Lemons and curry and haunted mansions

Naan done on the BBQ, curried cauliflower, butter chicken, basmati rice

Well, on the heels of my last post, here is another. Today I am home. My paper discussing correlations and other such fun is basically done, so I can relax this weekend. I baked blueberry yogurt bran muffins, and have been re-organizing my spice cupboard, and utensil drawers. Josh and I made the first parts to what started out as a castle, and now is going to be a haunted mansion-we are waiting on paint to dry. I have washed all the floors, done half the dusting, and folded some clothes. Dave hates it when i fold, as I suck at it, but hey, he's not here. He is in a blizzard in NS, while I sit here in the sunshine. Sucks to be him! I have Indian butter chicken simmering, I will make some curried cauliflower, likely roasted. I should go throw some naan dough in the breadmaker. I will be making lemon poppyseed loaves after I stop at the store to get more lemons and get the girls from school. It has been a most productive relaxing day. I love lemon desserts, especially with the nice crunch of poppy seeds. I have one recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins I have made since 1994. They are low fat and amazingly full of flavour. It was then that i first understood that the best flavour of the lemon is actually in the zest. I have since come to learn how to properly zest, and why you can't just go about it willy-nilly. The key is avoiding the pith, and a good sharp rasp makes it very simple. This dessert will be nice with our Indian supper. A bit of comforting curry finished by zesty, sweet dessert with poppy seeds-from the same region, seems so fitting.

Spring break is next week. I work the first part, Dave the second part of the week. The kids can have a week of solid fun, sleepovers, a movie I am MOST anticipating, some fun baking, games night, hikes, skating. Just general relaxation.....we are all ready for it. The kids get their reports tomorrow too, so it should be good. BTW, Dave's parents are leaving for Chile on Mon, though I think it is still a bad time to be there. Aftershocks are still pretty strong. I have no idea why they feel they need to be there now. But why they do a lot of things is beyond me too.