My Gracious Acceptance Speech

Thank you. (pause for applause to subside) Thank you very much for this award for Best Dinner Ever. I will cherish it and use it for inspiration on those dull afternoons when I cannot think of anything to cook for dinner.

I'd like to thank my family who nominated me for this award. (blow kisses) I appreciate their enthusiasm for all three dishes (pause) and the food in those dishes. (pause..laughter subsides) Thank you sweet husband and children; I love you and wish to feed you healthy, delicious food.

I'd also like to thank the farmers who raised the sweet potatoes and green beans. Your dedication to small farm life and organic non-chemical growing make our world a better place and our food was delicious. Thanks also to Nigella Lawson for the Green Bean (not really a casserole) Casserole recipe. The quick boiling of the beans left them slightly crisp and the toss with butter and lemon gave them a silky finish with a fresh bite. While I used no recipe for the baked sweet potatoes, I give thanks to Alton Brown for his confirmation that baked potatoes need nothing more than a swipe of olive oil (and maybe a sprinkling of salt) to showcase their amazing flavour and texture.

Finally, I'd like to thank the fisherpeople and merchants who caught, cleaned, and sold the char. I an grateful for the omega 3 fatty acids and other heart friendly benefits of this delicious fish and I am especially grateful that my husband loves char since he does not care for salmon.

Thank you again for this award. I will try to cook to these high standards more often.

Frog or Tink?

Frogging is scary. Really! Maybe it is because I knit into the back of each stitch (don't ask - I taught myself from a book and must be somewhat dyslexic) but when I frog the stitches I can't tell when to stop (sigh) and I generally lose a couple of stitches into the edges. Anyway, even using the hint to hold the knitting flat and frog until the live yarn is on the left I still mess up frogging. Frankly, if I have to frog a row or two then I frog the whole thing and start over. It's less confusing. Oh, and I didn't find out for MONTHES that it's called frogging because you rippit out. groan

I had read about people tinking but wasn't sure what it meant. Okay, I'm still not sure what it means to other people but to me it means unknitting (tink = knit backwards). When I tink, I turn the knitted work around so that the opposite side is towards me. Then I put the tip of the right sided needle into the lower loop (beneath the next stitch on the left needle); I slide that loop onto the right needle while pulling gently on the live yarn. The position of the live yarn (on the you side of the needle or the away side of the needle) depends on whether you are tinking knit stitches or purl stitches. When I tink, I do not lose any stitches and I have more control over the rate of unknitting.

Fat Tuesday and those Slouchy Socks

Those slouchy Olympic socks made my family laugh very hard. They are like leg warmers with feet; I can wear them OVER my jeans. I Think that they look great worn over a pair of tights with ankle boots and a mid-calf skirt.

Yesterday was Fat Tuesday (also known as Shrove Tuesday). We shrive (?) every day in confessional prayer and did not schedule confession at church. We did have a special fat and carb dinner last night along with a discussion of how Fat Tuesday used to be about thrift and not gluttony. People would not eat fats, sugar, or meat during Lent so they would have a feast to clear those ingredients from the house so that they wqouldn't go bad before Easter. That's not really an issue for people who don't give up those things anymore. Our family doesn't give up all of those things as a family - last year we only bought organic meat during Lent; we ate less meat as a result and I liked supporting the small farmers. We still buy about 60% organic meat. Last year G, then 7, gave up struggling over bathtime. We usually pick something new up for Lent and then keep it - some habit of kindness or prayer...something that helps us to live more like we think we should be living.

What did we have last night for dinner? Bangers and mash, carmelized onions, green beans, and fondue!