No Lions Here

March is supposed to come in like a lion, but of course Southern California does not include lion-ish weather in its bag of tricks. We get odd touches of spring that really don't make much of an impression, against the backdrop of general mildness. One odd touch is these flowers that bloom outside Kristen's bedroom window out of what is not simply a dormant tree but one that is actually dead. Or nearly so. But one bit of life must remain.

So I've been using the various Omaha Steak items that Mum and Dad sent, and last night I wanted to use up some asparagus, and decided to cook the last 2 chicken breasts to go with it. I boiled the asparagus and made a sauce out of mayonnaise and a splash of usukuchi soy sauce blended together. Then I dredged the chicken breasts in a bit of flour and sauteed them in olive oil. When they were nearly done, I added a substantial bit of minced garlic. I added about 3/4 cup of chicken broth and some capers I happened to have in the fridge. Covered that and let it steam a bit, then I squirted in some lemon juice and tossed in some green onions, and let the liquid reduce.Add some yellow rice and the asparagus, and it made quite a nice meal!


On the knitting front, I am on the foot section of my second sock in the Burnished Berries colorway. But I was feeling impatient to try out the Lion Brand Romance that Aunt Bobbie sent, so I cast on 40 stitches in Feather and Fan to see how it works up. It's easier to knit with than it appears. The fuzziness is kept in check by the fact that there is some nylon thread spun into the yarn. Feather and Fan is just my kind of stitch pattern: the end results look far more complicated than the actual pattern. You knit a row, purl a row, do one row of yos and k2togs, and knit another row. How hard is that? And you get this for your trouble: