The shears - Cutco- come apart and are dishwasher safe.

The Cutco shears are awesome. We have a set of Cutco knives, but I really need to send them in to be resharpened. They are like two decades old.

Jess, I definitely use dried herbs but they aren't nearly as vivid as fresh ones, and that's the same way I feel about garlic vs. garlic powder. Even in stews, fresh garlic makes a big difference, particularly in the scent.

Fresh herbs (although I don't really mean garlic, here) have a more delicate flavor that I do like in some recipes. It depends on how bold and hearty the recipe itself, is. The subtleties are going to get lost in a lot of stuff I cook, which leans to the hearty side. Also, when I making ordinary red sauce, for an ordinary suppor, it's usually not going to happen, because I'm generally helping three people with homework, while I'm cooking and trying not to kill them.

If you don't smash the garlic with a knife, how do you peel it? The rolling-between-your-hands technique is painful, and those garlic-peely devices always get lost in my house.

That's all I smash it for, to peel it, and even then, I give it more of a good press (with a knife, my hand, the tea kettle, whatever), slice off the ends, and the peel falls right off. I just use the press itself, if I want my garlic in the condition it would be in, if I did all that smashing people talked about, upstream.

I just started sauce. Olive oil, a (finely) chopped onion, a (finely) chopped green pepper, three garlic cloves (sliced really thin), two cans of tomatoes (big -- 28 oz each, maybe?), red pepper, black pepper, salt, oregano, a leeeeeeetle bit of parsley and basil, six thin slices of pepperoni, leftover roast chicken, and another onion (whole, which will be removed when the sauce is done).

In a half an hour or so, I'll throw in a couple of handfuls of Romano cheese, and maybe a few more slices of pepperoni. Much later on, once I'm ready to start the pasta, I'll throw in some red wine. I don't usually put either chicken or pepperoni in my sauce. My uncle would do either or both though, and I'm missing him a lot today, for some reason. I should have waited to throw in the chicken. Oh well.

I have very few opinions on food preparation. I'd be an excellent dinner guest! Just tell me what kind of beverage to bring.

We should have a Chicagoistas Quest for Garlic Naan sometime soon.

I'm free this weekend and the following weekend. After that I'm booked until mid-March.

I need to buy a new mattress/boxspring set.

Likewise. I guess I should go visit IKEA next week.

I'm free this weekend and the following weekend. After that I'm booked until mid-March.

Then I guess we'd better do it soon, huh.

In diabetic cat news, mine is being switched from super expensive vet inslulin (about $100 for a bottle that lasts 6 weeks) to a new kind of insulin (from pigs maybe?) that is 1/2 as expensive!!! Not as good as when he was on human insulin (about $15 a bottle if I remember correctly) but still.

Does anyone here watch the US version of The Office?

Because last night had me all FLAIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know Vonnie, lisah, and P-C watch it, and Theo does, but hasn't yet seen it. But FLAIL! Flail. flail. FLAIL.

Seriously.

Jim! Pam!

lisah, glad you got moved to something cheaper. $100/6 weeks is crazy. I'm still lucking out with the $30 nph stuff.

Dwight!

I'm still lucking out with the $30 nph stuff

I hope Mr. K. moves into the no longer diabetic camp soon like my friends' cat just did. I've heard about that happening with other cats too but I don't think a miracle cure is in Swifty's cards. (I did get a bottle of the 'spensive insulin my friends no longer needed though.)