Ahhhh.....

I like this time of year. Autumn never feels like a 'slowing down for winter' to me. I tend to find it crisp and motivating and with a 'something good's happening' feeling in the air. Today was cold enough to require sparking up the (low emission) fire, which was marvelously relaxing after a day that had more than the usual amount of 'stuff to do' - definition: end of year accounts, rejig one of the companies to accommodate the new tax laws ($grrr$), file insurance claims for earthquake damage, smack my head against the desk while dealing with AQIS (Australian Quarantine - famously anal when it comes to accepting potentially cootie-ridden kiwi foodstuffs).. you know? 

In honour of the first fire of the season, dinner was a spicy, winter curry. Well that was the plan. Observe the serious lack of curry powder in the curry shaker? I think I left it on the bench to remind me to get more and a tidy Programmer put it back where it usually lives. No worries.

The main ingredients in curry powder are generally coriander, cumin, turmeric and some sort of hot pepper. Then different curry mixers add any number of other herbs and spices to make a unique blend.

I raided my spice rack and came up with turmeric, cumin and ginger. Then I got out my garlic gloves:

What?

Doesn't everyone wear purple gloves when dealing with garlic?  I do not like the way garlicky fingers make my keyboard stinky since I'm usually prepping dinner then doing some study or work while it cooks...

As I was saying, I got out my garlic gloves and crushed a few cloves. Then I attacked the herb garden with a lethal instrument and pillaged a decent amount of thyme and oregano. The plan started with diced organic beef sauteed in coconut oil, butter and olive oil (coconut oil is great in curries). I threw in the herbs, spices and garlic with the beef and while that was browning, diced up a pumpkin - not my beast in the garden, a smaller one, and threw that in as I progressed. Stir, stir. Then in went a can of pineapple with the juice and it all simmered for about an hour. Longer is better with curries. A next day reheat is the best.

Don't forget the sour cream.

Not too much though... respect the calories...

Last night we got a couple of decent but not devastating aftershocks, which has alleviated my anxiety that it had all been a bit too quiet. Tomorrow is another hard pumping day, so my plan now is to spend a bit of time right here:

doing... nothing.