How an ancient design technique brings tranquility to a Weston family
At the cooktop in the kitchen of her new Weston home, Terry Nevas faces east while steaming bok choi, green beans and peas for a vegetable curry. She keeps a careful eye on a mixture of olive oil and ghee heating in a wok. “Ghee is clarified butter,” she says, “but I just use the tiniest bit.” Saffron rice, a cucumber-and-yogurt dish called raita and a drink flavored with rosewater and cardomon complete what seems an exotic menu for just a routine lunch.
Even more remarkable in today’s disconnected fast-track world, noontime at the Nevas’ means the family gathers to share a home-cooked midday meal. Bernie Nevas comes into the kitchen from his home office; their son Isaac, a sophomore at Weston High School, returns from a friend’s house. Rachel, who recently graduated from college, is due home soon. Sunlight fills the dining room, a circumstance that is not accidental.