Two Hours of Freedom Left

It's amazing how fast time goes by when you're on a time-budget. Cutezilla went to Mother's Day Out this morning, and one of the few things I managed to get done was make dinner (we'll call it "Half-*ssed Curry", since I was missing half the ingredients, and didn't want to "waste" my time by going to the store, which would have actually been 3 or 4 stores considering I needed an extra can of the mythic Patak's Madras Sauce; I cannot seem to find this stuff anywhere, except Kiawah Island). I did also managed to sand and reapply a coat of paint to my two basement projects -- Cutezilla's Height Chart and her shelf, that my sister gave us, and I wanted to reapply the paint, just to make sure everything matched.

Oh and I did cash some checks. Okay, maybe it wasn't a total loss of a day.

But tomorrow, Cutezilla and I are heading to the City By The Sea to see Grammy and my sister. Should be an interesting trip, to say the least. We pick her up on Sunday, so I will have a day or two to finish some of these projects, start a few new ones, and maybe get her room more put together. I am EXCITED.

We went to see the Terracotta Soldiers (all 12 of them) at the High Museum in ATL this weekend, and the exhibit was AWESOME. I highly recommend it, should you wander that way. I really wish I knew where it was heading next, but so far, I have found no information on that.

Anyway, need to run. Got more cramming to get into my free time!

And if anyone wants to try some awesomely delicious Beef Curry, here is my friend Stephanie's recipe:

Beef Madras from Sri Lanka via Canada

3 lbs beef
3 onions sliced
3 green chilies
3 cloves garlic
1 piece ginger minced
8 green cardamom pods, cracked
5 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
3 tbs curry powder
1 tbs cinnamon
3 tbs Patak’s (Madras) Curry paste
2 tbs chili powder
1 can Patak’s Curry Cumin (Madras) Sauce
½ can coconut milk
Cilantro minced for garnish

Remove fat from beef. Brown onions, chilies, ginger, and garlic on high heat. Reduce to medium heat and add spices, browning to release flavor. Add beef, lightly brown, then add curry paste, cumin sauce and coconut milk. Reduce to low heat. Simmer for one hour or longer.

Editor's Note: I might brown everything, but then I
usually pop it into the slow cooker for 8 hours.