Sammy Fluffy Paws of the Fearsome Doodle Tribe

Before:



After:


Sammy went to the groomer's on Friday. She was such a ragamuffin before going in, but look at how pretty she turned out afterwards. I've been taking her to Petco for her "spa days" and she seems to hate it... this time she actually got sick at the groomer's and they couldn't finish her legs. It's sort of cute though because now she has really fluffy paws and shaggy legs. We think she looks a little like she's wearing snow pants and have taken to calling her Sammy Fluffy Paws of the Fearsome Doodle Tribe.

Fluffy Paws - These are much fluffier in person:

Post Trip Wrap-Up

Sort of like Blind Date's Post Date Wrap-Up, I'll stop to reflect on the highlights of our weekend trip... last weekend we were in Napa and we had such a wonderful time. We stayed at the Carneros Inn and I can't say enough positive things about that place, you get your own little cottage, with a private yard and outdoor shower and spectacular view! We stayed there once before and we got engaged, so you might think that it would be hard to top a trip that resulted in an engagement, but this came pretty close. We ate some great food, rode bikes to beautiful wineries with great tasting wine, played bocce ball and lounged by the pool... The only part that wasn't perfect was having to come home after only 2 1/2 days... nonetheless it was just what the doctor ordered and I hope we can go back someday. Take a look for yourself, isn't Napa beautiful??

We rode our bikes up a giant hill, but this was the view from the top, so well worth the effort.


Doesn't this hammock make you want to take a nap?


Here's the pool. Charlie didn't put any sunscreen on his feet... yikes they looked painful.

This is the view from our cottage. So pretty!

Happy Flag Day!

We had Erika and Gary and the Graves over for dinner to celebrate Flag Day. Earlier in the day I saw two bald eagles flying over Lake Washington, so I knew this was going to be a great flag day celebrations! It had been way too long since we'd seen Erika and Gary so it was nice to see them and hear about their wedding plans. We also had some good food. Here are the highlights:

These were delicious!
texas-rubbed and brined pork chops
Brine
4 cups apple cider
1 cup Morton kosher salt
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4 cups ice cubes or cold water
Meat
1 (4-5 pound) center-cut pork loin
2 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
Rub - Next time I might cut back on the salt and add something sweet...
1/4 cup Morton kosher salt
2 tablespoons coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Oak or apple wood chips, soaked
Combine the cider, salt, sugar, bay leaves, peppercorns and cloves in a large stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for about three minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sugar and salt dissolve. Remove from heat and add the ice cubes or cold water (the ice cubes will cool the brine to room temperature faster).
Place the pork loin in a nonreactive pan or resealable plastic bag (brining bag) and cover with the brine. Cover pan or tightly close the bag and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. If you are using an extra large resealable bag or brining bag, rotate the pork a few times to make sure all of the meat gets brined. Before roasting, remove the pork and pat dry with paper towels.
Meanwhile, make the rub by combining all of the spices and mixing well. You will not need all of the rub for this recipe. Store any leftover rub in a clean, airtight container.
If you are cooking on a charcoal grill, build the fire and sprinkle the wet wood chips over the gray-ashed briquettes just before putting the food on the grill.
Lightly brush pork with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with rub. Place pork directly on the cooking grate and cook for about 90 minutes or until an instant-read meat thermometer reaches 155°F. Remove pork from roasting pan. Let meat rest for 10 minutes.
Cut pork loin into thick (double-cut) chops and serve.

This salad was light and pretty, but a pain to make and as Charlie put it, "Only good if you REALLY like tomatoes." Maybe that's why I liked it...
cherry tomato and lemon salad
2 large lemons
1 tablespoon sugar
1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes (3 cups), halved or, if large, quartered
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Finely grate enough zest from 1 lemon to measure 2 teaspoons. Trim ends of both lemons, then stand lemons on a cut side and cut peel, including all white pith, from lemons with a sharp paring knife (discard peel). Cut segments free from membranes, then cut segments crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Toss lemon segments gently with sugar in a bowl.
Stir in remaining ingredients and zest, then let stand, covered, at room temperature 15 minutes (to allow flavors to develop).


This corn was good, but the butter was even better... I took a little of the extra butter and added honey to use on corn bread and it was my favorite part of the meal...
grilled corn with smoked paprika butter
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoons hot smoked paprika - I only had sweet smoked paprika and I don't know if I'd use the hot, because the sweet smoke taste was great
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of salt
10 ears of fresh corn, shucked
Blend butter, paprika, garlic, sugar, and salt in processor until smooth. Wrap paprika butter in plastic, forming 1 1/2-inch-diameter log. Refrigerate butter until very cold, about 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Working in batches, cook corn in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain well. Grill corn until lightly browned in spots, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes. Serve corn hot with thick slices of paprika butter.

Aren't we lucky to live here in Seattle...

Even though I don't feel lucky all the time, especially because the weather has been horrible and I'd love to be in some exotic place, but I am sometimes comfronted by news stories that remind me just how lucky we are to live here in Seattle. I read this story and I can't stop thinking about it. It just makes me feel so blessed to live here and reminds me how different life could be if you were born in another part of the world. So, if you have some time, read this article and feel lucky that you live here and you're not albino.

Albinos being "hunted" for their body parts
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN
The New York Times
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania — Samuel Mluge steps outside his office and scans the sidewalk. His pale blue eyes dart back and forth, back and forth, trying to focus.
The sun used to be his main enemy, but now he has others.
Mluge is an albino, and in Tanzania there is a price for his pinkish skin now.
"I feel like I am being hunted," he said.
Discrimination against albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: At least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in albino body parts.
Many people in Tanzania — and across Africa, for that matter — believe albinos have magical powers. They stand out, often the lone white face in a black crowd, a result of a genetic condition that impairs normal skin pigmentation and strikes about one in 3,000 people here. Tanzanian officials say witch doctors are now marketing albino skin, bones and hair as ingredients in potions that are promised to make people rich.
As the threats have increased, the Tanzanian government has mobilized to protect its albino population, an already beleaguered group whose members are often shunned as outcasts and die of skin cancer before they reach 30.
Police officers are drawing up lists of albinos in every corner of the country to better look after them. Officers are escorting albino children to school. Tanzania's president even sponsored an albino woman for a seat in Parliament to show that "we are with them in this."
Salvator Rweyemamu, a Tanzanian government spokesman, said the rash of killings was anathema to what Tanzania had been striving toward; after years of failed socialist economic policies, the country is finally getting development, investment and change.
"This is serious because it continues some of the perceptions of Africa we're trying to run away from," he said.
But the killings go on. They have even spread to neighboring Kenya, where an albino woman was hacked to death in late May, with her eyes, tongue and breasts gouged out. Advocates for albinos have also said that witch doctors are selling albino skin in Congo.
The young are often the targets. In early May, Vumilia Makoye, 17, was eating dinner with her family in their hut in western Tanzania when two men showed up with long knives.
Vumilia was like many other Africans with albinism. She had dropped out of school because of severe nearsightedness, a common problem for albinos, whose eyes develop abnormally and who often have to hold things like books or cellphones 2 inches away to see them. She could not find a job because no one would hire her. She sold peanuts in the market, making $2 a week while her delicate skin was seared by the sun.
When Vumilia's mother, Jeme, saw the men with knives, she tried to barricade the door of their hut. But the men overpowered her and burst in.
"They cut my daughter quickly," she said, making hacking motions with her hands.
The men sawed off Vumilia's legs above the knee and ran away with the stumps. Vumilia died.
Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir, Tanzania's new albino member of parliament, said, "People think we're lucky. That's why they're killing us. But we're not lucky."
She said it was a curse to be born in equatorial Africa, where the sun is unsparing, with little or no protective skin pigment. Albinism rates vary throughout the world; about 1 person in 20,000 is an albino in the United States.
Police officials said the albino killings were worst in rural areas, where people tend to be less educated and more superstitious.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company

Whoa! That's a big baby in there!

Sadly, I missed Kelsey's shower over the weekend, but here are a few pictures of what I missed. Apparently an excellent french toast souffle was served and Kelsey assures me that a great time was had by all, including baby, Horatio Milton Graves.


Look at this baby bump!


Happy Mom! Happy Meme!

Tahoe Bike Bonanza!

My mom biked around Lake Tahoe a couple weekends ago and she was nice enough to send these great pictures. According to my mom this ride is called The Most Beautiful Ride in America AND it is the most beautiful ride that she's ever participated in (and she rode down highway 101 all the way to San Francisco so this ride has had some steep competition)! Anyway, great job Mom and maybe these pictures will inspire some riders to join in the fun next year!

http://www.bikethewest.com/AMBBR.html

Not so "daily"...

I apologize for not being even close to daily, but I was in Baltimore for most of last week and there wasn't really anything blog worthy and then we went to Napa and it was very blog worthy, but I'm saving that post for when I have time to gather up the pictures.

In the meantime I have some new recipes. I made these two salads last night when we had the Oliver family over for dinner and they were a hit... very good and very summery (to make up for the lack of actual summer so far).

These are both originally from Bon Appetit - but I got them on Epicurious



cabbage and corn slaw with cilantro and orange dressing
1 Orange juice and zest
1/3 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 – 2 Tablespoons of light mayo
1 (8-ounce) bags coleslaw mix
2 cups of shredded purple cabbage
2 - 4 ears of fresh corn, shucked, kernels cut from cob
2 medium carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, cored, cut into thin strips
6 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

I changed some of these ingredients so I’m not 100% sure on the quantities, but basically I whisked together nearly equal parts mayo, vinegar and orange juice and added the zest and salt and pepper to taste so that I had a somewhat healthy very liquidy creamy dressing.

Combine slaw mix, corn kernels, carrots, red bell pepper strips, sliced green onions, and chopped cilantro in large bowl. Toss with enough dressing to coat. Season slaw to taste with salt and pepper. Let stand 15 minutes for flavors to blend. Toss again and serve.



creamy potato salad with lemon and fresh herbs
3 pounds baby red potatoes – the store only had purple so I used those and it tasted fine and looked interesting too – I think it would be perfect for a Husky tailgate party
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
3/4 cup light mayonnaise
3 medium green onions, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/3-inch cubes
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
11/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

(FYI – I had some left over lemon herb dressing and I used it as a dip for veggies and it was excellent)

Bring potatoes to boil in large pot of water. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 17 minutes. Drain; let stand until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes.

Cut potatoes into 3/4-inch pieces. Place 1 layer of potatoes in large bowl; sprinkle with some of vinegar and salt and pepper. Continue layering potatoes with vinegar, salt, and pepper. Add all remaining ingredients; toss. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover and chill.

We also had BBQ Chicken. I used the Ancho & Molasses BBQ Rub with Love sauce that was on sale at Met Market. All the flavors look delicious and I'm going to try out a few of the other flavors... SO GOOD and easy too!

http://www.tomdouglas.com/products/sauces.html