Happy Birthday Sammy Doodle Malley!

Today is Sammy's second birthday. We are really excited to celebrate with her tonight. Unfortunately, the poor girl is cooped up all day while I'm here at work, but tonight I plan to make up for it with some special treats and new toys. She is such a perfect little companion and Charlie and I love her more each day. Here are the top 5 reasons why we love Sammy:

5. It's so easy to make Sammy's day, there are 3 things that Sammy loves to hear: Do you want to go in the car, Dog Park and Let's go for a walk. By saying any one of these things you can immediately make her day.

4. Sammy is a really good listener. I wish I had a little video for you, because if I did you could see that when you talk to Sammy she really looks you right in the eye and cocks her head at just the right time to make you think she's really considering whatever it is that you just said. It's very sweet.



3. Sammy thinks the bed is her bed. This may not seem like a reason to love Sammy more, but it's really fun to have a doodle that just wants to sleep with you. She usually ends up down by my feet or on her back right between us.



2. She is super dramatic. Sammy is generally one of three emotions, totally EXCITED!, really happy, or frustrated. You can tell the difference because when she is EXCITED! she runs around in circles and for reasons only known to Sammy kind of scrunches down so her belly is closer to the floor and when she's just happy she usually has a ball in her mouth and/or a big smile and when she's frustrated she makes very dramatic whining noises and collapses to the floor over and over again. She usually creates these frustrated moments by putting one of her balls under some furniture.

1. Sammy LOVES to cuddle. From the first days that we had Sammy she has always loved to snuggle up and take a nap with us. One of Sammy's most enduring moves is to lay her little head over your chest or neck and fall asleep. Actions do speak louder than words and just try not to get the I LOVE YOU message when Sammy decides to take a nap right next to your face.

A week from today...

Is Sammy Malley's second birthday! I can't believe our baby will soon be 2. I'm dedicating this whole week to Sammy's birthday countdown and since I don't have any pictures of her on her actual birthday I'll include this one of the first day that we had Sammy. Here she is in the car on the way home. Look at that big smile - she knew we were a match made in heaven right from the start.

Sammy's Life Story - Day One
Sammy was born on a farm in Yamhill, OR. She had at least 4 brother/sister pups that I can remember. When we picked her up on the farm all the puppies were in a little shed all huddled in one corner. The only puppy to run up and great us was little Sammy Doodle. She had a pink nose and wanted to give us as many kisses as possible. We were so excited to drive home with Sammy! The first night that we had her we tried to make her sleep in her kennel in the hallway, she whimpered for about 30 minutes before we couldn't take it anymore and put her in our bed. She has been cuddling with us most nights ever since! One of the worst parts about traveling for work and spending the night in a hotel is missing my little Sammy Doodle's head on my feet.

Dinner Club 2

We had another dinner club last night, this dinner club is different than the other one I posted about. This one is just girls and we've been meeting on and off for either four or five years... I can't remember, maybe even six years. It's been a great run though and even though we don't meet nearly as often as we used to and we only have guest appearances from some members that have moved across country, we still have a great thing going and I hope it continues for many years to come! Last night we had a simple and yummy cheese platter, some delicious asparagus and cherry tomatoes, honey bourbon pork chops with glazed peaches, nectarine cous cous salad and some scrumptious blueberry lemon bars. A delicious meal for sure. The goal of this dinner club when it first started was to get us cooking and sharing recipes... well we were never very good at sharing recipes, but it's not too late to start right? The two things I made were courtesy of Cooking Light. Both were pretty good and very easy to make.

Nectarine-and-Chickpea Couscous Salad With Honey-Cumin Dressing
INGREDIENTS FOR 6 SERVINGS:
1-1/4 cups water
1 cup uncooked couscous
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped nectarines (about 3 medium)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped spinach
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 (15-1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
Nectarine slices (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Try this as a light summer lunch or as a side dish for pork or ham.

1. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan; gradually stir in couscous.
Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork; cool.

2. Combine lime juice and next 5 ingredients (juice through coriander) in a
large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Add couscous, chopped nectarines, spinach,
onions, and chickpeas; toss well. Garnish with nectarine slices, if desired.
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 cup).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
CALORIES 213 (16% from fat); FAT 3.9g (sat 0.5g, mono 2g, poly 0.8g); PROTEIN
7.8g; CARB 38.8g; FIBER 3.6g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 2.2mg; SODIUM 297mg; CALC 36mg

Bourbon-Glazed Pork Chops with Peaches
1/3 cup bourbon
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or dash red hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco brand (optional)
4 thin loin pork chops (bone-in or boneless)
2 peaches, halved and pitted and, if desired, skinned
In a shallow resealable container, stir together the bourbon, honey, soy sauce, oil, ginger and black pepper and the pepper flakes or hot sauce, if using. Add the pork chops and peaches and turn to coat. Set aside. (May cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.)

Preheat the grill or place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Transfer the pork and peaches to the grill or pan, reserving the marinade. Cook, turning once, until nicely browned on both sides and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, bring the marinade to a boil.

To serve, divide the pork and peaches evenly among individual plates and spoon the sauce over them.

Nutrition Facts
Information per serving
Calories: 292 % Daily Values* Total Fat: 9g 14 Saturated Fat: 2g 10 Cholesterol: 39mg 13 Sodium: 492mg 21 Total Carbohydrates: 33g 11 Dietary Fiber: 3g 12 Protein: 13g *Percent Daily Value based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Total Fat: Less than 65g Saturated Fat: Less than 20g Cholesterol: Less than 300mg Sodium: Less than 2,400mg Total Carbohydrates: 300g Dietary Fiber: 25g

Dinner Club

Last night we had our second successful dinner club and the meal was fantastic. Amy and Sean hosted and it was a hit on multiple levels, the food was great, the company fun and festive and almost best of all... they have AC. I was in heaven. Amy picked a south american theme and it was the perfect compliment to our hot, hot weather. This chimichurri sauce was SO GOOD. I'm definitely making this recipe soon. (Oh and Amy made it all the night before so all she had to do was cook the beef - that's my kind of dinner party menu!)

char-grilled beef tenderloin with three-herb chimichurri
Bon Appetit

Spice Rub
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika*
1 tablespoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder or ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Chimichurri sauce
3/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar or red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 garlic cloves, peeled
2 medium shallots, peeled, quartered
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 cups (packed) stemmed fresh parsley
2 cups (packed) stemmed fresh cilantro
1 cup (packed) stemmed fresh mint

Beef tenderloin
1 3 1/2-pound beef tenderloin

2 tablespoons olive oil

For spice rub: Combine all ingredients in small bowl.

Do ahead: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

For chimichurri sauce: Combine first 8 ingredients in blender; blend until almost smooth. Add 1/4 of parsley, 1/4 of cilantro, and 1/4 of mint; blend until incorporated. Add remaining herbs in 3 more additions, pureeing until almost smooth after each addition.

Do ahead: Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover; chill.

For beef tenderloin: Let beef stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Prepare barbecue (high heat). Pat beef dry with paper towels; brush with oil. Sprinkle all over with spice rub, using all of mixture (coating will be thick). Place beef on grill; sear 2 minutes on each side. Reduce heat to medium-high. Grill uncovered until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of beef registers 130°F for medium-rare, moving beef to cooler part of grill as needed to prevent burning, and turning occasionally, about 40 minutes. Transfer to platter; cover loosely with foil and let rest 15 minutes. Thinly slice beef crosswise. Serve with chimichurri sauce.

*Available at specialty foods stores and from tienda.com.

Another Recipe...

I know that I'm getting a little boring with recipe after recipe, but nothing else is really going on besides Eli and what I eat for dinner, so bear with me. I promise to be more inventive in the future. The fun thing about all these recipes is that I have discovered them only because I had to use certain ingredients that came in my produce delivery... I feel like I'm on some kind of cooking scavenger hunt and even though I love deciding what I'm going to make for dinner each night, this has made it even more fun because I must use some ingredient! Tonight's dinner was a big hit, both Charlie and I loved it and the colors were so pretty! It was a gold medal dinner alright!

Open-Faced Lamb Burgers with Pistachio-Apricot Relish
2 1/2 pounds freshly ground lamb (preferably shoulder)
2 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt plus more for relish - I didn't do a great job measuring, but I thought that the patties were a tiny bit salty
1 cup diced pitted fresh apricots
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup diced drained roasted red pepper from jar
2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup coarsely chopped unsalted natural pistachios
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
6 (4-inch-diameter) slices (about 1/2 inch thick) sourdough bread - I used pita bread instead and I think it was a good call because it was easy to cut through, I think sourdough might be a pain...

Place ground lamb in large bowl; sprinkle 2 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt evenly over. Gently mix in salt and shape meat into 6 patties, each about 3/4 inch thick. DO AHEAD Patties can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Arrange on baking sheet, cover, and refrigerate.

Mix apricots and next 6 ingredients in medium bowl; season with salt. Mix chopped pistachios and mint into relish.

Spray grill rack with nonstick spray. Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Place burgers on grill. Place bread slices at edges to toast. Cook burgers to desired doneness and until slightly charred, about 5 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer bread to plates. Top each with burger. Spoon relish atop burgers.

Eli's Favorite Salad

We went over to the Graves' house last night to make them dinner and check in on Eli (still as cute as ever) and I made this salad. I think I lucked out since I happened to receive beets, plums (well, pluots so close enough) and spinach in my delivery. I pretty much always have red onions on hand so all I had to do was go to the store and buy the cheese. It's a tasty salad and very pretty too...

Beet Salad with Plums and Goat Cheese
Bon Appetit
12 2-inch-diameter beets, tops trimmed (I happened to get chioggia beets in my delivery and they are very pretty so use those if you can get them)

1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup walnut oil or olive oil

1 1/2 pounds firm but ripe plums, pitted, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium-size red onion, sliced into rings

1 1/2 6-ounce bags fresh baby spinach leaves

8 ounces soft fresh goat cheese (such as Montrachet), crumbled
Preheat oven to 375°F. Wrap beets tightly in foil packages (3 beets in each). Place on baking sheet. Roast beets until tender, turning packages occasionally, about 1 hour 45 minutes. Unwrap beets; cool completely. Peel beets and cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place in large bowl.

Combine vinegar and sugar in blender. Gradually blend in vegetable oil, then walnut oil. Season vinaigrette to taste with salt and pepper. (Beets and vinaigrette can be prepared 2 days ahead. Cover separately; refrigerate. Let beets stand 2 hours at room temperature before continuing. Rewhisk vinaigrette before using.)

Toss beets with 1/4 cup vinaigrette. Toss plums and onion with § cup vinaigrette in another large bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Overlap beets around edge of platter. Mound spinach in center of platter; drizzle with some vinaigrette. Spoon plums and onion over salad. Sprinkle with goat cheese and serve.

Restaurant Review: Joule

I love trying new restaurants and a couple weeks ago Charlie and I tried Joule on Wallingford. I had heard good things about it and it just so happened that we were on our way to a party nearby so we stopped in and tried it. I'm not sure how to classify the food but I know that the chef had a Korean French fusion restaurant before she opened this one and I don't know that I tasted or saw anything French, but many of the dishes we got seemed at least sort of Korean. It doesn't really matter though, all that matters is that it was GOOD. Since we were headed to a party after dinner we decided to get a selection of small plates to share, so I can't really tell you if the entrees are that good, but we each got 3 "small" plates (that weren't really that small if you ask me) and all of them were good and a couple really knocked my socks off. If you go, you must get the bacon salad with corn and cilantro, this bacon was more like slices of delicious thick, salty meat - the best salad I've ever had. Also the spicy beef soup was a big hit. We ate at the bar overlooking the chefs. I love to do that, it's such a great opportunity to see all the food going out! So to sum it up, we really liked this place and I will go back. It's really close to Tilth another "trendy" Wallingford spot and between the two of them, I'd choose Joule any day.

http://www.joulerestaurant.com/

Neighborhood Night Out

These pictures are of Peter arriving at local Neighborhood Night Out BBQs around the east side. I think these pictures are really funny... especially when I think back to Peter as a little kid. I think Peter was an "Army Man" for Halloween 3 years in a row. My mom never really liked him to play with fake guns or GI Joe because it was too violent and look at him now... he's a cop riding through Sammamish on a tank. I guess all my mom's efforts to keep fake guns out of the house backfired a bit. Not to worry though, Peter LOVES being a king county sheriff and this is just another example of why. What other job allows you to ride a tank around to neighborhood BBQs and that combines 3 of Peter's top 10 favorite things: being a cop, chatting with strangers and food. :)

Pluots

I got my Full Circle Farm delivery yesterday and inside was a new fruit discovery: Pluots. I'm not much of a fruit lover. I like fruit sliced and easy to eat and most fruit is sticky and you have to sink your teeth right into it and something about that bothers me. I rather have a nice carrot or broccolli most of the time... but I'm happy to say that I now have to eat fruit because of my organic produce delivery and it's a good thing. I just discovered that I really like Pluots. It's a cross between a plum and an apricot. It's more like a plum than an apricot and they are one of the best natural resources of vitamin A. So go out and get some pluots today!
We also have 2 apple trees, a pear tree, a plum tree and 2 peach trees at the new house so it's a good thing I'm warming to the idea of eating more fruit now because we will soon have a house FULL of fruit.

Eli Graves is here!

Yesterday at 11:34 a.m. Elijah Francis Graves (Eli) was born! He weighed 8 lb. 9 oz. and was 21 1/4 inches tall. He has black curly hair and really big hands and feet. He was gracious enough to stay awake and let all of us hold and talk to him for a good hour plus last night and we're all head over heals in love with the little guy. Kelsey and Brian are both doing great and can't wait to get home with their new little family member.

My Husband the Restaurant Critic...

A few weeks ago Charlie and I went to this restaurant by our house called Entotria. While we were there they asked us to take part in a little video for City Search. They only used Charlie's portion for the actual video (even though I had just watched an episode of America's Next Top Model explaining how to answer questions during an interview - I totally froze when I got in front of the camera. Sorry ANTM contestants modeling really is hard). Anyway, check out the video on city search:

http://seattle.citysearch.com/profile/46320554/seattle_wa/enotria.html