Merry Xmas 2010!

[thistle]

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! (or any other holiday you'd like to celebrate-I regret not getting up for the lunar eclipse this last week). We are traveling with the puppies (6 months old now) down to NC tomorrow, will be quite an adventure (we have childrens Benadryl & dramamine, but I'll hold off if I think they can travel without it). My kids both got Ipads for Xmas, so I've barely seen them all day, I think they like them. I got a La Chamba pot & made a 'left in the frig' casserole w/ onion, potato, carrots, celery, mushroom, chicken, & some leftover bratwurst & cabbage/sauerkraut-it was surprisingly good. I'm looking forward to a new year of cooking & eating adventures, that I'm sure I'll share with all of you-Happy Holidays Everyone!

[lperry]

Happy week of Holiday Liminality! In addition to all the incredible food we've been having lately, Santa brought us lots of food-related loot. We received certificates for several raspberry plants, a Seckel pear tree, and a Green Gage plum, all of which will be shipped in the early spring. Fingers crossed for fruit success.

Mr. lperry got a programmable rice cooker - a Tiger - so he can have his steel-cut oats ready in the wee hours of the morning. It's worked great so far.

I got an EdgePro Apex knife sharpener. I asked for the basic kit so I could learn how to use it, but Santa went a little overboard and got me the basic kit plus an entire set of Chosera Japanese waterstones for it. It took some research to figure out how to use them, and how not to be intimidated by the whole set up, but now my knives are sharper than they've ever been, even after I paid the pros to sharpen them. Making dinner last night, I kept checking to see if the vegetables were old or rotted - the knives slid through them like butter. Sad but true, a knife sharpener has made me very happy!

Happy cooking through the New Year!

[Ericandblueboy]

I cut myself at my MIL's with her rather dull knife, bouncing off the side of a Brussels sprout. Santa gave me a remote controlled helicopter. I will be supplementing Santa's gift by taking a trip to th Mall of America in a couple of days.