This mooching business is an art which I am still learning. Eric is a pro though. Even back when we were dating, my roommates called him the “Smoocher” because he was always mooching off us and because, well, we smooched a lot. My brother and his wife Sandi pretend that they like having us here, which makes it even easier for us. I do what I always do: cook an overabundance of food and pretend that I’m always about to do the dishes. Really I just cook and they do the dishes. As if the phenomenon of self-cleaning dishes couldn’t be topped, their son Eli is the same age as Charlotte and they get along swimmingly. This morning I was doing Charlotte’s hair. Eli came in yelling what I thought was, “baseball! Baseball!” But instead he and Charlotte fist-bumped. Then they continued to high-five, down low, up high, while I exploded in laughter. Not only do the dishes get done, but my kid is constantly entertained as well. My brother and my husband are both named Eric, so when we were cleaning up after eating this Thai dish, I made lunches for both of them and labeled one “Eric Z.” and the other “Eric G.” My brother said he just walked around at work with a smug look on his face pointing at his meticulously labeled lunch. He texted me and said I could stay forever. I told him fine, I will, but don’t come crying to me when I’m still here next year. This curry is fantastic and pretty simple to put together. Here’s a picture of the curry paste that I used. I’m usually not a huge fan of sweet potatoes, but they work great in this recipe. Make this for your extended family. You might just get free room and board.
