Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Raw zucchini can be a dull ingredient, but when it’s very thinly sliced it marinates beautifully, especially in lemon juice. Just like Martha Rose Shulman, I like to use a mixture of green and yellow squash here. Assemble this dish at least four hours before you wish to serve it, so that the squash has time to soften and soak up the lemony marinade. I have added some additional instructions, notes and photos to the original Martha Rose recipe noted in italics.

1 pound medium or small zucchini, preferably a mix of green and yellow

Salt to taste. (I use about 1 tsp per pound of zucchini. I like the zucchini to retain a salty taste after it has been rinsed. Also, the melding of the salt, lemon, garlic and olive oil is key to this recipe)

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, mint, chives, dill or a combination . Fresh tarragon, thyme are also good.

1. Cut the ends of the zucchini off , then cut the zucchini in half crosswise.

2. Slice the squash as thinly as you can. The best way to do this is with a vegetable peeler such as the OXO Good Grips Swivel Peeler. You can see Jim hard at work slicing these zucchini’s with our OXO peeler. My method is to slice one side of the zucchini until it is flat, then turn it and do the same. You will get lots of very thin slices, some with peel edges, some without, that’s OK. Keep slicing until you get to the seeds. You can use the core with the seeds if you like or not.

Here we are, down to the seeds:

Sprinkle with salt, preferably kosher salt, and let sit for 15 to 30 minutes.

3. Rinse and drain on paper towels. Yes, you can do it this way, but I prefer to use a OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner. Rinse the zucchini as you would any greens: submerge the zucchini in cold water in the outside bowl of the spinner, then drain the strainer. Now spin dry as would for greens. Since the zucchini is heavier than most greens, you may have to divide it into 2 parts so as not to overtax your spinner. Other than that, it works like a charm!

4. Mix together the lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. Toss with the zucchini. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for four to six hours.

5. Remove from the refrigerator, and remove the garlic clove. Add the fresh herbs, and toss together. Taste, adjust seasoning and serve.

CatKnitz Cooks Notes:

6. Garlic: The first time I made this I didn’t read (or remember!) the directions regarding garlic. I mashed and chopped the garlic and added it to the vinaigrette. We ate it and declared the recipe, yum! Only on a second look at the recipe did I notice that you were supposed to crush the garlic clove, leave it whole, and remove it before serving. Depending on your love of garlic, you can prepare as directed above or chop it up and leave it in.

7. Lemon Juice/Olive Oil/Salt Ratio: The first time I made this recipe I looked at the ratio of lemon juice to olive oil (equal parts) and thought: this must be a mistake. But, I trusted the source and made it according to recipe. I am so happy that I did. The balance of salt to lemon juice to olive oil is just right

8. Yes, really, this dish keeps for a few days. I didn’t really think it would, as most salads with dressing on them don’t keep after a few hours, but this one keeps going for at least 2 days and sometimes 3 days if it lasts that long in your house. It’s that good! Thanks Martha Shulman.

(All sliced up and ready for the salt, lemon, olive oil, garlic and herbs)

Yield: Serves four.

Advance preparation: This dish will keep for a day or two, but it is best served just after the herbs are added. The lemony zucchini will lose its flavor over time.

Nutritional information per serving: 113 calories; 2 grams saturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 5 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 11 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste), 2 grams protein

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake… by Aimee Bender

Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver..

Anthill by Edward O. Wilson

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larsson

Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross

Food Rules by Michael Pollan

The Tennis Partner by Abraham Verghese

An easy side dish if you have some broccoli in the house, especially in the winter when oranges are in season.

Serves 2 if you like a large salad.

1 medium sized stalk of broccoli (I use organic because it tastes so good!)

1 orange (if you have Cara Cara oranges, they are great, but any orange you like is good)

6 or 7 Kalamata olives chopped

1-2 Tbs good extra virgin olive oil

Medium sized mixing bowl.

Peel orange, separate sections and cut sections into 2 or 3 pieces each; put into bowl. Tip:  if orange is cold from the refrigerator and hard to peel, pop it into a small bowl with warm water for a couple of minutes:  the peel comes off very easily after that.

Add chopped Kalamata olives and olive oil.  Mix.

The salt from the olives will draw out some juice from the oranges and mix with the olive oil to make a simple vinaigrette.

Now, peel the broccoli, and cut into bite-sized pieces.  Steam for 4-5 minutes either in on the cook-top or in the microwave.  Drain thoroughly, and add to the bowl with the other ingredients.  Mix.

Salad can be served immediately or within 15-20 minutes at room temperature.

Yum!

An alternate variation is substitute apple for the orange and marinated artichoke hearts for the olives.  Also, yum.

Mr.. or Ms. Muscles, I think the collar looks like a necklace.

Wow Bow

Weiner Dog 1

Weiner Dog 2 with Good Night Moon Dog

Poodle Woo with Sausage Chain and Doggie Majorette with Bone Baton

Forever Plaid

Feed Me

I made some bibs for our friends Lisa and David’s twins Weston and Brennan.  I think you can see that Weston, on the left, might have the size advantage, but Brennan has the moves!

Inspired by Mason Dixon Knitting, and Barbara Walker , and my own free pattern; these boys are well covered for now!

Taken with an iPhone through the sidelight of our front door.

Figured it out yet?

Colored mini-lights outside our house distorted through the obscure glass.

This book is a great inspiration.

Woke up on a Sunday morning to an email from friends Stephanie and Dan that now they are 5!  Koah joined his 2 brothers Northern and Denver on May 26th!  What a surprise!

Hey Steph and Dan, what’s going on there in Copenhagen?

For fun, I adapted the log cabin pattern from Mason-Dixon Knitting to bib proportions.  I used a technique from Lucy Neatby’s – Knitting Gems 4,

to make a nice selvage edge on the garter stitch side which made it easy to pick-up the stitches when I made the turn for the log cabin strips.

All in all, lots of fun with color, and lots of ends to weave in.

I have been reading Nudge and I had to make my pitch for behavioral economics since I am taking a short break from knitting.

Here’s my nudge suggestion that I think would reduce and possibly mostly eliminate late credit card payment fees for consumers and provide a win for card issuers, too. (not that they need it!).

Make the “default” method of payment for credit card bills the “auto-pay” option which many, if not all, credit card companies offer. Among the auto-pay options, make the default, the minimum payment.

Most, if not all, credit card companies allow for payment by an “automatic deduction” or “auto-pay” (there are other names for it) from your checking or savings account. This is NOT online banking (where you have to “push the button” to initiate the payment). (Online banking is not foolproof. If you forget to initiate the payment, it doesn’t get made. If the credit card company changes the date the payment is due and you don’t catch that piece of information, the payment is late, online banking or no online banking. OK, I’m not a fan of online banking.)

You fill out a form with your checking or savings account number on it, your signature, etc. giving the credit card company “permission” to deduct the payment from your account each month. This is a pre-determined deduction/payment (usually around the same day each month) from your checking or savings account for payment of the credit card bill. The deduction/payment can take 1 of 3 forms:

1. (default choice) You can choose the minimum payment to be deducted from your account each month
2. You can choose a fixed amount as long as it is above the minimum payment. Otherwise, it will be the minimum payment.
3. Or you can request that the entire balance each month be deducted from your account.

At any time during the month, the consumer can send additional payments toward reducing the balance.

Here are the facts:

1. Most consumers are already paying the credit card bill with a check so a checking or savings account exists in most cases. True, some people may be using a cashier’s check or going to the bank with cash and may not have a checking account, but I would suspect the majority of people mail the check to make the payment.
2. By using the “auto-pay” method, checks NEVER arrive late. Consumers never forget to pay the bill. Checks don’t get lost in the mail. Credit card companies always get the payment (unless there are insufficient funds in the account).
3. Consumers are protected should they go on vacation, out of town, get sick, etc. and neglect to pay the bill.
4. Consumers are protected should the credit card company move the PO Box where payments go and now it takes more time for their payment to reach the PO Box and now the payment is late. This doesn’t happen with “auto-pay”.
5. Consumers are protected if the credit card company changes the date due or shortens the time between billing and payment due.
6. Consumers are protected from checks being “lost in the mail or delayed because of inclement weather, natural disasters, or holidays”. With the US Postal system currently operating under large financial stress, this may increase.
7. If you are signed up for the “auto-pay” option, the credit card company will never be able to say your payment is late, unlike if you pay by online banking since THE CREDIT CARD COMPANY is in control of deducting the money from your account to pay the bill.
8. Consumers will never pay a late fee if they use this option and have sufficient funds in their account

The banks/credit card issuers would not earn as much from late fees, but I suspect default rates on credit cards would decline if the agreed upon monthly payments were automatically deducted from the consumer’s account.

While I don’t have data to support this, (but I am certain somebody does) my guess is lower default rates would:

1. Offset the loss in revenue from late fees, and

2. Generate more revenue overall. If people weren’t spending money on late fees, they might put that money toward keeping their credit card bills current.

I believe that before the current economic crisis, the default rate on credit cards was 6%; I don’t know what the current rate is now, but I know it has risen along with unemployment rates. If an incentive (lower interest rates or higher credit limits, perhaps?) were given to the consumer to choose the default, “auto-pay” option; both sides win.

As you may suspect, my husband and I have been paying our bills this way for many years. In addition to saving lots of postage (!), we have saved ourselves a lot of worry. We now pay the majority of our bills this way: our utilities, our insurance premiums, credit cards, etc. are all deducted from our checking account every month. Several weeks before the deduction we receive the bill, we look it over and then I write the amount to be deducted in the check register (I’m old fashioned). Some of my friends just wait for it to show up on their bank statement. Nothing gives you more peace of mind when you go out of town than to know that your bills will be paid whether or not you are there to do it.

This is my nudge suggestion.