Sunday morning, another brilliant day, I did some fall cleanup, took out dead foliage from the pots, cut back the ever encroaching lemon balm, trimmed the butterfly bush, swept and tossed and generally got carried away.
No cutting back here, just letting the cosmos and wildflowers do what they want.
And I watched a cool Atomic Shrimp YouTube video, foraging, inventive cooking of whatever's around.
I notice he's now using the back of the knife blade to sweep off the cutting board. I boycott "cooks" who use the sharp edge as a broom. No good can come of such brutality to their precious tools. Shrimp was firmly taken to task a while back by a teaching chef, and, credit where due, he did better when he knew better.
I've been in this convo before and few people responding seems to grasp why it matters. They're more oh, you can just get it resharpened. Some restaurants have a regular sharpening service. Not the point.
The sharpening is for regular wear on the blade from cutting and slicing. Not for repairing damage done by people who don't respect their tools as partners. A craftsman probably designed and maybe also made the tools.
The notion of respecting and caring for your tools is about more than cooking or making anything. It has to do with your relationships, too, the way you move through the world. It's a metaphor.
I stepped down from my Sunday soapbox to start drawing my design for the Bayeux stitch page in the fabric book.
Here's my model
and here's my drawing,
ready to trace into the muslin page.
And here's the muslin page
As you see, the drawing was a starting point, not the whole idea. Now I have to find yarns to stitch with.
Shortly after, Gary showed up with
His next door neighbors just came back from India. Not to his taste, he's more of a Wendy's guy.
Happy day everyone! You're all entitled to my opinion! Speaking of which, I tracked my ballot. Safely received.
Sounds like a fruitful Sunday.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good day.
DeleteThat is interesting about the knives. Who knew?
ReplyDeleteMy response would be who didn't? đŸ˜‰
DeleteLove seeing the inspiration to the pattern on muslin. I look forward to the result!
ReplyDeleteI do, too. A lot can happen in the process.
DeleteAs a chef, my son is particular about his knives. They have their own and they are sacrosanct. So, I gladly join your opinion! BTW, they are also VERY expensive.
ReplyDeleteYes,exactly.
DeleteOnce again- you and I were doing a lot of the same things on the same day.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that I knew that using the knife to sweep the cut ingredients into the pot or whatever was bad for the blade. Even when the cutting board is wood?
Thank you for that. I'll pay more attention from here on.
No matter what the board is made of, dragging the sharp edge of the blade sideways ruins the edge. It's designed for up and down motion, and the sharpened edge is fragile. So now you know!
DeleteAnd I remembered this as I chopped the vegetables for my chicken and dumplings last night. No dragging!
DeleteđŸ˜‰đŸ˜‰
DeleteI think I'm going to like your leaf page the best.
ReplyDeleteMore your speed, I think.
DeleteSounds and looks like a satisfying day. I’d sooner enjoy what Gary passed on than the bagful of rope sweets a friend brought back from the fair for me. What a waste of sugar!
ReplyDeleteIndian treats are pretty sweet, but also full of nuts and often milk. I love them.
DeleteWhen I taught my grands how to garden, cleaning and housing their tools was part of the learning.
ReplyDeleteYes, proper use of tools is part of the job. Good for you for teaching that.
DeleteI’m exactly like you but instead of tools, it’s books.
ReplyDeleteI get very upset if I see someone flipping pages roughly or bending the corners and if I ever see someone bending the book back against itself. Oh my I do tend to say something before I can stop myself.
You didn’t lots of work in the garden. Have a rest and a nice cuppa. You have earned it
Yes, books need care, too. I don't like dogearing pages.
DeleteHah - you should meet our chef son because he's on the same page with the use of knives. He has to buy his own knives and the ones he uses are very expensive so he treats them with care and gets a tad testy when he sees anybody mistreating them.
ReplyDeleteReading Angela's comment elicited a 'Yes!' response from me. I was taught from very young that books are precious things and you treat them well. The only books I can bring myself to mark in are cookbooks and I can make notes for future reference.
I thought your son would have a position on the knife issue! I do write notes in cookbooks, because they're workbooks, really. Other books, no.
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