Most Irish songs are written in the keys of G or D. One plays them on whistles designed to play in those keys or one fudges. Recorders also have a limited range. I think for D and G songs, an alto recorder works best. You can start the tune on a different key and "find" the rest of the melody from there, thereby changing the sharps.......or modify the song to work around it, or buy another instrument with a different range, or try a different song. ;-). Fippled instruments do not have the unlimited range of something like a stringed instrument or keyboard. But when you work with folk music, that's not usually an issue. You are free to interpret the notes to what will work for you. It sounds a lot more complicated than it is, actually.

I give: What's "IOW"? I do like Hell's Kitchen, a lot. All reality competitions have an edited story line and a lot that goes on off camera, with whole other stories that actually happened but aren't as useful to the main story arc that aren't shown. They may have retakes on things that are important to the game when the shots get ruined, but those are basically, "Taste that again", and stuff like that. The reason these things work is that once the cast get to know the crew and they've been shooting a few days, or even hours, the cast gets used to the presence of the cameras, crew, cables, and all the rest, and just kind of ignore them. They actually forget they're there, even when they have appointments to sit with a producer asking them snarky questions one on one (you only see the responses, not the producer or questions) to provide commentary and to stir up trouble. Basically, though, they don't actually script off camera. They tell them, and may even rehearse them, on where to line up, maybe what the structure of the occasion is (made up example, "Contestant X will take your covered dish to the tasting table."), but the manipulation is mostly through editing. I don't think there's actually anything pre-ordained. If nothing else, that would be illegal because this is a contest with prizes. In the editing, they often telegraph where the story is going, but that's part of putting together a good story by choosing the clips and angles that pull the viewer into the particular episode. Because I'm doing computer work at home all day, I tend to run the TV for company and love these kinds of shows because they're undemanding of my attention except for the approximately five minutes when something actually happens. I totally agree that Gordon Ramsay is entertaining. He is a former soccer player and a very highly respected chef. He gained a reputation in England for being good TV by participating in shows where they needed a great chef, became a star and started doing a lot of shows both there and here. What you're seeing in Season 5 of Hell's Kitchen is the character he plays on TV. Foul mouthed, demanding, verbally abusive in a drill sergeant way, etc. Occasionally you'll get glimpses of him being a normal, caring, gentleman, which I'd guess is his at home self. I promise I won't give you rank spoilers, but I will tell you that, just as with drill sergeants and recruits, Ramsay gets the best out of the contestants. They learn a hell of a lot in Hell's Kitchen. But they don't get coddled. Reasons why I respect Gordon Ramsay? He believes that the point of what they're doing is to please the customers with the food, and he demands that they produce dishes that are cooked properly, including to the amount of doneness requested. I can't tell you how angry hoity-toity chefs make me when they go on TV and insist that they know better than diners how they'd like to eat their meat. Ramsay demands immaculate kitchens and correct food handling. He demands that things be done right. He respects a good hamburger as much as a good quail's egg. And he will give compliments freely where they're due.

Bellsmom, :-). One dish I didn't take pictures of. It was gobbled up too soon. Shopping at Whole Foods, I scored big time. they were selling large globe shaped artichokes. The chokes came with 10 inch long stems. People were breaking off the stems and left them in the bin. I took two chokes and bagged all the discarded stems, 4 lbs? The cashier only charged me two artichokes. If you watch Peppin's shows, you know how often he uses vegetable stems. Also, often at farmers markets, you can get beet stems/tops for free. About the asparagus stems. Those are Italian purple asparagus âÂÂVioletto d' Albengaâ variety, They are larger, sweeter and not as fibery as the green ones. Really nice! dcarch

Mmmm...potato pizza. Must try that one Spatz, though I'm lazy and just by Lebanese flat bread to use as a pizza base when I make them. Tried lentils in red wine? 250g Puy or brown lentils, soaked overnight 2 medium carrots finely diced 1 onion finely chopped 1 tbs tomato paste 2 tbs good olive oil 1L good stock 750mL red wine 1 stick cinnamon salt and pepper to taste In a saucepan, reduce red wine and cinnamon over a low heat to about 150mL, around 20 mins. Heat olive oil in heavy frypan and cook onions and carrots for 10 mins, stirring occasionally. Add lentils, tomato paste, wine reduction, stock, salt and pepper then simmer, covered, for 30 to 40 mins until thick and lentils are soft. Add water if necessary. This makes a fantastic pie filling, or as a bed under pan seared salmon, or as an accompaniment to whatever takes your fancy.