Before and (L)After, originally uploaded by arahsae.

I like fixing things. I like being able to type my last name without hesitation.

A little bit of research, a quick order to PowerbookMedic.com and due payment of $11.47, and I am now back in lovely normal L-typing heaven! I installed the new L key myself and it works like a dream. A dream with lots of L's.

Why-Mat Contact, originally uploaded by arahsae.

Here's my ill-fated contact sheet. There are faint images in all those white frames; the camera repair guy said I need to get a real light meter, that I was just inadvertently overexposing the film. I'm not sold on that diagnosis, as the shutter did NOT click the same on all the shots, but I'll run some more film through it and see.

I've been doing some chai research and discovered I don't care for any kind with honey or lemon zest (?) as an ingredient. I'm not a big honey person, willing and able to enjoy the sweet flavor in baked goods but the raw form? Uck. I'm on the record as remarking, to my friend Lori (who just turned 30 yesteday), that some sort of bread or cracker item "would be really good with honey, if I were the sort of person who liked honey." This was back in college--I think we were watching TV. I still remember the LOOK Lori gave me before busting out into giggles. She's never let me forget that.

The lemon cucumbers are going crazy.

Spurt, originally uploaded by arahsae.

I've not been blogging. I've been:

: eating (see below)
: cooking (beef curry w/channa dal tonight)
: reading (The Invention of Hugo Cabret is awesome)
: working (everyone and their dog wants to paint pottery during spring break)
: watching (silent movies; ah, Harold)
: BookMooching

There's all sorts of things I want to write about--notably, some of other books I've read lately--but I don't have any drive.

Flora, originally uploaded by arahsae.

I was all worried that there'd be nothing pretty to see at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens. How wrong was I! Though there was not a ton of blooming plants, there was so much to see and I had a slow, wondrous time meandering around and taking photos.

Cacti like I'd never imagined, more orchid varieties than I thought possible and wildflowers and a fern grotto and massive entire palms under glass. Amazing. I saw all sorts of "kitchen plants" like cardamom, star anise, ginger and cinnamon. Allspice, too, and a cacao tree.

Gardeners were everywhere (including on the ground, trying to recover from heatstroke), getting plants planted and prepping for spring. There were lots of identification signs in front of brown stalks of chopped back last-year's-growth, but that means more to see when I visit later in the season.

I also picked up my Yashica-Mat contact sheets and over half of the frames are completely white or only show ghostly images. I'm not sure if it's a shutter problem or a Sarah-Learning-Her-Camera problem, but it was really disappointing.

Did you know there is an all-vegetarian restaurant in the heart of San Antonio? Huh? Didja? They have BBQ...tvp! Anyway, it's called green (duh), is pretty new and I stopped there for coffee and a late lunch: giant baby spinach salad with candied pecans and dried cranberries. Will go back with my computer for the free wi-fi.

Today was good. It's nice to be able to say that now and then.

Saffron on Bamboo, originally uploaded by arahsae.

Even before I read Meera's post on Indian food I planned on trying out the new cookbook I got at the coast: Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni. The menu tonight: Keema Matar (Ground Meat in Nut Sauce with Chick-peas) and Zarda (Sweet Saffron Pilaf). Both were delicious topped with cool, plain yogurt and flatbread...not homemade; I ran out of time and had to make a last-minute dash to the grocery store for canned chickpeas because my dry ones were still, ahem, dry.

This recipe was my first time ever using saffron--and my first time tasting it, too. Amazing lovely stuff, and very pretty.

Next on my list is to choose a recipe requiring amchoor/mango powder. My order from Buck's came in last week and I'm stocked. Stoked, too.

Nursery Trip!, originally uploaded by arahsae.

Ahh, the first trip to the nursery of the season. Saturday was deemed to be all about Thrift Storing and Nursery Scoping. (Thrift Storing is something I do once a month or so. It involves going to the handful of well-stocked thrift stores in the area and searching for deals. I've been slowly stocking my kitchen with cheap stuff in great condition (remember those cooling racks I found?) and this trip was no exception: I got a pair of eight-inch cake pans for a buck. Saturday is not the best day to go, because everything is picked over and it is crowded. But it is still fun.)

After that, we drove to the nursery my boss recommended for herbs, Rainbow Gardens. It is the best garden center I've ever been to and I came home with a haul:

lemongrass
patio tomatoes
English lavender
catmint
patchouli
Italian oregano
Italian basil
Thai basil
holy basil

Three kinds of basil! And they had other kinds of basil that I did not bring home--soo amazing.

(If you click the photo, you can run your cursor over the plants and the notes will identiy each kind.)

I'm going to do another round of seed-sprouting for some other herbs and vegetables, but could not pass these plants up. They are healthy, most grown in Texas, and growing from seed doesn't always work for me. I hate not using EVERY seed in the packet, like I'm cheating them out of life--I feel guilty, really--but I don't need 40 flat-leafed parsley plants taking over my porch. If I just want a couple, it makes sense to buy the plant.

Once these get transplanted into proper pots, I'll recheck the Garden Goals I wrote up after last year's season and see what else I want. Flowers were on there somewhere...

Note:
Since the above photo was taken last night, Keaton has eaten the tips off the lemongrass stalks. The plants are presently locked in my bathroom for their own safety.

Question:
Do you use garlic powder or fresh garlic when you cook?

Arrowhead, originally uploaded by arahsae.

If I close my eyes, I can go back here.