gg- i love my fiskars too. that's what we use on our sib. iris. For our peonies, we use Florian hand pruners. These 2 plants are about all we cut back in fall- peonies because of needing to discourage botrytis vestiges, and iris because their foliage is too wet in spring to easily cut back. The rest of the arboretum we do in spring. We found this method after many backbreaking years of spring cleanup with its truckloads of detritus. By waiting til spring, we have found that we have a mere percentage of the plant matter that we had before- because the winter dessicates and often removes the leaves/stems . best, Mindy btw, my favorite garden cutting tools are all made by Florian. lightweight, VERY sharp, very comfortable to grip. http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=HS-K1000&Category_Code=garden_tool_shears http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=HS-K900Z&Category_Code=garden_tool_shears http://www.floriantools.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=florian&Product_Code=P-451&Category_Code=florian_tools

Tossing in a couple of ways I've been cooking fillets lately - simple, utilitarian, and you can prep it up then when everyone is at the table enjoying the appetizer, you can sneak away and do the cooking in 5 minutes. These are usually tilapia, halibut, cod, or other whitefish. Salmon doesn't taste right if cooked this way, to me. Miso-marinated and simmered - Make a miso soup, cool it to room temp - Marinate fish for 1 hour. Can be fillets or small steaks, less than 6 oz - Meanwhile, bring to boil 1 cup sake, 1 cup miso, 2 TBSP mirin, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1 TBSP sugar. Turn down to a high simmer and reduce for the hour that the fish is marinating. Should reduce by appx 1/2 to 2/3. If desired, mix 1 TBSP cornstarch with a little water and add that to the sauce. Adjust taste with sugar and salt. - Remove fish from the miso marinade, bring the marinade to a full boil for a few minutes, then turn down to a high simmer and add the fish back. Simmer fish for 5 minutes only. Longer simmering will produce tougher fish. - Place each piece of fish in a small bowl. Add a little of the simmering liquid, to keep the bowl and fish warm, but not to cover the fish. Pour the sauce over the fish. Garnish with something pretty and serve. Milk simmered - Pat fillets dry and salt lightly - Melt two pats of butter to coat bottom of a pan - Optionally, sautee some minced garlic or onion in the butter - Raise heat, place the fillets in the pan and cook for 30 second per side on med-high heat - Pour 1/4" of half-and-half in the pan, turn down heat, simmer for 5 minutes for 1/2" fillets, a few minutes longer for a thick fillet - Remove fish to plate. If desired, thicken liquid with some flour and add another pat of butter plus salt to taste, to use as a pan sauce. Parsley or a little plop of bright green pesto looks nice with this. Wok fried - assumes fillets - coat fillets with cornstarch and salt, knock off excess - Mix up a sauce from 2 TBSP rice wine, 1 TBSP soy sauce, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 TBSP finely minced ginger, 1 TBSP finely minced garlic, 1 TBSP cornstarch, 1 TBSP chopped green onions, 1 TBSP fine diced red bell pepper (this last is just for color). I like some hot sauce too. - Place wok (a cast iron pan works too) on high flame, leave to heat for 4 minutes. Pour in enough veg oil to be 1/2" deep at center of wok (if using a flat-bottom pan, don't try for 1/2"), leave on high heat until oil starts to shimmer and then to smoke - Slide two fillets into the hot oil (slide, don't splash!), tilt the wok so that the hot oil gets to all parts of the fillets, after 30 seconds flip the fillets (flipping away from you!), after 30 seconds remove the fillets to blot on paper towels. Replenish oil if needed, heat to just smoking, cook two more fillets, etc. - When all fillets are cooked, place them on serving dish. Pour off the oil, return the wok to heat up, then pour in the sauce. Cook until liquid is bubbling and garlic is fragrant but not burned, pour sauce over fish, and serve. - If you want the fish more cooked or more thoroughly sauced - or if they are thicker fillets - lay each fillet in the wok with the sauce just long enough to cook to your desired doneness. I like my fish just barely cooked, personally, so for me this step would be 5 seconds.

There was a recent thread on knife sharpeners which pointed to a cooks illustrated recommendation at a bargain price of about seven dollars. I ordered it immediately and was satisfied at the outcome. Now, I cannot remember what I bought but I encourage you to find the thread which I believe I saw about two weeks before thanksgiving.

We have these every year we love them. Unless specified they are never gag gifts they are really legit gifts you would want. This year I gave a personal smoothie blender. It is small and has the drink container as the blender top. They fought over it. Another that I got that was fought for was an led battery powered lantern great for when the power goes out or camping or you need a work light. I bought those at big lots. This year the gift I stole was a small battery powered screwdriver/drill that has a handle that bends for easy grip. One year I gave a set of women's tools it was very pretty with flowered handles, they loved it. I gave a set of nice steak knives once and a set of nice kitchen utensils once. I tend not to get to gender specific and not holiday related. I never use gift cards they lack the wow effect which you want at these events. One year the gift I got was a very nice electric fillet knife kit. This is an excellent gift and one I would highly recommend! I gave away every electric knife I had after having that one. You can buy them in a really nice hard case with accessories at Academy sports and in the fishing department in big stores. Best knife ever for cutting up the turkey and ham. That would be my top suggestion.