Garam Masala (thanks ChinaPink)

OK, last night I cleaned the dishes in the sink, prepared stew from scratch, made cous cous and salads, set the table, served the meal, cleared off the table, put the food away, cleaned the dishes. Just noting that for the record. Anything else I could say would be the moral equivalent of beating a dead horse after the maggots have set in.

Thanks for the garam masala tip, ChinaPink. We already purchased some pre-made garam masala from a local Indian grocery store. There seem to be more recipes for this spice mix than there are for chocolate cake (and I happen to know of DOZENS of recipes for chocolate cake). The Professor is bound and determined to at least attempt making it from scratch, because there is a certain flavor he’s seeking to recreate that the ready-made probably isn’t going to reproduce exactly. I’m encouraging this, because he’s never done any cooking before and any appreciation he can gain about what goes into making a meal is only to my benefit! Tonight the Great Lentil Soup experiment is still scheduled to take place. If anyone sees a mushroom cloud hanging over the Philadelphia area, don’t worry. It isn’t terrorist activity. Just a Certain Somebody adding extra spices to the recipe. ChinaPink, you may end up hearing from me again if I end up with cooking questions!

Tomorrow we put the new china hutch together. At this point I’m torn about what to put in it. I have cut glass bowls, vases and pitchers I’ve inherited. I have a couple of Cybis porcelain pieces that need protecting. I have all that that Candlewick glassware from my mother. I have old forest green glasses that would be nice to keep somewhere than the back of the kitchen cabinet behind the pancake mix. All of this needs protection from the Kitten from Hell. Alternatively, I could just put KfH behind the glass doors. I’m sure she’d settle in eventually.

I’ve been in contact with an artisan that advertises on the web and sells Tolkien inspired jewelry. He has a One Ring, inscribed with Elvish characters, that The Professor has taken a liking to. I plan to get him one for Christmas. I managed to get The Prof’s ring size, but it’s 9 3/4 and they only advertise the ring in half sizes. When I wrote about special orders though, I was told they could do a 9 /34 ring for me. So that’s one Christmas present taken care of. I’ve still got the Prof’s entire family to buy for though – a daunting task since I barely know any of them.