Poetry Saturday . . . The Owl and the Pussy Cat

The Owl and the Pussy Cat, by Ian Penny

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"


And there in the wood, a piggy-wig stood, by tahmina torabji

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.


Air Art by Imatec

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon,
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.
~Edward Lear


unable to find the artist to attribute this to

I don't know about you, but I want to know the rest of the story!! I have long loved this poem . . . since I was a girl. I believe that one year we had to memorize it in school. I wonder do children have to memorize poems in school anymore? Do they have to memorize anything??? I cannot remember my own children having to memorize anything. The longest poem I ever had to memorize was in Grade 4 and it was called The Wreck of the Hesperus, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It seemed to take up pages and pages in my school reader and I thought I would never get it all memorized, but . . . of course I did. ☺ I wonder . . . did my love of poetry stem from those early days when I was made to memorize verse and prose? Probably!

We are having an activity for the Sisters at my church this morning . . . a morning of Desert Island Discs. We are each to bring in a piece of music that we love and would want with us on a Desert Island. It promises to be a good time and I best dash as I am in charge of the refreshments and I have a bit left to do. Happy Saturday all!

This is one of my favourite ways to cook chicken breasts. Chicken breasts can be very dry and tasteless . . . They can use a little bit of help to put some flavour in there. Here’s my secret way of doing that!



*Flash Fried Chicken with Lemon, Capers and Parsley*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

Simple meats are so much tastier when you prepare them simply with simple ingredients and not much fuss. These chicken breasts are cut thinly and then flash fried, preserving much of the moisture. The flavours of lemon, parsley and capers really go well with chicken. It also helps to make a little bit of chicken go further.

3 chicken breasts
3 TBS plain flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 fat garlic clove, peeled and mashed a bit, but still in one piece
The juice of a lemon
1 TBS of capers in vinegar, drained well and chopped
3 TBS coarsely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Slice each chicken breast into three or four thin escallops, through the middle horizontally with a very sharp knife, being very careful not to slice through your hand. I like to hold the palm of my hand on top of the chicken, pressing it down gently and slice through it that way. It also helps if the chicken is really cold.

Place the plain flour on a plate and dip each escallop into it on both sides, patting them lightly to help the flour adhere.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat along with the garlic. Once it becomes very fragrant add the chicken pieces, trying not to crowd the pan. (It is better to do a few at a time. If you have too many in the pan the chicken will steam instead of fry.) Fry the meat on both sides quickly, until golden, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go.

Remove from the pan as each is done and continue to fry until all the meat is lightly browned and seasoned. Return all the chicken to the pan and squeeze the juice of the lemon over top of it all. It will bubble up and begin to glaze the chicken. Toss in the chopped capers and parsley. You can add a tablespoon or two of hot water if needed and give it a swirl to make a sauce. Remove the chicken from the heat immediately and let sit for a few minutes, covered, for the flavours to develop, then serve hot with some boiled potatoes or rice. Delicious!



Over in The English Kitchen today a delicious Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Crisps!