Weekend cooking

- Spent a slightly excessive amount on spices; made garam masala (end of the post)
- So I could make this apple chutney; it tastes good but is pretty powerful stuff and I am hoping it mellows out - I put some on a grilled cheese last night and couldn't taste the cheese, which was sad.
- Also made this apple butter, used a cup of maple syrup instead of maple sugar, it is scrumptious but leaves me more than ever uncertain of the difference between apple sauce and apple butter.
- Made this squash/pasta/sausage dish w/ half a napa cabbage instead of brussels sprouts and lamb sausage instead of chorizo and orecchiette instead of rigatoni; fantastic!
- Made this cabbage and bacon salad, intrigued by the dressing procedure but it didn't end up tasting like much.
- Roasted some brussels sprouts w/ a little maple syrup and ate them with some pickled red onion - not a perfect combination - maybe some apple slices will improve it? On verra!

Also lots of lounging, cleaning (turns out sprinkling baking soda, splashing on vinegar, and scrubbing like mad is awesome for getting rid of the soap scum of ages!), reading, a re-watching of Eastern Promises (SO GOOD), trips to the library and farmers' market, finally fully unpacking and organizing my bedroom, laundry, etc. - a very fine and mellow weekend. Glad to stock up some introversion/low-key time, since I will spend most of next weekend en route to Kampala!