Woooo! I harvested my first bean crop of the year today. FIVE WHOLE BEANS! We had them with our dinner and they were delicious.

In other garden news, we got a bag of lucerne mulch (basically munched up hay) today and I spread it over the weed matting in my veggie patch. It looks much nicer than the ratty old newspapers I had before. It also has a pleasant “barn-y” smell. We’ve also declared war on caterpillars, which are eating our basil to bits. We got some Pyrethrum spray, but actually picking them off the plants seems the most effective strategy. Plus it’s very satisfying to chant “Die, die!” as you stomp them on the pavement.

If you thought the idea of a Feathers balaclava was bad, feast your eyes upon the handknitted Blythe doll gimp mask. NIGHTMARES, PEOPLE.

Burn-E. Awesome! It’s like the “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” version of Wall-E. (Apparently it’s going to be on the DVD extras.)

Urticaria
Oh great. Another mystery ailment. I’ve had normal skin for most of my life, but this year I’ve just felt super-sensitive to any irritation. I started noticing that wherever my clothes touched or rubbed me, I developed itchy red welts. In times of stress – like when I flew to LA – I broke out in red blotches. I mentioned it to my doctor a few months ago, but he was only able to diagnose “contact dermatitis”… which is basically saying, yep, your skin is irritated. Well, duh. Last night things took a turn though. It was still light when I got home so I headed out to check on my veggie patch. We had leftover weed matting from the path so I decided to lift my newspaper “mulch” and put it down underneath. Half an hour later I was in the kitchen cooking dinner, when the Snook got home and saw me absent-mindedly scratching my arm. “Dude, what’s wrong with your arm?!” he asked. (You know it’s serious when he uses an American-ism like “dude.”) I looked down, and my left forearm from elbow to wrist was covered in puffy red welts. “I… don’t know,” I said. “Did you rub up against a hairy caterpillar?” he asked. “I don’t think so.” I headed to the shower, thinking that washing off the irritant was a good start. I noticed at that point that I had some soil on my knee (from kneeling in the garden), and when I brushed it off my knee was similarly irritated underneath. I showered and started applying a cortisone cream. Then I had a brilliant idea – I’d take photos of the rash so I could show my doctor the next day! I managed to get a few shots before the cream got it under control.

Tonight I went to the doctor (I was due for my normal allergy shot anyway) and I explained about the weird reaction. Then I whipped out my camera. He was impressed! I think that’s the first time anyone’s described their symptoms to him with actual photographic evidence. He took one look and said, “Urticaria.” Hives. Huh. (I always pictured hives as being more dramatic, like giant red buboes or something.) But anyway, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt about it. So what’s the trigger? Apparently there’s really no way of knowing. It could’ve been a caterpillar, but the fact that I had it on both my knee and my arm doesn’t support that entirely. Plus I’ve been having isolated welts and itchiness for many many months now, so a single irritant can’t account for all of it. There is a definite heat/sweat component (“cholinergic urticaria“) and definitely pressure as well. So great. I’m 31, and I’ve suddenly developed hives.

Very Green Stir Fry
Well, we certainly have been eating our vegetables this week! Last night I made a very green stir fry. I started with tofu, chilli, and ginger; then I added choy sum, zucchini, and broccolini. I added a “honey and coriander” sauce packet from Coles and splashed on some soy sauce as well. We had it over rice with fresh coriander on top.

The previous night, Snookums made us Beef Wellington using the mushrooms and some excellent paté with a beautiful Scotch fillet. We had zucchini and sweet potato mash on the side. That means our “To Use Up” list is down to: red cabbage, pumpkin, beetroot, fennel, sweet corn, rhubarb, capsicum, onions, and potatoes. (The pumpkin, beetroot, and fennel are currently roasting in the oven for dinner tonight.) By George, I think we’ve just about done it!

Edited to add: I can’t believe I forgot to mention the amazing Resurrection of the Oven! Last night I turned the dials just to see what would happen, and lo and behold the damn thing started working! I don’t think it was a timer issue, as we’d flipped the circuit breaker several times. Now we’re wondering whether something inside overheated. But at any rate, hooray! Oven!

50 Facts You Might Not Know About Barack Obama. Regardless of politics, I think we can all agree that it’s gonna be pretty damn cool to have a basketball court at the White House.

I was all set to deride this crochet bacon scarf for jumping on the silly bacon meme bandwagon, but then I read about how much skill went into creating it. Kickass! I didn’t know that intarsia was possible in crochet, much less that it hid colour changes better than knitting.

Star Trek covers for your light switches and power points. Sweeeeeet.

The farmers are back! There will be a farmers’ market in the Chippendale Peace Park this Saturday. Too bad we’re still overloaded with vegetables.

I want to try poutine! Unfortunately the closest I’ve been to Canada in the past ten years was the Canadian Pavilion at Epcot Center. (We actually asked one of the Canuck workers there, but she shamefully confessed they didn’t serve it.) It looks simple enough to make, except for one thing: cheese curds. What the heck are those, and where do I get them in Australia? Do I have to make my own?

Update: I bit the bullet and asked Metafilter.