Claire, I am not sure I've ever heard the term cute associated with starlings . . . ;>) Jane, that series of robin photos is absolutely stunning. I am always interested in the content of photos, but this month there have been a bunch of really lovely photos as far as composition and clarity. I'll submit some photos which are a bit more basic than artistic. I'm not sure how Claire gets such stunning turkey photos. Ours are very wily, and if I open a window or door to take a photo, they jog off in the opposite direction to the nearest shelter. So mine are taken from inside the house, and often through a combination of screen and glass. During the recent snowstorm, our local flock scooted across the road and down into the cornfield. I managed to catch a couple of photos before they disappeared into the evergreens to find shelter. They were moving much faster than usual; definitely looked unhappy about the weather. Arriving down the access drive into the field: From Turkeys in the snow December 27, 2012 And halfway across, scuttling rapidly towards shelter: From Turkeys in the snow December 27, 2012

Reporting in from last night's italian dinner.... I ordered napoletonia? pasta (tomato sauce pasta) - 1.5 for the tomato sauce and NORMALLY 5.0 for the pasta - lunch serving - I ATE THE WHOLE BOWL DINNER SIZE. Goodness me! I went over my points by 2.5 yesterday (Had a glass of beer too! Bad McPeg). Today I have been ensuring to have my fruit salad (breakfast), had a lovely bread with raisin sandwich with small amount olive oil marg and going to have a no point mixed veggie soup mid-afternoon before going over to our friends for movie and chinese tonight. WALKED to and back to the store for groceries - I have one of those pull carts on wheels because I LOVE WALKING - especially when it's sunny. So hopefully I recovered a few points round trip. Going out again for a walk to the garden centre and back. Try and recover a couple more points and soak up the sun. It is an actually crisp, cold sunny day in Scotland - our area has complete escaped the UK snow during the last week. I love walking in this weather - sheer delight! Planning to take a bottle of strawberry flavoured water because there will be beer and wine and after last night I need to watch today and tomorrow. I enjoyed myself last night - did not touch any cheese garlic bread that surrounded me, nursed my beer throughout the meal and ate like I have never seen food before (tee hee). Ah but I love a good challenge. So that was my adventure last night and today and I walking and stretching. Can't stay on too long - need ta get moving again. Hope everyone hangs in there. Beverly, you are still doing fine because you keep trying new things and you are not quitting on yourself. What a star you are! Yellowhair I am glad to see you recovering and getting back on track again. Fabulous. I agree with your comments on crockpot cooking. Slow cooking is great but so is pressure cooking if you have less time. MaryAnn - okay so ya had a donut. I will have a few when I visit home or maybe just one because I now know better. You can't deny yourself life's small pleasures but you are well armed with knowledge now to recover and not feel bad for enjoying that donut. I know there will always be donuts but it will taste so much better for me if I can achieve my goal by end summer and have one wearing size 12 pants. Then it will be worth it! Big Mama, I know you have had a tough time but you keep coming back. I have absolutely no idea what it's like for you I can only understand food. I admire you for taking care of yourself and still coming back to talk to us. Don't let go - I am reaching out to you and hanging onto your hand! You can do this. Forget yesterday if you had any bad ones and focus on taking care of yourself today. Take some time today to give yourself some pamper time - a nice walk or soak in the tub, get a nice haircut/curl, buy a new pair of funky socks/shirt or something...or simply turn off the phone, close the door and have some quiet time with a good book. Let's make today count - no matter what we do. Life is precious and so are we! Cheers, gotta stroll! McPeg

Here is how I made my low FODMAP dish this week. Lots of flavor. If you assess it on its own merits rather than comparing to a dear favorite, it's a good dish. I think one of the hardest parts of this diet is that it precludes so many favorite foods. There's no way this is going to be Mom's Sunday Gravy, and if that's what you have a hankering for, it's better just to have something entirely different. OTOH, if you're just wanting flavor, give it a try. Meatballs Marinara Meatballs (yield: 3 dozen): 2 lbs. Ground Bison (10% fat) or any meat you like (not poultry, which cooks differently) 1.5 c. White Jasmine Rice (or any rice you favor) 3/4 c. Rolled Whole Oats 3 small Parsnips, minced well 1 lb. Carrots, minced well 4 whole Eggs 2 handfuls Dried Parsley Salt & Pepper to taste Set the oven to convection, at 360° F. If you don't have convection, use bake, but put the trays in one at a time. Line a couple of baking trays with parchment paper and give a light spritz of oil (not necessary, but browns the bottom). In a food processor, whirr the rice into small pieces, but not completely down to flour. Some whole grains are okay, though you can go finer if you prefer. Whirr the oats lightly, as well. Dump into a large mixing bowl (I use a 5 qt. stainless). Do these first (before the wet of the roots). No need to clean the FP, just mince the carrots and parsnips and dump them into the mixing bowl. Crack the eggs separately to make sure they're okay and catch any little bits of shell and dump them in the bowl along with the meat, parsley and S&P. Mix well with your hands. Food service gloves are great for this. Don't overwork it, but get everything well distributed. Hands are much better than a spoon for this job. Use a medium food scoop or large spoon to help make handball sized meatballs (or whatever size you prefer). Roll between your hands lightly to compact the surface but not squeeze the middle. Place on the baking sheets. They can be fairly near each other. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until nicely browned. Marinara Sauce (yield: 2 quarts, concentrated): 3.5 lbs. Crushed and Pureed Tomatoes (2 large cans or equivalent homemade--any combination of the two) 3 small fist sized Turnips, minced 1/2 lb. Carrots, chopped 1/4-1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil 5 Roasted Serrano Chili Peppers, stemmed and seeded, or canned or dried equivalent, or substitute as you please. This isn't enough to make the sauce hot--just tasty. Mild chili pepper would be fine, or if you like hot, throw in the seeds, but don't skip this unless you have digestive issues with peppers. 1 handful each, fresh, destemmed and chopped, or dried: Thyme, Oregano, Basil and Parsley 1 Dried Bay Leaf, to be fished out at the end 1 standard jar Capers Pepper to taste You'll need a good pot, at least 3 qts. in capacity. Drain the capers well in a strainer. When they're well drained, rinse them well to remove excess salt. Mince the turnips in the food processor. Heat the pot to the temperature you usually sauté' at, or low end of medium, and add the smaller amount of oil. Cooking with EVOO is very tricky. It scorches easily, so go lower rather than higher, and don't turn your back on it. When a little piece of turnip will just bubble, add all the turnip and stir well, distributing the oil throughout. If you don't have enough oil to that, clear a space in the pan and add more, letting it heat just a bit before stirring it into the turnip. Reduce the temperature and keep stirring every so often until it cooks down into a clumpy, paste like thing, and a taste proves that it's beginning to soften. Flatten it out and leave it go longer without stirring so it will start to brown. Stir occasionally and reflatten. This will take some time. Chop the carrots in the food processor. Pulse so they don't go to small. The point is to release their water into the sauce rather than the FP, and let them lend their texture. If you want a smoother texture, you can mince them, but get all the good carrot juice. When the turnip is beginning to brown on the bottom, stir in the carrots and chili peppers. When they're well heated, add the tomatoes and herbs. Stir well and taste for seasoning. Add pepper to taste. Don't add salt at this stage. Bring up to the high end of medium heat and wait for big bubbles. When you see several, reduce the heat to the high end of low, to simmer. You should still see a few small bubbles. Add 3/4 of the capers, reserving 1/4 for garnish. Stir in and allow them to cook into the sauce, at least half an hour, still on simmer. Taste for seasoning again. If you're using canned tomatoes, you probably don't need salt, especially with the saltiness of the capers. Remember, this sauce is reducing and that intensifies saltiness. If it actually tastes bland to you, go ahead and add a little salt. Adjust the herbs as you wish. Simmer another half an hour and remove from heat. This is a concentrated sauce, which is almost stewlike, and should freeze well.. You can puree it if you want a smoother sauce--do this before adding any water. Before using, add water a few tablespoonsful at a time, to get it to your desired consistency. Combine: In a covered casserole or pot, or baking dish with a foil cover, put a ladle of sauce in the bottom and spread it around. Line it with meatballs, touching, but not smooshed together. Cover generously with sauce. Optional toppings: a blanket of arugula, a sprinkling of tasty cheese (romano or asiago, or parm, if you prefer), a dusting of chopped pine nuts (not too many for low FODMAP). Cover and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350° F. until piping hot. Alternatives: If you prefer a richer meatball, with more fat, that's fine. You can cook down the turnips in the drippings if there's enough to completely coat. Add some oil if not, but not EVOO which would be too flavorful. Adjust the proportions of veg and binders to suit yourself. This meatball recipe is based on one which uses equivalent amounts of onion to parsnip and bread crumbs to rice/oats. You can go meatier if that's your preference, but take it out of the carrots. The parsnips provide the pungency that's missing from having no onions or garlic. Edited to add yields. This post was edited by plllog on Sat, Nov 8, 14 at 19:20

we installed shiloh cabinets a few months ago and we're quite happy with them. the finishes (we have two types) are great and, imo, look like furniture-quality. they're rock-solid, built like tanks, and very heavy and sturdy. one of the nicest things about dealing with shiloh is that there are no upcharges for things like paint, glaze, and distressing. we had a few issues with our order (the fault of our cabinet guy) and shiloh turned around the replacement doors in less than two weeks. we had zero issues with the quality of the cabinets or finish. everything arrived in great shape. oh, and they turned the order around in four weeks if that matters to you. i think that, for what you pay, they're an excellent bargain. here's a couple pics: