Once in a Lifetime

When we were in college, my brother, Fred, and I started every road trip home in our shared 1967 Ford Galaxie the same way. The car only had an AM radio, so I brought my boombox stocked with new D batteries. We found ourselves behind the wheel of a large automobile for our 18-hour journey that started before dawn, and Talking Heads was always first in the line up. 

The general code of sibling car music ethics dictates that the driver picks the tunes, so I always volunteered to take the first shift of driving. You may ask yourself, “Where does Highway 50 lead to?” We hurtled forward through space and time in an old green car to “Stop Making Sense” every holiday break. Same as it ever was. At the time, Fred was not a morning person (or an afternoon or an evening person), but this, we agreed on: Talking Heads.

Fast-forward 38 years. David Byrne’s American Utopia is currently playing on Broadway. You may ask yourself (unless you are anyone I have seen in the last few weeks so I could crow-bar this into a personal conversation), “But Liz, who is playing the bass guitar on stage right next to David Byrne?” Oh, it’s our nephew, Abe Nouri. Did I mention that?

This weekend, we met Phil’s sister’s family in NYC to see the show, and what a show it was! Incredible! Obviously, we are extremely proud of Abe, and I admit to being a bit star struck by David Byrne, but the show wildly exceeded my expectations (which is hard, because they were sky-high.) Everything about it was exactly what I needed – exactly what everyone needs right now. You need this right now.

Ben also loved the whole show, but he was there for Abe. As far as he was concerned, it was just like the Community Theater League here in Williamsport, and Abe was the star. No arguments here.

This week, I tried to push Ben into a menu befitting our American Utopia experience, but anything short of pork steak and Caesar salad had a distinctly dystopian feel to Ben. I eventually suggested roti, and Ben hopped on board.

It has been years since I last made roti, but this Indian flat bread is very versatile, and can be served with a diverse number of foods. We served ours with what our family always calls “Indian Rice.” We buy packets of microwavable Indian fare, make a little rice, and if it is a utopian sort of day, we make homemade Indian flat bread. This time it was roti.

You are probably thinking that microwavable packets of food-stuff is a lame way to go, and maybe you’re right, but you know what it’s better than? Slaving over a hot stove for hours.

Roti

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

approximately 2/3 cup warm water

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Mix flour, salt and water, kneading until cohesive dough forms. Divide into eighths and roll into balls. Roll each ball, dusting with more flour, into a thin disk, like a tortilla. Heat a dry pan to medium-high heat and cook each roti in it for a minute or two on each side. The goal is to get roti to puff, and this is best accomplished by pressing down on the roti with a spatula while it is cooking. When it is puffed with some brown spots, remove to a dish, brush with melted butter and cover.