Penny Saved Penny Earned?

Today I learned an important lesson. Somethings are just worth the 70% markup.
Ok, so today I decided to dabble a bit in the cooking arts. Just a little harmless flirtation with some pretty heavy items.

First, I baked bread. Ok, so this doesn't sound like a big deal. But you have to understand. Yeast  FREAKS me out. Until two months ago, I wouldn't even have the stuff in my house. I view yeast as a bad game of Russian Roulette, where all the barrels but one are loaded. I mean, when bread goes wrong... well it can really go wrong. I have lived in fear of the odd smelling growing stuff since I can remember. But, Sticky gooey cinnamon rolls have been beckoning me for almost ten years now. So, I gave in. I bought yeast, and after staring at it for a month, I attempted to use it. And failed. I did not give up though, and conquered the wonderful sinful mass of goodness (Best Cinnamon Rolls EVER). My confidence soared... so I decided to tackle the next thing - 100% Whole Wheat Bread. I mean come on... easy right? No way.

My problem. I want a bread that is tasty, soft, low in sugar, does not use dried milk and doesn't require a lot of  work (kneading). Apparently no one else has my ideals; I couldn't find a single recipe that sounded right, so I was forced to improvise. I did compromise and spent 10 minutes kneading my dough... the result... to be honest, I'm not that impressed. I thought eating fresh baked bread is supposed to be a nirvana like experience. Didn't do anything for me. I'll give it another try someday, but till then, I would like to say thank you to all of those bakers out there that can pull off a tasty, soft, low sugar 100% whole wheat bread. And as I rub my aching arms and hands, those few extra dollars to have it all... so worth it.

Second, when you have a fresh loaf of bread rising, why not make something to go with it right? I mean the labor intensive loaf shouldn't sit on it's own... right? No, of course it need's a labor intensive meal to go with it. So, I made Tikka Masala.... (Don't ask, my husband said curry, and my mind did the rest.)

The result was amazing. I loved it. Not as hard as I thought, pretty simple actually and the flavor... oh the flavor (I really like Indian food and don't eat it near often enough). I mean, who needs an Indian restaurant? Oh wait... what is that smell... in the cupboard... the bathroom... my bedding. My entire house smells like a bowl of Tikka Masala. Can you have authentic tasting Indian cuisine at home? Yes... should you? I'll leave that up to you. In the mean time, I will be eating out when I crave Tikka Masala and doing lots of laundry.