Suzanne posted a photo of herself without makeup and remarked that she was the first woman to do such a thing on her blog. I don't wear makeup these days so have been posting "honest" pictures all along, but in the spirit of Suzanne's hanging it all out there, thought I'd post one with the morning hair. I'd "see" her "no makeup" and "raise" the stakes. Or whatever you say when you're playing poker.

***

Yesterday CBC radio announced the five books that will be in the annual Canada Reads competition. I ignore the foolishness of choosing "the" book that everyone in the country "should" read — there's no such thing — but this contest introduces books that I, for one, might otherwise not hear or know much about.

Here's the five for this year:

1. The Outlander, by Gil Adamson (championed by actor Nicholas Campbell, a.k.a. Dominick DaVinci from DaVinci's Inquest)
2. Fruit, by Brian Francis - narrator is 13-yr-old boy whose nipples begin talking to him
3. Mercy Among the Children, by David Adams Richards -championed by Sarah Slean, singer and actor
4. The Fat Woman Next Door is Pregnant, by Michel Tremblay, a Quebec playwright
5. The Book of Negroes, by Lawrence Hill

I've already put in my request at the local library.

***

Heard on the radio this morning:

It's a medical fact that if we are not cuddled or touched for three days, we get anxious.

***

When I visit Cathy in Saskatoon, we sit talking at her kitchen table for hours. Often I am flipping through a cookbook, copying down recipes that sound good or that she recommends. The following is one that has become a favourite and that I make a couple times a month now. Shelly asked for it, so here it is:

Sweet 'n' Sour Sausage

Fry up 1 lb of your favourite sausage. Drain on paper towel, reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings in which you will sauté these vegetables till they're tender-crisp:
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup celery, sliced
1 green pepper, diced
While these are cooking, cut cooled sausages into half-inch coins. Add sausage back in with cooked veggies, and heat all in 12 ounces of sweet 'n' sour sauce. (I make my own—recipe below— but there are a variety of commercial sauces that work well with this recipe too, and they don't have to be sweet 'n' sour flavours. Experiment.)

Sauce:
Mix in pot-
1 and 1/2 cup brown sugar
3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
(you can mince a clove of fresh garlic and a small onion instead if you like, or throw in a package of onion soup mix)
Add 1/2 cup vinegar or lemon juice
3 cups water
1 tablespoon soya sauce
Stir constantly over medium heat till sauce thickens. Takes about 10 minutes. Once it's thick I usually throw in a can of crushed pineapple, but it's not necessary.
Use about half the sauce in the sausage recipe; the other half can be frozen for next time.
Serve over brown (or any) rice.

That's it! Easy.