mutt on

And I mustn't forget to mention the most important thing ........ HAPPY BIRTHDAY Mrs Sheepish.

Thanks Dejah, Vous êtes trop aimable (see what I did there whilst keeping well away from any references to the Princess of Mars?) Must be something to do with the genes ..... not that I could fit into Sheepish's jeans - too small round the waist and too long in the leg ...... I'm just long in the tooth!

Hope you're not talking about me there young fella. The last time I ate cockles straight from the pot was on my way home from the pub - years before you were even born. Going to Tesco for them on my way home now somehow doesn't have the same attraction!

I hope you don't mess up tonight's meal by concentrating too much on the rugby this afternoon. With vested interests in all three games this weekend your blog will probably have to take a back seat too. I also hope the games are as good as last weekend's Ireland-Wales match (who was Mrs S supporting there?)

Why shout about the JERUSALEM ARTICHOKES? That's the second time you've done so. Was it to try to find out how many of your avid readers knew this interesting fact: Despite its name, the Jerusalem artichoke has no relation to Jerusalem, and it is not a type of artichoke, even though both are members of the daisy family. The origin of the name is uncertain, but believed to come from Italian settlers in the USA who called the plant "girasole", the Italian word for sunflower because of its resemblance to the garden sunflower (the flower part that is, not the tuber that Sheepish is preparing for tonight's dinner!). And if that info is wrong you'll have to blame the TV show where I heard about it earlier this week - may have been Stephen Fry on QI.

Just joined eGullet after Mrs S directed me to Sheepish's blog. Of course this is a wonderfully creative blog, and not just because Rob has inherited many of his father's communication skills. Coincidentally Rob is also my son so I can testify to the exceptional quality of his (and Mrs S's) cooking, although with such a long trek from one side of the UK to the other we don't get to enjoy it as much as we'd like. We've yet to savour any of the Sichuan meals that Rob has already displayed here, so we better start planning our next trip! As for the kitchen photo, it really does look like that all the time. Mr & Mrs S's kitchen is half the size of ours but they turn out food at least twice as good!