Quilting is back

I'm so happy to be quilting again.  After 5 weeks of mask making, I'm finally done with them! If there's a need when the next wave of the virus comes along, then I'll go back into masks.  But for now, freedom! 

Here are the first 2 rows.  I'm so loving this quilt!  The pictures aren't great, but they'll do for now.  I think of the quilt as a bit of a knot garden, except that it's not a garden, so... the name of this quilt is Knot a Garden.

I'm knitting a sweater, the usual pair of socks, and baking and cooking a lot.  It sometimes seems that we spend our days eating.  Breakfast, mid-morning break with home-made biscotti, lunch, mid-afternoon break with home-made muffins, supper, and nibbles while watching TV. 

Way back in January, I started to run out of all-purpose and bread flours.  So the Hubz, who loves to market, bought me some more.  We already had yeast bought in Dec (I think).  I buy yeast by the pound, and freeze the bulk of it.  I take off enough for a small jar and keep that in the fridge.  It lasts me about a year.  We also put in a flour order from King Arthur flour.  It was all back-ordered,  and was supposed to arrive in about a month.  Instead we got it all in a couple of weeks.  So we are all set from bread and pizza baking as well as muffins, biscotti, etc. 

And on that note, I'm off to eat lunch.

Punjabi Garam Masala

Can you smell it?  I just ground up spices to make Punjabi garam masala.  Garam masala is a warming spice mixture added to Indian food.  Warming, not hot.  Think cinnamon, that lovely warm heat.  No chilies. 

This garam masala contains cinnamon, bay leaves, peppercorns, coriander, cumin, cloves, and I tossed in some cardamom seeds 'cause I love cardamom.

Heat up a small frying pan and put it all in.  Toast, without burning for a couple of minutes.  When you smell it, it's done.  Put on a plate to cool.  When cool, put in a coffee grinder (which is NEVER used for coffee, just spices), and grind away.  It helps to break up the pieces of cinnamon.

I'll use it in an Indian tomato sauce , e.g. a butter masala sauce, or anywhere else that a garam masala is called for.

You cannot imagine how good it smells.  Don't buy the junk at the market; make your own!