Categories
Cooking

Andersen’s Split Pea Soup

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Andersen’s is a very cool place along the central/southern Californian coast. They have a restaurant that is famous for (wait for it…..) split pea soup. I can attest that the food at their restaurant is pretty kick-ass. They also have a handful of random shops that sell anything from German pastries to Christmas ornaments to Elvis memorabilia. One of the last few times I was there, I got their “soup in a bag” kit which just includes a bag of split peas and their recipe on the back.

I knew that their recipe is vegetarian but I had a ham hock in the freezer leftover from Easter that I very happily acquired from my mom. I added the ham hock with all of the ingredients and followed directions but then something else happened. I got incredibly lazy and did not want to get my food mill with the very fine basket out. I decided, “eff it” I am just going to put all of this in a blender. So I did and it was still really, really good. I will say that when you taste Andersen’s soup just by itself, it does not have a sort of distinct mirepoix flavor like mine did (understandably so) but I totally loved it. If you ever see an Andersen’s, pull over… if not for the food then just to stare at some random stuff for a few minutes.

Categories
Cooking

Stuff It

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One night, I decided I was bored of the several ways in which I generally make chicken breast so I decided to butterfly a whole breast and stuff it in a way I hadn’t done before. In the stuffing we have… spinach, caramelized onion, Greek yogurt, Feta cheese, and a little salt. I had never thought to use Greek yogurt for stuffing chicken breast until now but it kicked some major ass. It kept the stuffing moist and creamy yet held together very well after cooking. The texture of the spinach was nice and the feta was a nice salty bite amongst everything else, especially the subtle yogurt flavor. I paired the chicken with a bell pepper stuffed with a simple mushroom and onion (mostly mushroom) sauté topped with a little bit of shredded gouda. The first thing I did for this dish was caramelize some yellow onion and put half in a bowl for the stuffing and left half remaining in the pan which I used to make the mushroom mixture. I added my mushroom-stuffed bell peppers in a 350 degree oven. In the meantime, I heated 1 tbsp. of butter and 1 tbsp. of olive oil in an oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat. I dusted salt and pepper all over my chicken breast, including the cavity, and stuffed it. Next, I browned the chicken on both sides (this took about 3 minutes on each side) and put it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. The most important thing about this dish is not overcooking the chicken… it will not be very forgiving if cooked improperly. I actually checked the temperature of the thickest part of the breast outside of the oven to ensure it was right around 160 and then let it rest for 10-15 minutes before serving. This was such an enjoyable meal.

Categories
Animals

Snake-Belly

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Have you ever seen an x-ray of a dog who ate a snake? Check this one off of your bucket list, now you have. His name is Panda and he is a snake-eating Boston Terrier.

Categories
Cooking

Chocolate Meeting

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At work we have monthly meetings where lunch and, usually, some sort of sweet treat is provided. Every once and a while I have the desire and energy to make a dessert to bring. This time I decided to do a variety of chocolates. There is so much one can do with chocolate. Chocolate cups are a great opportunity to get creative and utilize random things in your fridge or pantry. I made a white chocolate with fresh raspberries, a milk peanut powder chocolate with fresh strawberries, a semi-sweet chocolate with unsweetened coconut and dehydrated banana (you may notice the banana from an earlier post), and a 60% cacao dark chocolate with heirloom popcorn made with olive oil and topped with sea salt. I brought 12 of each and displayed them on a pretty 3 tier tray. I totally forgot to take a picture (that would have been nice) but remembered just in time to take a shot of the leftovers. The chocolates were a big hit.

Categories
Animals

Badger & Crockett

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Two of my favorite Australian Shepherds… ever. Not only are these two blue Merle litter mates absolutely adorable but they have tails! Aussie’s tails are normally cropped at birth but these guys have big beautiful bushy tails and its adorable. Also, they are very well trained. They know countless tricks and I love watching them just as much as they like treats… maybe almost as much.

Categories
Animals

Boomer

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Could this puppy be any more precious? His name is Boomer.

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Cooking

Dragon Fruit

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This fruit is so gorgeous in both appearance and flavor, it makes one wonder at nature for creating such a thing. The ranch I live on grows them but, considering that it’s a $1,000 fine to take fruit off the vine, I was happy to buy this relatively small to medium sized one for $8 to see what all of the fuss was about. Before eating the white flesh with a spoon I did a little research on the description of it’s flavor and found that the “cross between a kiwi and a pear” was not too far off base. I would add, however, that in taste it is more like a kiwi than a pear and in texture it is more like a pear than a kiwi. The little black seeds are a great textural element to the fruit. All and all, I would say the $8 was well worth it.

Categories
Animals

The Dremel Strikes Back

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So this happened while I was filing a pet’s nails. Note to self: don’t do this again. No hair was actually harmed in the making of this disaster.

Categories
Animals

Happy Husky

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This is Jack and he is my favorite Husky. He has an incredibly sweet and goofy sensibility. Love him!

Categories
Cooking

Classic Hummus

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1 can of garbanzo beans (15.5oz)

1/2 cup water

3 tbsp. tahini paste

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. This hummus really shouldn’t be eaten until it has been left in the fridge for 24 hours. Once it has had time to hang out in the fridge, the garlic flavor mellows out  and the olive oil flavor is a bit more pronounced. I add some water to my hummus because I just feel like it is way too thick otherwise. Once refrigerated, the hummus will thicken a bit. If you are not a fan of garlic, reduce the amount of cloves to one. Also, if you have never purchased tahini before, most grocery stores carry it and it should be next to the peanut butter. I first constructed this recipe a handful of weeks ago and since then I have been making it in double batches for Gar and I. I’m usually dipping at least one carrot or pita chip in my quart-sized container of hummus each day.

Categories
Life

Rough Couple of Weeks

As if day after day of working overtime for the past week or so was not draining enough, I began this week with one of the worst cases of neglect I have ever seen and a very loving family whose three year old dog was hit by a car and killed as a result of a freak accident. After extensive efforts, the doctor and I were unable to resuscitate that dog. Just the thought of that family still causes my eyes to well up. My empathy allows me to be absolutely great at my job but it also leaves me susceptible to great emotional fatigue at times. The two incidents this week, especially in comparison to each other, left me utterly drained. My request to take a personal day today was granted.

I wanted to write this post to give everyone a little update, thank you for your great comments, and let you know that I plan to increase my posting efforts more and more. I have also been volunteering some of my time to help an absolutely incredible cat sanctuary and I look forward to presenting more information about this in the coming week. I’m also planning on getting married this year so stay tuned and thanks again for your support.

Categories
Cooking

Dehydrated Fruit

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I finally used my dehydrator that Gar gave me last year for something other than beef jerky. Dehydrated strawberries and bananas are a great yummy and chewy snack. I feel like dehydrated and freeze dried strawberries are basically on par. The dehydrated banana, however, is far superior to the freeze dried banana chip due to its intense banana and slightly caramelized flavor. There is so much more I want to do with the dehydrator. Maybe next year I’ll find time for making fruit leather.

Categories
Animals

April Is National Heartworm Awareness Month

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This month I created a promotion and employee incentive for National Heartworm Awareness Month. I would just like to say that I am pretty positive that I just made THE BEST National Heartworm Awareness Month employee incentive poster in the history of National Heartworm Awareness Month.

Categories
Animals

Happy Easter

Rowan looks dapper in his Easter Sunday best. Happy Easter!
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Categories
Cooking

Chuck Roast

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I would just like to take this moment to say that if you encounter a handful of recipes that have you doing several things to your chuck roast prior to just letting it cook, like searing it for example, you do not need to follow them. Not to say that searing your roast and then deglazing the pan and adding 15 different ingredients won’t produce deliciousness, it is just that deliciousness will still occur with a much lazier approach. I cooked a chuck roast this week and just plopped it in the crock pot. I seasoned it with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and a dry truffle seasoning. Another option for a simple seasoning would be to use some dry onion soup mix. Next, I added a little water and beef bullion to the bottom of the crock pot to ensure the cooking environment would be very moist at all times. After a 10 hour low heat cycle, I had incredibly tender, flavorful beef that I paired with pureed cauliflower, peas, and a mushroom gravy that I made with the rendered fat and juices from the crock pot. We used the leftovers the next day to make nachos. One thing I’d like to point out is my surprise at what a great barky exterior the roast had despite doing absolutely nothing to it. This just further contributes to my faith in and admiration for the crockpot.

Categories
Cooking

Healthy Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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It occurred to me the other day that I could make a low-calorie base for a broccoli cheddar soup. When I make a creamy broccoli cheddar soup, I can’t skimp on the cheese but I learned I can skimp on the cream and butter. To make the base for my soup I boiled two cups of cauliflower in two cups of low-sodium chicken broth. Once cooked, I took the cauliflower off of the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes. Next, I blended the mixture with about a cup of 1% milk and set aside. Next, I cooked some diced onion in a little bit of butter until translucent and added the cauliflower mixture, about 4 cups of frozen broccoli, a splash of beer, and a few cups of shredded sharp cheddar cheese. Once the broccoli was cooked, I removed about 1/3 of the total soup mixture and blended it, making sure to leave some nice big chunks of broccoli behind in the pot. Finally, the blended portion is returned to the rest of the soup mixture and I let the whole thing simmer for a bit before serving up a bowl with some extra cheddar on top. I added salt to taste at the end but I did season the onion with salt and pepper while it cooked. This soup did not disappoint in the least. I look forward to continue to work on making variations on healthier soup bases. I think next time I’ll try adding some barley or brown rice to the blender.

Categories
Animals

First Day of Spring

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Today is the first day of Spring! Check out this Maltese that I stuck in a basket (with mother’s enthusiastic approval of course).

Categories
Cooking

Corned Beef & Cabbage

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This past Tuesday was St. Patrick’s Day as I am sure you all know. I just love celebrating this day. On Tuesday morning, I had my corned beef in the crockpot, some Bailey’s in my coffee, and a big green sparkly bow in my hair. I always make corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day. Last year I made a sort of Irish poutine with my corned beef but I was feeling more traditional this time around so I slow-cooked the corned beef with pickling spice, carrots, onion, and red potatoes.

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Categories
Cooking

Apples and Ginger

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Baked apple, whether it has a crumble or ice cream over it, is one of my favorite desserts to make and I usually have it a couple of times a week. For baking, I always use Granny Smith and you can put your apple in the oven peeled and whole or peeled and diced. Latest baked apple obsession? Apples and ginger. I recently bought an organic sweet ginger spread online and it is excellent with just the right ginger kick in it. One to two tablespoons of the spread mixed or placed on the apple with a little cinnamon before baking is what I’ve been doing. Of course, you could also use fresh grated ginger root or prepared grated ginger and a sweetener of your choice for a practically similar effect. I’ve been baking my apple in the oven at 325 degrees until it is slightly tender. Once cooked, you can add your favorite toppings such as low-calorie vanilla/maple lactose-free “ice-cream” (if you’re me) or things like caramel, nuts, dried cherries or raisins, and whipped cream.

Categories
Life

Tree Friends

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Every time I see these two trees by themselves in the distance I can’t help but think how they must be perfect friends… or maybe they fight underneath the surface… no… friends… perfect friends dammit.