Curry is the holy grail of all food. It tastes great, but it's easy to cook. It's unusual enough to impress fellow potluck goers and romantic interests, while body checking you out of whatever culinary rut you're in. The ingredients aren't hard to find, and there aren't that many of them to begin with. So fear not: There's no reason to travel to the other side of the world for good curry. All you need a basic grocery store, a modest sense of adventure, and this book.
Smilie Philippillai grew up in the northern Sri Lankan town of Jaffna, and while she was immersed in the native cuisine, she didn't learn to cook it until going off to Wales as a student nurse in 1966. She subsequently worked in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Newark, N.J., where she met Alan in 1976. Later, in Olympia, Wash., she worked as a pediatric nurse and counselor specializing in workplace issues, retiring in 2011. Besides cooking, she enjoys gardening, travel, hanging out with the elderly, and feeding curry to stray humans in Olympia. Although she grew up in Sri Lanka, she is deathly afraid of any sized snake and most larger insects. Alan Javel is a retired psychiatrist living in Olympia, Wash. He was born and raised in New Jersey, where his mother had published several recipes for her local paper. He is an honors graduate from The Johns Hopkins University, received his M.D. degree from Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, served as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at this medical school, and had a private practice in Olympia for 25 years. He has had about a dozen papers published in various medical journals. In the culinary field, he proudly reports that he served as chief cook for his apartment mates through college and medical school, when he had 1 to 2 dollars a day per person to provide three squares for everyone. He and Smilie married in 1976, and he studiously took notes when she was making curry. His homemade apple wine was awarded a first place at the Thurston County Fair, and his blackberry wine has invariably been described by most who sample it as "not bad." Peter Rice works in public relations and health outreach in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A graduate of Colorado College, he has reported for newspapers and public radio stations, and produced informational videos about software. On weekends he likes to take long bike rides and cook curry for his wife, Lindsay. He is the author of "Drinking Buttermilk: A Eulogy for an American Pastime," the "Bike Tour New Mexico" route guide series, and "Spandex Optional Bicycle Touring: How to ride long distance, the cheap and easy way." All are available on Amazon.com.
