Tikka Masala

A friend of mine posted this on facebook a few weeks ago and I knew I needed to try it, so I did, the next day. Oh my goodness SO GOOD!

It's her recipe or the one she follows but i'm just sharing it here so that I can point others to it and not have to write it out every time!

So thank you Liesl for sharing! I've made it 3-4 times now and everyone loves it!

I'm sharing some pictures, it's not the prettiest of food... but it's so tasty it doesn't matter.

we serve it over rice with the na'an

broiling the chicken

Tikka Masala:

8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. coriander

1 c. plain greek yogurt

1 large yellow onion, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. kosher salt

1 piece ginger root, 2-3 inches, peeled & grated

3 Tbsp. garam masala

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 Tbsp. raw sugar (white is okay)

Sriracha to taste, for heat (I personally didn't use any)

1 1/2 c. half & half (or milk)

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Put the chicken in a bowl and season with coriander & cumin, then stir in yogurt and let sit 10 minutes. Spread out in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet and broil in the oven 5 - 10 minutes, until starting to get dark charred spots (won't be cooked through). Remove and let cool while preparing sauce. In a large heavy skillet, saute onion & garlic with salt until soft. Add ginger & garam masala and turn heat up to medium high for 30 seconds while stirring. Add tomatoes & sugar and bring to a boil, then turn heat off. Pour into crockpot (add Sriracha here). Chop cooled chicken into 1-2" chunks and add to crockpot, also add liquid from baking sheet. Stir together, cover and cook on low 4 - 5 hours. Before serving, combine milk & cornstarch and stir into mixture, allow to cook 10 more minutes (until bubbly). Serve over rice.

Side note- I couldn't find the garam masala in any stores around here so i searched the internets and found THIS site... and i make my own minus one of the ingredients that i have no clue what it is. Pretty easy.

And no good Indian dish is the same without

Na'an:

1 pkg. (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 c. warm water

2 1/2-3 c. flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 c. vegetable oil

1/3 c. plain greek yogurt

1 lg. egg

Dissolve yeast & sugar in warm water & let get frothy. In a separate bowl combine oil, yogurt & egg, then stir into yeast mixture until combined. In a medium bowl mix 1 c. flour with salt. Add wet ingredients and stir. Add flour 1/2 c. at a time until you can't stir with a spoon. Knead on a floured surface for 3 minutes. Dough should be smooth & soft, not sticky. Cover & let double, about 45 min. Flatten & divide into 8 pieces (I often do more & make smaller na'an). Work with 1 piece at a time. Roll out to a circle as big as your hand. Cook in a hot skillet or on the bbq grill until large bubbles form & bottom is golden brown, flip and cook other side. Repeat until all dough is gone.

It's finished!

here it is all painted and pretty!

and the room view:

Look I'm already putting it to use!

Chloe helped me pick a new colorway for my next batch of rolags! She named them "Sunny Day".

and i had a custom order for some batts in my shop.

so i made a few extra for myself... or i may list them... time will tell.

DIY craft table!

Thank you Pinterest.

It all started because i finally rearranged my fiber area in the formal living room... This looks a lot better than it did but I wanted to put some sort of curtains under the table (the one in the middle under the window) so that it would hide most of my stuff...

 and here's the other side of the living room:

Well as i was searching i came across a bunch of DIY craft tables that used cubicals from Target (or the like) and i totally wanted one! I even made up a little diagram of the room and cut out the furniture to see how it'd look...

I then showed Joe and convinced him that this would be awesome. Plus i already had one of the cubicals and only needed to buy one more plus the table top and a few bits of other wood...

 

So on Valentine's Day Joe started making it for me, I helped too of course!

and then i shoved all my stuff under and in it....

I still need to paint the wood but i'm in love with it! I love that everything is hidden, the curtains ::swoon::....  and i now have a spot to sew in and not have to clear everything out of the way in the dining room. Love it!

check out the before and after... I really should have taken a pic before the before. It was bad. trust me.

Next up, I want to make valences for the windows...

hello blog.

I actually forgot about this blog... Ever since Ravelry took over my online life i kinda put my blog on hiatus.

anywho- here's an update.

Gabe, he's 11, almost 12. Leah is 9, almost 10. Chloe just turned 8 and Truban is 5... They were celebrating the New Year, wow can it really be 2015 already?


Actually I'm all about Instagram... it's kinda like my snapshot blog so if you want to follow me over there you can!  I usually post pictures daily, mainly about my crafting but my kiddos sneak in too!

My sister and I host a video podcast called The Weasley Sisters Podcast... it's a weeekly/bi-weekly thing and we talk about our knitting, spinning, crochet, weaving, sewing.... and life. It ties into the Ravelry group we play in, HPKCHC. Its a huge group where you knit for points, lots of fun.


Knitting... i'm working on a couple of sweaters. One is for my bestie Katie and the other is for a good friend Helga...


Nell:

Pumpkin Ale:

I'm slowly working on some socks:

Spinning! I'm doing a challenge this year that's hosted on instagram- #spin15in15 Basically you spin 15 min a day, every day in 2015. Anyone can join at any time... all you need to do is use the hashtag when you post to IG. Here are a few spins i've done so far:

And then there's the weaving... I made a few scarves using some handspun.

Well, hopefully i'll be back, if not come find me in other places!

Day 1: Tour de Fleece

YAY!

I'm involved in....

the annual Tour de Fleece spin-along during the Tour de France. The concept is simple, They spin, we spin. A real spinning themed spin-along.

Guidelines (NOT RULES):

1. Spin every day the Tour rides, if possible. Saturday July 2nd through Sunday July 24th. Days of rest: Monday July 11th, Monday July 18st. (Just like the actual tour)

2. Spin something challenging Friday July 22nd. (The Tour’s toughest mountain stage over the Col du Galibier for the second time, and finishing up on Alpe d’Huez.)

3. Take a button if you want one. Then we can use the button on our blogs in show of solidarity. Take it from here or grab a clean one from the flickr pool. Come join the flickr pool!

4. Wear yellow on Sunday July 24th to announce victory. Why not wear yellow on any day you feel particularly successful? (Yellow is the color of the race leader in the Tour - but here we are all ‘race leaders’)

5. Other colors if desired: Green (sprinter - think FAST), Polka-dot (climber - as in uphill), and white (rookie)

I grabbed this info off of the Ravelry group Tour de Fleece.... It's lots of fun so go check it out if you are a spinner!

Today i took the kids to a park and brought along my spindle... We packed a lunch and they played for hours while i spun standing on top of a picnic table. good times :) But it was so dang hot out... the kids were red(not from sunburn, they are just like me and don't take heat well) and sweaty....

When we got home i put Trubie down for a nap and got out the kiddie pool in the back yard. They got cooled off and i brought my wheel out for some more.... spinning. This time i spun on some Corriedale/silk blend that I'm spinning at a laceweight. It will be a 2ply eventually. Well really i hope to finish it by the end of the month. I probably have about 4 more ounces to spin and then ply it all. 8 ounces total. I'm hoping for at least 800 yards... if not more.(This is the correidale a few weeks ago, i'll update with a more recent pic another day)


The kids are in bed and I'm about to start back up but my fingers are itching to pull out some other roving and try it out.... maybe tomorrow. I need to get this laceweight done...
This is the majority of my haul that i got at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art festival.... The top left is particularly calling to me.... I've never spun a gradient dyed roving before. I have plans to make a pretty shawlette out of it...

Maybe I'll have pictures of it as singles tomorrow.... but for now i must go and SPIN!

I am a bad bad blogger.... it's been forever since i've done this. I am almost at a loss as to what to do, what to write... But fear not I have pictures! We went to the beach the other day.... The kids love it and so dose the dog....




















Draco, remember the tiny puppy?! Well he's a big 97lb dog now....













here are some of the crafty things i've been up to.... knitting, spinning.... and recently i've gotten into sewing! I also have an etys shop now.... it's slow going but fun.







Socks!









And here is of my handspun sock yarn.









This is a shawlette that i test crocheted for a friend....






















here i am spinning at the beach!














my drop spindle.... it's my new go to project at the parks this summer.... so easy to pull this out and just spin the day away.













My handspun socks.... and some handspun that i sent to a friend.....

















These are some box bags that i have up in my etys shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/naturallyknitty




And this little guy is crocheted! I'm getting a bit better at crochet :D