The past tense of shit

We've been playing a lot of Boggle Master (5x5 grid, with our house rule of only 5-letter words or better) this week. I used to be good at it, but age has apparently eaten away at the Boggle part of my brain. Now I'm better at the crossword, where I can work out the answers at my own pace instead of dealing with the time pressure of Boggle. It doesn't help that Dylan likes to let everyone know when he has a high-scoring word, as part of his intimidation game strategy.

We all make up realistic-sounding, but mostly nonsensical, words for Dylan to look up in an online dictionary to see if they'll fly. Cassie tried for "reshat" last night, which wasn't a word, but did lead to a productive discussion of what is the past tense of shit. Mom went for shat, but Dylan insisted that shit is used for both the present and the past tense (and he is something of an expert on the subject). I threw out shitted just for the sake of completeness. Dylan looked it up, and it turns out the OED* lists all three—shit, shat, and shitted. So, for example, all three of the following usages, based on an actual occurrence, are correct:

I walked Mystic this morning, and she shit in Mom's garden.

I walked Mystic this morning, and she shat in Mom's garden.

I walked Mystic this morning, and she shitted in Mom's garden.

Don't say you never learned anything useful in our house.

*********

The good folks at America's Test Kitchen bill this recipe as a useful way to turn tough and dull out-of-season supermarket green beans into something more tender and flavorful. And they've succeeded, judging by the way we scarfed them up twice already this week.

*The Oxford English Dictionary. According to the Oxford Dictionaries blog, the writings of David Foster Wallace are cited in almost 80 entries in the OED.

Roasted Sesame Green Beans

Adapted from the Cook’s Illustrated Cookbook (2011)

These beans are a good side dish to serve with Salmon with Asian Barbecue Glaze.

Beans
1 pound green beans, stem ends trimmed
~1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt

Glaze 2 teaspoons (14 grams) honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger (I grate it on a Microplane)
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 medium garlic cloves, pureed (preferably) or very finely minced or pressed (~1 tablespoon)

1 tablespoon (9 grams) sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry skillet

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven, and heat to 450 degrees. Line a 13-by-18-inch baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place the beans on the foil. Drizzle with oil and toss to coat, using tongs. Sprinkle with the salt, and toss again. Spread evenly across the foil. Roast for 10 minutes.
    2. Meanwhile, combine the honey, ginger, sesame oil, pepper flakes, and garlic in a small bowl. Using the tongs, toss the beans with the glaze. Spread evenly across the foil again. Roast until the beans start to shrivel and are dark brown in spots, about 10 to 12 more minutes.
    3. Taste for seasoning. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Serve promptly. Serves 4 as a side dish.