Berty's Chapathis

This is a followup on "Berty the Hippie."

So far, the plan is working.

Instead of baking bread, I am making flat bread--chapathis--in my frying pan. I just made 14 chapathis today. There are only ten left, but that is beside the point.

I kneed flour, water, oil, and salt till smooth, pinch into balls, flatten, brown both sides, cool, wrap in a towel, place in plastic, and set in refrigerator. While doing this, there is a pot of rice simmering on the stove, and hard-boiled eggs already cooling in the refrigerator. (I cut vegetables while the eggs were cooking.) So, it turns out I did not need baking sheet, more than one knife, Crisco, or honey, unless for taste. For my chapithis, I bought some cream cheese, provolone, and peanut butter (actually, I need the jar for my painting class). My mother supplied me with a gallon of brown rice, a gallon of whole wheat flour, a pint of molasses (which I have not yet used) and a pint of olive oil.

Come mealtime, I pirate my roommate's microwave to heat some rice, chapathis, or a potato, and graze on fresh vegetables along with one of these "main courses." I love the simplicity. I like not having to think "what should I make tonight?" There is already prepared food and I dislike wasting, so my options are few. Ah! Few choices! What a relief! I believe I do have more time for reading and talking and walking.

I wonder if I have the proper mix of nutrition, but not hard enough to do some research. My friend Tim told me that rice and beans together provide proper protein, but I have not yet experimented with the bag of legumes I purchased. For the past two weeks I have felt extraordinarily hungry on Wednesday, and I do not know why. For lunch, two Wednesdays in a row now, I have eaten in the cafeteria, not a very large or nutritious meal granted, but I do not experience a cafeteria craving for the rest of the week.

Of course, I have had several delightful meals outside my dorm provided by kind friends. A few days ago I ate Chinese with Kim and her relatives, with their kind generosity, of course. I sampled the "Spicy Squid." There was a potluck at the church I attend my first Sunday back--there were platefuls of left-over grilled chicken the cooks sent home with anyone who would take it. Another family of my friends from church and school fed me some home cooking--I enjoyed very much the food and especially the company. My isolated meals make dining with others all the more precious--an effect I think I prefer to extravagance every day.

I enjoy my books and chapathis.