with Mary Anne Mohanraj
Scones! I hadn’t planned on making them, because I was trying to be reasonable and minimize party cooking, but they had some mix at the store that just required adding water, so I thought, what the heck!
I stirred in some crystallized ginger and dried cranberries, baked — super-easy. I haven’t tried them yet, so will report back if they’re not good, but I think they’ll likely be just fine. 
To be served with clotted cream, lemon curd, and jam…
Had a momentary panic last night when I realized I was somehow out of masoor dal, the red lentils we prefer in Sri Lanka. But I did have plenty of split green lentils (moong dal) on hand, so I thought I’d try subbing those in — they’re good!
They take maybe 15 minutes longer to cook, and the end result is a different color and slightly different flavor, but still delicious, which is all that really matters…
Almost done with the Autumn in Wonderland treat boxes — just shipped out the Milky Way boxes. Just Interstellar tier to go; I want to try making one more item for them, so will hopefully ship those tomorrow.
Pictured here, little dragonfruit-citrus-white-pepper chocolate crowns. I thought the Queen of Hearts would like her chocolates a little spicy…
Chicken curry done, trifle done, lentil curry going, how many more dishes can I knock off tonight? Devilled potatoes, I think — that one, I’ve made so many times I can basically do it in my sleep.
Curries are usually better the second day, so nice to do them in advance. And then save the baking of scones and star bread for the morning, so they’re nice and fresh….
Goal — get to bed by 11, so I can get eight solid hours of sleep before getting up at 7 for phase two of party prep. 
I had a clean kitchen four hours ago. There comes a point in every party prep when you look at the chaos you’ve generated and ask how you could possibly get to party-ready by tomorrow. And yet somehow, it all comes together in the end. How?
I don’t know. It’s a mystery.
Fun project for the Patreon boxes — made up little cocktail / mocktail mixes. These would be great to do for stocking stuffers, I think! This is hibiscus powder, candied ginger, and dried pineapple.
I put those in a cocktail shaker with some vodka and pineapple juice and ice, shook them up, poured them into a glass, then tried adding ginger beer. Yummy! It’s also good with limonata, and it’s still quite tasty without the vodka; the ginger gives it a bit of zing.
Well, we managed to ship out all the Earth tier boxes, woot! I think I can get the Sol System tier out today as well; they’re packed up and ready to go, so I’ll just drop them at the post office on my way to tonight’s school board meeting.
But now, I’m going to take the opportunity to rest for a few hours, because I am TIRED. I’m prescribing myself tea, a little chai-spiced banana bread, and the new episode of Midsummer Murders that just aired a few days ago. Why are British murder mysteries so relaxing? We may never know…
Pictured: chocolate box (cinnamon dark chocolate rose, lemony white chocolate crown, ruby heart, dragonfruit crown, silvered rose (with rose flavor))
We’ll get at least all the Earth tier boxes out today, and the rest should go out tomorrow. Darius and Stephanie are here to help, and I think Emmanuel is coming by too, so I have hopes for a very efficient packing morning. Fingers crossed. Wish us luck!
I feel a little iffy claiming this is an ‘autumn’ box, but on the other hand, I think it’s technically autumn until the solstice, so I have a few more days! And maybe the seasons are different in Wonderland anyway….
*****
Earth tier ($40):
• the White Rabbit’s mulled apple cider marshmallows
•the Caterpillar’s smoked & salted vanilla marshmallows three ways:
– dark chocolate with crumbled graham crackers
– ruby chocolate with a dizzying array of colored sprinkles
– white chocolate with green glitter and gold stars
• Queen of Hearts cherry-rose scone
• chai-spiced banana bread
• Autumn in Wonderland falling leaves iced sugar cookies
• chocolate box (dragonfruit crown, silvered rose (with rose flavor), cinnamon dark chocolate rose, lemony white chocolate crown, ruby hearts)
• the Sleepy Dormouse’s garden party tisane: cacao nibs, dried fruit (peaches, cranberries, apricots, pears, nectarines, and raisins), crystallized ginger, rose petals
• the Mad Hatter’s cocktail / mocktail mix (hibiscus powder, crystallized ginger, dried pineapple)
•Wonderland hand-colored bookmark
•the Caterpillar’s trippy amber & sandalwood soap
30 seconds of pouring hot water into a tisane.