My folks gave us a bunch of pots and pans at our wedding. One of these was a “Grille Pan,” which neither Kat nor I had seen before. Now we’ve tried it. What a great toy! We grilled up an eggplant, cauliflower, and a brick of paneer in some curry powder with extra garlic and pepper, then a tomato and a pepper in thyme, and some shiitake mushrooms. I wish I’d taken pictures of the resulting feast—it was enormous and wonderful. The tomato was fine after grilling on one side, but midway through the next it lost structural integrity and turned into a sort of cacciatore.

Also, there’s something about coriander and garlic and pepper—a little bit of those, and my mood improves dramatically. I certainly feel smarter after eating those. As Kat put it, “I love Indian food. I love everybody! Why is my mouth on fire?”