veg and a block of extra firm tofu I've squeezed and chopped. Everything is smelling great! I open the foil pack of curry sauce, dunno that in with the required 1/2 cup of water. In about five minutes I prepare my dinner adding a small side of pickled onion.
I take a bite.
Huh.
I take a bite with less veg and more sauce.
Huh.
Visions of the smiling owner and family of Sweet Rice evaporate.
I am willing a bus around in my mouth, trying to figure out where the cardamom, coriander, white pepper, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, peppers, and other delightful seasonings the packaging promised are hiding. One of the roomies wandered in about then. One look at my puzzled face had him asking questions.
Thankfully, I keep an array of seasonings on hand. A sprinkle of cardamom, a generous dose of red pepper flakes, and a dash of Sumac brought the curry up to an acceptable level but... HOW did they f**k that up? All those bright, tangy, tart, spicy, delicious seasonings listed in the ingredients and it was BLAND. So disappointing. But, I made it better, which is really good because I'm planning on eating it for at least three more meals.
But, hey, it is really pretty!