Saturday - Wreath 4, Movie Night, Cooking like a Painter, King Arthur's Knights

Williamsburg Wreath

1. Movie Night at Home
Last night we watched the delightful film, "The Ladies no.1 Detective Agency" . Its charming, non-tinseled, and subtly amusing. The character of the No.1 Lady Detective is warm, wise and courageous. Her secretary keeps you laughing. The story is set in Botswana; I am not sure where it is filmed. The landscape, animals, and vibrant colors brought back wonderful memories for me of my 1985 trip to Kenya for the United Nations Conference on Women. FYI - We ordered the film from Netflix.

2. Cooking Like A Painter
Never thought I would cook and eat beef liver - but this week I have and I did. Ofcourse I had a powerful motivation to tackle cooking liver. When another patient at the Chemo Lab told me eating liver frequently helped keep her red blood count up I made a note in my book, "feed Jim liver."

Monica stopped at Shoppers and purchased a package of beef liver for me. I checked the internet for recipes and decided on liver and onions. Once the thin-sliced yellow onions were transparent and soft in the skillet I added the slippery slices of dark red liver. All seemed OK. I was hopeful. But once it was cooked the mixture looked blah and pathetic - well ugly. The cooked liver turned a hideous greyish brown. The look of the dish called out for help. So I let my painter's eye take over the recipe. I opened the cupboard. The first thing I saw was a can of red kidney beans. I drained and added them. Good color choice. But not enough. When a painting is floundering I give it a touch of red. Why not this? So I diced in a bright red fresh tomato. Served it over thick slices of toasted 5-grain bread. Perfect! Jim loved it.
The next day I gave the liver dish an encore with a side of bright yellow scrambled eggs. It looked and tasted good.
Frugal Tip: The package of liver Monica bought was huge. I divided it into four packages for the freezer as well as used one portion. All for $3.06. That's a lot of protein for pennies if you and your family develop a taste for it. And, if you do, remember to watch your colors.

3. Reading more King Arthur.
Earlier this year I read John Steinbeck's a version of Mallory's Knights of the Round Table and thoroughly enjoyed it. But the stories are still a bit distant for me to try to tell. And, that is what I want to do. To be able to tell something more than Dame Ragnell.

This week I discovered a series of Young Adult books written by Gerald Morris which take you through the stories of the Knights of the Round Table with his invention, Terence, Squire to Sir Gawain. I am thoroughly enjoying them. I recognize the stories from the Steinbeck telling but they are easier to enter and the repetition makes it easier for me to follow the progression of the myths. Morris includes a version of Ragnell. I am re-reading Steinbeck now to see how he made his changes. Fun. I love entering another world and hanging around in it for a while.

When I tire of all these male heroes I look forward to re-reading Zimmer's The Mists of Avalon.