And Everything Nice

 

Located on Porter Square, the Sugar and Spice Thai cafe has been a neighborhood constant since our family moved into the area some 12 to 13 years ago. I have comfortable memories of enjoying Thai-Vietnamese comfort food, such as fried rice, duck noodle soup, and scallion pancakes from this affordable establishment. I also recall Sugar and Spice's commendable commitment to keeping people fed during the pandemic, as they offered large portions of food such as Massaman curry at a reasonably low price. We've been finding it hard to get in these days since the restaurant has always been abuzz with activity, but I tend to see the glass half full and assume that's always a good thing.

As a Texmex enjoyer, you can imagine how much of a constant tortillas are in my life. While it's always a simple task of going out and buying some, I've recently taken up the practice of making my tortillas from scratch, and while it's not too demanding in terms of ingredients, the process is one that I've yet to get down to a science. I quickly learned that corn tortillas are generally much more pliable than flour, as my first stint at the latter resulted in micro-tortillas due to how often the dough converged on itself. Meanwhile, the ones made with Masa Harina (cornflower) retained their circular shape after their stint in the taco press. While I was certainly disappointed with my first attempt at tortillas, they were still met with good praise, giving me hope that homemade ones can be a recurring element in future meals.

While my 6-week Mediterranean course has come to a close, I still have much to recount from the experience. One pleasant memory I've yet to document involves the implementation of the conical pot frequently used in Moroccan cooking, the Tagine. Nowadays, Tagine is an umbrella term for any braised Moroccan stew, so it's easy to forget sometimes that the name is derived from the vessel it was meant to be cooked in. The "chimney" of sorts atop the lid of the pot ensures that the dish within is cooked evenly, but it does require the contents to be stacked in such a way as to avoid spillage. The assortment of vegetables used in the Tagine is also worth mentioning, as the ones provided were some of the silliest produce I've ever seen. I'm talking carrots with the width of a forearm juxtaposed with tiny Cipollini onions. Combined with a hot yet earthy Red Charmoula sauce, it made for one of the most enthralling experiences I've had at CSCA.