mAkiNg mENtaL LiStS

yes i admit it. i like a good challenge when it comes to cooking < ok.. OK. FINE. i haven't exactly mastered making a LIST and shopping by the 'RULES' which is chiefly buy stuff when it gets over.. yes THAT rule. >
which is why, more often than not, i come back from a grocery trip and open my fridge and go Doh! < wince >
i shop in my own 'style'. walk haphazardly round the store in no particular order and randomly pick stuff if it catches your fancy. YES, that's a style. Yes, very rarely do i have all the ingredients to make anything and yes i am forced then to come up with my own recipes that albiet taste a little < little, i said little > strange, still somehow manage to keep me alive.
and yes that also sometimes means i have to search google < the god of everything > for recipes.
tuesday: tomatoes + peas + methi + no onions.
friday: potatoes + garlic. no tomatoes + no ginger + no corriander + half onion.
most times google gives up and gives me the number of pizza hut or noodles&company.
aah google, so wise..

this 'style' doesn't really work when you live with a roommate. that's something i quickly realized [ ok OK , realized after it happened the 4th time in a week... not so quick after all ] after a brief stint of cohabitation with K. an outing goes typically something like this.
K: lets make chole today! i soaked the channa!
me: sure. sounds good.
K: we need to pick up some onions and ginger
me: ok. sounds good.

..

..

< enter the house , deposit the groceries , open the fridge to start food preparation attempts >
K: where's the tomatoes?
me: huh? what?
K: the tomatoes, the tomatoes < K's getting a lil louder ... and some primitive instinct of self-preservation makes me slowly edge away >
me: uhhhh... aren't they there? umm.. < belatedly realizing i used the last of them for lunch yesterday. my brain is rapidly trying to think of alternatives.. lets use ketchup.. no. there's a jar of salsa* in the fridge...hmm maybe. >
K: < while opening another drawer > where's the garlic?
me: < shit shit... i'm still edging away > ummm.. i think that's over too.
K: why didn't you say something in the store !!! < voice is now atleast an octave higher.. >
me: well, you see, i was thinking of this stuff i read on the internet in the morning. and there was this opinion, but i was just thinking that if everyone thought the same way, it wouldn't work out.. but then you know the other voice in my head piped up and was arguing for it... but mostly there was this huge argument going on in my head over this thing i read.. and...umm....
K: .....

K's got pretty used to keeping his car keys in his pocket and making three trips to the store in a day.

making a list doesn't really work. THAT usually works like this.

me: ha! lets go to the store. i have a LIST. it's pretty comprehensive too. it's 2 effing pages.
K: ok

...

..

.

< enter the store and get a cart >

K: ok whip out the list. anytime now.
me: ummm i forgot the list. i think i remember 4 things from it. did i need lemon or lemon floor cleaner?
K: .....

my way is sooo much better...
now, let's see what can i make with quarter of an onion, some frozen peas, 1 tomato and coconut ?

*yes i have used salsa when i ran out of tomatoes once. and believe it or not, the curry wasn't too bad. the pasta didn't turn out so good though. reminder: don't use salsa in a pasta recipe.