Tandoori Chicken with Aloo Gobi and Rice

Raul has been working around the clock but he still insists on doing most of the cooking. "What do you feel like for dinner?" he asks rhetorically.

Drew had made a stew that was less than successful (which is why it is NOT included here) and had found a jar of half-used Country Masala Tandoori Paste that he was planning to experiment with. Raul decides to put it to a safe use. There are also some multi-coloured baby potatoes left that did not fit into the stew. And a head of cauliflower that Drew bought after reading an article claiming that, "Cauliflower is the new pork belly," so he wanted to be ahead of the curve. He was thinking of roasting the florets - it was a great solution for curing his aversion to parsnips - but the brain-shaped vegetable sparks Raul's memories of his days in a yoga-based semi-cult of vegetarians. "Aloo Gobi," he announces.

Raul caramelizes two onions while steaming chopped potatoes for 20 minutes and chopped cauliflower for 10 minutes. Following the advice of his new hero, Lidia Bastianich, he juliennes the cauliflower stems into strips and steams them along with the cauliflower florets. He adds a teaspoon of Country Masala Tandoori Paste to the onions, combines everything together, tosses it and keeps it warm for serving.

Raul rubs the chicken with shredded ginger, a chopped chili pepper, garlic powder, paprika and a teaspoon of tandoori paste. He heats a cast-iron frying pan, puts the chicken breasts in and covers with another cast-iron frying pan to mimic the effect of a tandoori oven. "It makes it super hot," he notes. It only takes minutes before the spicy and succulent chicken breasts are ready.

The meal is delicious with a heat that sneaks up after swallowing. "Is this celery in the Aloo Gobi?" asks Drew.

"No," laughs Raul, "that is the cauliflower stems. They're really tasty. Thanks Lidia!"

Mustard Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Brocollini, Black Beans, Rice and Avocado

Drew visits his mother for the few days leading up to his birthday but makes sure to get back in time for whatever Raul has created for a birthday dinner. Raul does not disappoint. The main is mustard crusted pork tenderloin but, as Drew had previously fantasized, the tenderloin has been sliced thinly and thickly breaded resulting in what Raul would dismiss - if he wasn't so proud of his creation - as schnitzel.

Raul sides the "schnitzel" with brocollini (steamed and buttered), black beans and rice. The garnish is chunks of avocado that provide an opposite texture and ease the heat of the fiery bean concoction.

Drew is flattered and even forgives Raul's not-as-tonally-congruent rendition of "Happy Birthday."

Fried Rice with Breaded Shrimp

While at the Broadview and Gerrard markets, Raul picks up a package of what he thinks is frozen coconut shrimp. On the first cold blustery day of the season he decides to create a comfort food classic. He stir fries some red pepper, green pepper, onion and carrot slices before adding rice left over from a previous dinner. He sprinkles it with soya sauce and leaves to heat while the shrimp are quick-fried in an iron skillet. To his dismay they burn slightly towards the end and while it doesn't affect the taste, he is appalled at the visual. He layers the shrimp on a mound of the rice and sprinkles with chopped green onions.

"They aren't coconut shrimp," blusters Raul. "I think they're just coated in bread crumbs. You may need a dipping sauce."

Drew takes a bite and, while bland, the shrimps are still crunchy and flavourful. "I think I'm good." The rice is reminiscent of childhood dinners in small town "Chinese" restaurants or diners and is irresistible. "Maybe a bit of that red sweet and sour sauce - remember sticky chicken balls? - would work," laughs Drew before correcting himself. "Your sweet and sour sauce would be a perfect enhancement. But I can't wait even the few minutes it would take for you to whip it up." And the shrimp are devoured along with the rice.

"Just how hard is it to make coconut shrimp from scratch?" hints Drew.

BBQ Chicken with Jamaican Pumpkin, Rice, Bean Salad and Coleslaw

Drew's Mom is stopping over for the evening on her jetsetting way to Thunder Bay to visit her brother and youthful stomping grounds. Raul is feeling the pressure to produce a gourmet but traditional dinner, so while Drew and his mom wander the nearby Danforth and thrift stores - though mainly they are just visiting and catching up - Raul works in the kitchen.

He rubs chicken breasts with his favourite combo of spices - paprika, Greek oregano, pepper and, for Drew's Mom's tastes, just a touch of garlic powder (he omits the usual salt) - and sets it aside to marinate for bbq'ing. He puts brown rice in the rice cooker and is confident having ascertained that brown rice requires a bit more water and some extra cooking time to be perfect and for the grains to not clump. The bean salad and coleslaw are already prepared.

Raul has purchased a large slab of Jamaican pumpkin after the eventual success of Drew's spaghetti squash debacle. Drew's Mom loves squash and this will, hopefully, be a taste treat with a bit of a difference. He slices the squash into inch and a half squares and then tosses them in olive oil and cumin. The pumpkin bakes in a glass baking pan for 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Drew's Mom has brought carrot cake so the pressure to bake dessert is lifted. He plans to serve the cake on the Halloween plates that were a gift from Drew's Mom from one of her nostalgia trips to the shopping mecca of Thunder Bay.

The meal is a big success and the pumpkin is flavourful and tastes of the best of autumn and the tropics. Drew's Mom has nothing but praise and Raul is proud and relieved. Now if there was only space for a proper dining room table so that she didn't have to eat on the coffee table . . .

Pork Satay with Rice and Coleslaw

It is an overwhelmingly hot and humid day, very uncharacteristic of September, so the pork chops that Raul has thawed will not work as chops. And Drew's dream of dirty mashed potatoes is utterly inappropriate. Raul trims all the fat and bones off the pork chops, chops them into cubes and then rubs them with his favourite bbq combination of Greek oregano, paprika, salt, black pepper and garlic powder. They sit for a few hours and then are skewered.

The rest is simplicity: rice and the last of Drew's sister's coleslaw.

Drew offers to make a peanut dipping sauce while Raul grills the pork but, considering the heat, Raul digs in the fridge and finds an unopened jar of Thai Kitchen Peanut Satay Sauce. Dinner will be less gourmet and more convenience. Maybe less gourmet but all delicious.

"Watch the photo!" warns Raul. "I put the sauce off to the side because it has slopped around in the ramekin. We can NOT put that on the blog!"

"Too late," says Drew who is eager to eat. "It looks lovely otherwise but I want to taste." Fortunately the taste is not sloppy in the least but a perfect summer meal - light, slightly spicy and with contrasting textures. The skewers are unskewed and the sauce dribbled over and while the visual is messy, the meal is magnificent.

BBQ Chicken, Plaintain, Rice and Black Beans

It is Raul's birthday so Drew offers to cook whatever Raul would like. What Raul would like most is to cook some of his favourites himself. Drew pretends to pout but is secretly pleased. Breakfast is waffles with butter curls and real maple syrup. Lunch is burgers and, Drew's contribution, Drumstick ice cream treats of the plain vanilla variety because vanilla is Raul's favourite ice cream flavour. Dinner is more elaborate.

Raul skins and debones chicken thighs before rubbing them with Greek oregano, crushed red pepper and a dash from a birthday gift to himself of a giant jar - 650 grams for $2.29 at the Danforth Variety & Fruit Market - of Cool Runnings Plus Granulated Garlic Powder. He presses the thighs flat and sets them aside to marinate.

He chops four green onions (saving the tops for garnish), a third of a bell pepper and two cloves of garlic that are then softened at a low heat for five minutes. He then adds a can of black beans (drained), a dash of salt and cumin, a juiced lime and half-cup of water. The mixture is covered and left to simmer.

Plantain strips are fried and basmati rice bubbles in the rice cooker. When all is set to go the chicken thighs go on the grill and all is plated with chopped basil and the green onion tops as a garnish on the rice.

The chicken is spicy, the beans are tart, the plantain is sweet and the rice allows everything to blend. "Every bite is different," enthuses Raul. "A perfect birthday meal."

BBQ'ed Steak with Mango Salad, Bean Salad and Rice

After an evening out the night before, the festivities for the dog's fifth birthday (actually the date of his adoption - he is a troubled neurotic rescue but that is another story) are subdued. "It's not like baking him a cake would do any good," notes Drew turning a blind eye to Raul dispensing yet more treats into the rapacious birthday boy's jaws. The lunch of pasta fagiole had provided the dog with a feast of leftovers (bits of pasta and sausage) but his wide tragic eyes play on Drew's emotions. "What are we having for dinner?"

"I don't know," says Raul. "I haven't thought that far ahead."

"We do have mango salad and bean salad in the fridge. That's practically a meal right there."

"We should add a protein. What's in the freezer?"

Drew rifles through the packed freezer and considers several options before settling on an inside round steak that he had purchased, 30 percent off because it was just about to reach its "best before" due date, and frozen several weeks ago. "I could thaw this," muses Drew. "It probably just needs a little marinade to liven it up."

"No wasabi," warns Raul.

Drew runs the steak under warm water and as soon as it is pliable he places it in the bottom of a large mixing bowl. After a applying a shake of salt, a heaping of pepper, a slathering of Mrs Dash and celery salt on each side of the steak, Drew douses it with red wine, covers it and leaves it to sit. "Add garlic," advises Raul. So, even though the dog reacts badly to garlic, Drew adds a teaspoon of chopped garlic and admits that it is much more aromatically appealing.

Raul makes rice in the rice cooker and then grills the steak and plates the food. The steak is not as tender as hoped - "Too well done," says Raul pointedly; "Always happens when it's been frozen," rejoins Drew - but the combo of flavours is intoxicating. Drew leaves a good helping of steak and rice for the dog who gobbles it up and begs for more. Two more helpings of rice go down the gullet of the ravenous birthday celebrant. "He is happy enough he could probably have been made to wear a party hat," thinks Drew aloud.

"No party hats," states Raul. "Especially on a helpless dog."

Teriyaki Shrimp on Garlic Rice with Vegetables and Mango Salad

While out and about their individual days R&D acquire more kitchen accessories. Raul scours a thrift store to find a $1 Parmesan cheese grater and small mason jars, 49 cents each, ideal for filling with spices (an entire cupboard is filled with spices and condiments in varying packaging and with even more erratic forms of identification). Drew finds an authentic Japanese knife sharpening stone (made in China) to hone the edges of their hodge-podge selection of cutting and chopping implements. The night before R&D had been reminiscing about the not-so-distant time when the older man towing a knife sharpener had worked the streets by ringing a bell. Rather than replacing the knives R&D own, a motley but high quality collection, they can now, well now Raul can, turn their blades into razor sharp slicing tools. "It really makes a difference," enthuses Raul after a YouTube tutorial on the proper technique of utilizing the stone. "And it's actually safer if the knife is sharp and cuts instantly into the object instead of slipping and severing a finger."

Drew is busy googling street knife sharpeners, wondering where he has gone and what he used to charge, "Is the $11 for the stone actually a bargain?"

Once the knives are ninja-worthy, Raul begins to repackage the spices and reorganize the cupboard. "What is this?" he asks holding up a metal container. "It's called 'The Ultimate Garlic Seasoning for Rice & Pasta' from a company called The Garlic Box."

"That was a Christmas gift from my niece and nephew," says Drew. "They know I love garlic. It's spices that mix with rice or make a rub."

"We'll have to try it," says Raul. "What should we have with it?"

"It's summery today. Something light. Shrimp? Tandoori shrimp?"

"Tamarind shrimp sounds too sweet."

"Tandoori," says Drew while googling. "Here, tandoori shrimp with mango salad, there's about 30 variations but there's a jar of tandoori sauce in the fridge somewhere."

"I just reorganized the spice cupboard," notes Raul. "We'll have shrimp but the spicing will be from scratch."

Raul marinates the shrimp in a mixture of soya sauce, Hoisin sauce and a touch of green Thai curry. The rice goes in the rice cooker with two teaspoons of The Ultimate Garlic Seasoning. He slices a mango, the newly sharpened knife vivisects the pulpy fruit with ease, and sprinkles it with diced red peppers, diced green onion and coriander from the balcony garden. The vegetables are of the frozen variety but the steaming is done with TLC. Once everything else is prepared the shrimp are dropped in a pre-heated cast iron skillet for a minute each side.

"Delicious!" enthuses Drew.

"What I love about it is all the different flavours mixing flawlessly," says Raul. "And now that the spices are organized and accessible we can experiment. I don't know why we don't have tarragon though. Maybe tomorrow while I'm out and about I'll pick some up"

"Or we can grow some on the balcony," muses Drew.

"There is no more room on the balcony," asserts Raul. "One more pot, one more gnome, and it will explode."

"The gnomes protect the plants from the squirrels!"

"That should be Mickey's job," reminds Raul. "You wouldn't want me to not be able to get to the barbecue . . ."

"We'll get a little jar of tarragon," acquiesces Drew. "There's room in the cupboard now."