Cooks, Pet Door Safety, GMA Olympics.

Last night I went to deliver some Avon to a new customer who mentioned she was going up north. When I enquired where, it turns out she is going to work in a Lodge north of Thunder Bay which can only be reached by air, so then I asked "doing what", "cooking", she said. It turned out that not only did she cook but her friend, who was visiting, owns a restaurant and her mother used to cook for a restaurant in the area. Obviously, I felt right at home in this nest of cooks. Of course I had to give them my blog address. The product I delivered was Avon's Skin So Soft bath oil which has a fantastic reputation as a bug repellant and there tend to be a lot of bugs up north, particularly black fly which have a fearsome reputation and which, thankfully, I have never encountered. Skin So Soft is useful for a lot of other things they claim, if you are interested click here where there is a long list of its uses. You can even use it as a bath oil! Just caught a segment on GMA about the dangers of doggie doors to children. Apparently over 100 children have been killed because they could get through the doors. Sorry, didn't you know your child was about the same size as your dog? Don't you know children will explore and try out anything they possible can? Now the makers of the pet doors are being sued and knowing the courts, the manufacturers will probably lose. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a terrible tragedy that these children have died, but I don't think it is the manufacturer's fault but rather the parent's. If you have small children you should NOT have a doggie door and you should NOT blame the manufacturer for the lack of warning. If you want to read the article click here. Look at the picture. A German Shepherd is bigger than a lot of toddlers and owners are claiming they didn't know their children would crawl through the door putting the kid in danger. Kids can disappear in seconds, you just have to turn your back, putting a big hole in your door is, in my opinion, just asking for trouble. Why don't people take responsibility for their own stupidity or thoughtlessness. It makes me mad. Its like the case of the hot coffee some woman spilled on herself. Why should MacDonald's have to pay because she burned herself by spilling hot coffee? I have burnt myself on my stove, maybe I should sue the manufacturers of the stove - hey I never thought of that, I could make money!!!! I once broke a finger between a dinghy and the quay, now who should I sue, the boat builder or the town who owned the quay? Not my fault I was stupid enough to have my hand there. There is a challenge on with the GMA anchors this week. They are working towards a mini Olympics on Friday. Yesterday they were learning to use a trampoline, today they were limbo dancing, not too successfully I might add, not sure what the rest of the week will bring. Its pretty funny to watch the four of them. This picture shows all of them watching a professional show them the tricks of jumping. As you can see, Dianne is doubled up with laughter. They all did pretty well on the trampoline, today Robin Roberts did very well on the limbo, Sam they lifted the bar for!! Didn't see the other two. If you don't know the anchors click here to see photos of the all at the top right of the page. With this recipe, it includes anchovy paste or an anchovy fillet. Please don't say you don't like anchovies. When used in a sauce or cooked into a dish, you can hardly discern their flavour although it gives a subtle something, or as the French would say "je ne sais quoi" to whatever you are making with them. I know people who have eaten a whole anchovy before now, big mistake, that is generally not how they are supposed to be eaten and won't taste very good. Don't leave them out of this recipe, it really will spoil it. If you don't want to try it in case, come on over and I will make it for you. Asparagus with Anchovies & Garlic Source: Eating Well 4 tsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 Tbs minced garlic 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper 2 bunches asparagus, tough ends* trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces 1 Tbs water 2 tsp anchovy paste or 1 anchovy fillet, minced Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Add asparagus, water and anchovy; cook, stirring often, until the asparagus is tender-crisp, 5 to 6 minutes Servings: 4 Yield: about 3/4 cup each * If you buy it directly from Tim Barrie's Asparagus farm (or a farm near you), you will not have any tough ends. The ends don't toughen up until the spears have been hanging around for several days. Have a great day.