Indiana Fall

There is something truly lovely about Indiana in the fall. Momma spent most of her life in Chicago, Daddy grew up in Virginia, so neither of them are real strangers to fall, they've just had less exposure to the season. Fall in Chicago lasts about 2 weeks before the snow rolls in fast and heavy, and in Virginia it stays calmly temperate most of the time.

Fall here in Indiana is a gradual shift into winter. It happens so slowly that one day you just wake up and need a coat and gloves, and then two weeks later you need to add a scarf. I love fall, I have two coats of hair so any season where it isn't 80 degrees is great for me. I love fall best because I get to smell all sorts of toasty smells from people burning leaves, and I get to frolic in the falling leaves. It was great when we lived in Richmond, our backyard was always full of leaves which were ripe for crunching.

This is me chillaxing in our old backyard. I spent a lot of time out here with Momma and Daddy. About this time every year they'd take books out to the lawn chairs, and once they had me I got to play frisbee endlessly!

This is why Momma likes Indiana in the fall. Look at the colors in the sky and the trees! It's truly stunning here in Indianapolis. There are neighborhoods where the only thing you can see when you drive is the golds and reds of fall foliage. Indianapolis, and Meridian Street in particular, is a city that just radiates a perfect blend of Midwestern charm and Metropolis, and fall just highlights that harmony. 

Here are some of the foods that remind Momma and Daddy of fall the most:

 This is the turkey Momma made last year after she and Daddy got back from Thanksgiving. It's still one of her favorite culinary triumphs.

 This is a Rueben from a deli in Columbus. Daddy saw it on Man Vs. Food and he just had to go try it for himself.

Baked brie from a Richmond restaurant. 

I love fall, but I love winter even more! Bring it on Mother Nature!

Leopard Pie

Leopard pie? What is leopard pie, you may ask, and you're quite right to inquire! Leopard pie is Daddy's own invention, an answer to the age old question: "what do you do when you don't have corn to make shepherds pie?" 

 The answer is... add in peas and carrots! Daddy didn't have corn to make his pie with, so he improvised. He mixed in powdered potatoes with canned carrots and peas and a hunk of ground beef... and Bam!

 Doesn't it look good? It turned out almost exactly like real shepherds pie, but with a bit more pop from the peas. He also added in Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce to make the whole thing sizzle in his mouth.

 Doesn't it look happy to be eaten?

 It's not looking so happy now is it? AHAHAHA!

Momma took this picture of me staring intently at Daddy's food. She calls this the "IMUSTEATTHEFOODYOUHAVE!" face. I make it a lot.

Goodness Gracious!

Goodness gracious! Has it been that long since I updated? The little blogger thing is telling me it's been over a month. Whoops!

Momma's job is going full force, she's recruiting day and night almost! She gets home and I barely have time to lick her hair before she and Daddy are off to the gym, and then back to making dinner.

Since it's October now, I think it's time I show you all my awesome Halloween costume:

 That's right, I'm a lobster! It's really tough to find costumes for Corgis, we have such long bodies and short legs. Last year I was Yoda, and the costume went over my neck. I kept tripping over the feet part. It was funny for Momma and Daddy, but they were also sad cause it meant I couldn't wear my costume without falling on my face.

 Momma thinks it looks like the lobster is eating me. Daddy disagrees with her, he thinks I just look like a lobster. I think I look like whichever will get me out of the lobster costume soonest. Don't I look happy here? It should be no surprise I'm a lobster for Halloween, it's Momma's favorite food. I think she might want to eat me! Halp!

 This sideways picture shows Momma's most recent GF triumph, King Arthur Gluten Free brownies! King Arthur is an employee owned bakery older than the United States, and they make the best flour and mixes. They just recently began making GF flours and mixes, and this was Momma's first foray into both making brownies, and making GF brownies.

 Doesn't that look fudgey? It was amazingly moist and rich, so good that all 20 brownies were gone in two days. Momma and Daddy tore through them. You know it's a good mix when Daddy will eat the GF food. Usually it's pretty gross and dry. Don't ask him about the pancake incident.

 Cooking in our oven. Looks yummy!

 Daddy was busy in the last month too, this is his super tasty rueben, with home made Corned Beef and nice tasty bread. He made three of these out of one piece of meat, but I know he pined for more. We have corned beef in the house a lot.

So, I guess that was my month! I'll be better at updating this thing this month! Happy Lobsterween!

The Second Best Burger Ever!

Momma was born  in New Haven Connecticut, a college town best known for two things, Yale and great food. New Haven boasts the best pizza in the world - Pepe's, the best coffee shop in the world- Atticus, and the best (and first) burger in the world- Louis' Lunch.

To understand Louis' Lunch and what makes it the best burger in the world, you have to understand how the burgers are made. Momma has told me this story in the same tone of voice she uses to tell me myths, so it must be important.

Louis' makes their burgers with minimal seasoning, no ketchup, and no fuss. They cook upright in a 100 plus year old grill, and when you order you can only get cheese or no cheese and tomato or no tomato. There are no buns, only bread slices, and to bite into one is to bite in to the juiciest, most savory, most intense burger ever. Seriously, these burgers are like a religion for Momma and her brother.

Tonight, Daddy made this for dinner:

This is easily the second best burger Momma has ever eaten, Louis's will always come in first. This burger is another creation out of the Barbecue Bible, it's a burger with avocado and Brie, and it is amazing. The avocado was sweet and cold, the brie salty and melted, and the burger medium well and hot. The flavors blended together with the Udi's Gluten Free bread Momma used to keep it all together. It was a meal beyond a meal, a veritable meal of the gods. In short, the perfect reward for making it through a training session and a tough half a week.

Doesn't that look so good? Doesn't that look like something you'd want to just sink your teeth into and never let go? It's gonna be dinner again tomorrow night!

Don't forget to vote for me over at Corgi Butts! Here is the link to vote! I'm number 19

I Could Be A Calendar Puppy!

I'm in a calendar contest! My awesome friend Gibson's mom is making a Corgi calendar over at her site, Corgi Butts, I'm one of the finalists!

You can check out the other entries and vote here: check out the finalists!

There are a ton of really cute pictures, and me!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is a very important day for my Momma and Daddy. Today is their 6th anniversary! Momma and Daddy have been together since the very first week of college. They've been all ewwy and coupley for a long time...

<--- This is Momma and Daddy right at the beginning of their "courtship. Look how young they are!
And this is Momma and Daddy now ------>

They're so cute, apparently. Allz I know is they're all kissy and it's gross. GROSS I TELLZ YOU!

A year ago, Momma and Daddy got engaged. This is the story, in Momma's words:

"The story begins on August 25th, 2004. We had just met, and were feeling each other out as potential dates. I decided to show off by standing up on a rock, off of which I promptly fell. Luke caught me, and it was over right then.

5 years later, we took our dog Burke to the same place to run around and be adored. With our friend Chris, we started walking toward the rocks. I began to tell him the story of that moment, and stood back up on the rock. As I began to fall off again, Luke caught me in his arms and pulled out a ring box. He told me: 'I'm glad you're standing on this rock, because I was wondering if you'd accept this rock'. It was over right then  and there."

Isn't that cute... Aren't my Momma and Daddy adorable?

My Kingdom For Daddy's Lamb

Daddy is a great cook. He's always trying new foods, branching out into vast unexplored territory, forging his own culinary path. He's the Indiana Jones of the house. Momma is more the Marion Ravenwood, content to stay in her comfortable little bar, but totally down for the adventure if it comes along.

To reinforce this point, dinner tonight for Daddy was an adventure of mashed potatoes and impromptu meatloaf sandwich of tasty. Momma made that quinoa shrimp thing she has down to a science.

Another great example is what Daddy made Saturday night. Earlier in the day, they took a trip to Whole Foods, and Daddy acquired this lamb. It's great lamb, well marbled and thick. Best of all, not too expensive. Daddy got this last time they went too, and that became the tasty lamb korma he loves. This time though, the butcher suggested something wholly new for Daddy, Capetown Lamb. Daddy had never heard of it before, but the butcher described a lamb containing mustard, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and the luscious lamb. It was the Ark of the Covenant of lamb, the Holy Grail of lamb, the Temple of Doom of lamb! It wasn't the Crystal Skull of lamb though, that lamb would have been good until the last little bit and then you'd discover you'd actually been eating chicken and not lamb at all and you have to demand your $7 back from someone AND DAMMIT GEORGE LUCAS!

Sorry, got off track.

Anyway, Daddy couldn't resist this lamb. He had to try it. He started with the sauce. It looks kinda goopy right? Not for long though. Hours and hours of stirring later (and by hours I mean 15 minutes) he had this smooth and savory glaze for the lamb. See original on left, delicious glaze on left. The marinated lamb is below

The lamb marinated for hours and hours until all the sauce glaze soaked into the skin, and then Daddy popped it into the oven. This is what came out:

If Daddy wasn't about to marry Momma, I think he would have married the cookbook, or the lamb. Pee Wee Herman style! The lamb was sweet from the brown sugar, crispy and salty, hot from the mustard. All in all, the perfect food for a weary professor back from discovering lost artifacts and saving damsels in distress.

It's been nice and cool the last few days, and today after she got home from work Momma took me outside for frisbee! I'm out of shape though, I could only play hardcore fetch for 10 minutes. My record is an hour! I miss my dog park, I have no doggy friends here, none of the apartment dogs want to play with me. They're all chicken. I miss Bo!  Will you frisbee with me?

Ours is Not to Reason Why, Ours it to OMNOMNOMCHICKEN!

Dinner for the last two nights in a row has been chicken. Now, this isn't unusual in most households, but Momma is pretty much a vegetarian. She is super picky about her meats, how they're cooked, and with what side dishes come along for the ride.

When Daddy made dinner last night, he only needed three chicken breasts, but Momma bought six. So for dinner last night it was Momma's turn to bust out an old favorite. Long and far away in some galaxy I've never been to, back when Momma was eating wheat, she and Daddy made a dish with cajun spiced chicken and pasta. This is Momma's secret recipe chicken, her Mona Lisa, her David, her Prima Porta. This is Momma's Divine Comedy. Have I made enough Classical allusions to make my point?

This chicken is spicy, garlicy, and moist. She'll never tell how she makes it either, at least not to people who aren't Daddy. Apparently he knows, but I can't get him to talk!

While Momma worked in secret clandestineness making her tasty chicken, Daddy continued to perfect one of his favorite recipes, smashed potato! Daddy makes them from scratch, this time he used red potato, chives, basil, some milk, and salted butter. He started by quartering and boiling the potatoes, boiled them into submission, and then SMASHED! He was The Hulk for a very brief period. DADDY SMASH!

This dish used to be made with pasta, and part of why it was so good was the pasta was sauced with the chicken. Momma used to use a lot of oil and butter to make a base sauce to cook the chicken in, but they're more health conscious now. Dinner worked out nicely because the chicken wasn't too saucy for the potatoes. It was a great success! Also, ever notice how the food on Momma's plate never touches? Isn't that weird?

Oh well! To each his own creepy OCD thing! For me, it's my frisbee. If you throw it for me, I will not stop bringing it back until you are down an arm, or patience, which ever comes first!

Tasty Chicken Thingy I Can't Spell!

There is nothing tastier than the mixing of chicken and vegetables. The chicken mixes in so tasty with the veggies, and then the tomatoes make tasty broth and mmmmmmm.....

What? Sorry? Huh? I think I was supposed to write a post about how tasty the dinner Daddy made tonight was, but I got distracted by how good it was. Circular issue, much?

Dinner started with this mixture of tomatos and spices:

Daddy added in this mixture of bell peppers and onions, as well as some mushrooms:

This all got poured over the chicken, this chicken:

What it ended up being was this luscious mixture of chicken, sweet tomatos, tangy bell peppers, the bite of oregano, and the earthy goodness of the baby bella mushrooms. It was light and savory, and a really lovely dish overall. It sat nicely on the plate, was extremely filling, and very very yummy.

Look at how pretty that is on the red plate! Apparently red makes you feel full faster, who knew?

Momma and Daddy have been hitting the gym pretty hard, none of Momma's pants fit correctly, and Daddy needs a smaller belt! It's kinda awesome. Here's a picture of me at Gma Liz's house, I like to crawl underneath things a lot.

Corgi Call to Action!

This is William:

William is currently at a shelter in Franklin Indiana. The shelter has a high-kill rate. If you know anyone in Franklin or Indiana who would is looking for a corgi, please point them to William!

Look at that corgi smile! How can you say no to that fuzzy face?

Here is the link to the Johnson County Animal Shelter. Please pass this on if you can!

http://www.sisaveapet.com/showpage.php?page=detail.htm&id=28993&sid=39

Where Has Momma Been?

Morning everyone! Momma has been really lazy updating, hasn't she? She insists it's cause she's been so busy with work, but I think she's just lazy.

Momma really wanted me to talk to you about something very near and dear to her heart today, Jewish Comfort Food.

Momma is 100% Jewish, which she likes to say means that she never shuts up, is great at guilt, and can cook a mean chicken soup. Most Jewish food is wheat heavy though, and now that Momma is GF, it's been a bit frustrating for her. There is one thing she can eat that isn't wheat though, and that is Kasha.

Kasha is a buckwheat grain made with chicken broth, butter, and eggs. It's flavorful, mixes great with bow tie pasta, and is real soup for the Jewish soul.

Daddy has been in VA for the last few days visiting family, which has left Momma with the task of making dinner for herself. She's a great cook, no question about it, the woman can make a meal out of sludge. Last night she was missing Daddy and feeling kinda homesick, and so she decided to make Kasha. When it's done well, it's soft and savory and filling. Momma did not do it well.

She burned the living daylights out of the thing. I've never heard so much swearing! She turned the air blue! I was sitting there with my peanut butter bone, happily nomming away, and then BOOM! Momma is saying stuff that would make a sailor blush.

She resorted to quinoa, which she's not capable of screwing up, but I know she's all rrrrr about it still.

She's been going to the gym every day while Daddy's gone too, and tomorrow she'll meet with the trainer on her own. It's gonna hurt, but it will make her a better Momma.

Surprise Dinner!

Tonight's dinner was a surprise Daddy cooked up. Momma and I were in the bedroom listening to music from the 90's, and Daddy strictly forbade us from coming into the kitchen.

It turns out he'd made a tasty skillet! He mixed potatoes, mushrooms, bacon, and eggs into a yummy mish-mash of flavor. It was even tastier when he added in salsa. Daddy is becoming a very good cook, and it certainly makes Momma happy.

Yesterday Momma, Daddy, and Auntie Leila went to see Inception. Momma and Daddy both adore Memento, and so the expectation was high for this movie. Suffice to say, neither of them was disappointed, and they're thinking of going and seeing it again. It's been a busy summer for movies! They've seen Shrek Forever, The A-Team (Momma's favorite), Toy Story 3, Despicable Me, and now Inception. That's more movies than the whole rest of the year!

Kongly Joys

A few weeks ago, my friend Gibson over at Corgi Butts posted about the new Kong Wobbler. He had a lot of fun with it, and Momma and Daddy decided to take a look for themselves.

I figured it out pretty quick, but I keep running it into corners. Daddy's filled it twice now, and I'm almost done with my second round. Momma thinks that it might make me eat slower and be less bored, which would be awesome.

On a side note, Momma and Daddy have been mostly making things in large portions and storing them, so they have lots of Jambalaya!

It's Raining in Indianapolis

Momma apologizes for not letting me use the computer for the last few days, but on Tuesday our internet went down! Typical, I get some recognition and things go boom!

At the moment it is raining like the heavens opened up, and I'm super freaked out. Thunder does not sit well with me, it makes me scared! Momma and Daddy have cuddled me a bit, but too much and I get even more scared.

So, if you're reading Daddy's blog, you know he and Momma have been going to the gym on a regular basis. They are also working with a personal trainer, apparently he's a pretty awesome dude. They come home from the gym all tired and sweaty, which is really funny. They kinda flop on the couch and don't move for a while. They're both getting in shape though, which is good for me, it means more walkies!

Dinner Monday night was tasty stir fry Momma made. She put in sugar snap peas, tofu, broccoli, and some very delicious mushrooms. She marinated the tofu in Tamari, garlic powder, and onion powder, and then mixed it all up the wok. I like woks, food is more likely to fall out of them than normal pans.

It was super tasty dinner. SUPERTASTY! 

The storm started today while Momma was at work, and she got some pictures of the sky:

These were taken from the garage at work.

Wedding Corgi Bells!

So, for those of you who don't know, Momma and Daddy are getting married next August. What this means is that Momma is running around frantically trying to get everything in place, and Daddy is sitting there looking at her like she's a crazy woman.

Today, however, every thing fell into place, at least in one aspect of the wedding. The dress is found! This makes Momma a lot less nervous, and Daddy still thinks she's crazy.

Momma and Daddy both went to the gym today, and Momma did yoga as well. She's only a few ounces off her weight goal, which makes her super giddy. Daddy is hitting the elliptical hard, and he's rebuilding all his muscles. They're a very health conscious couple, which is why tonight's dinner is pot roast. That's right, pot roast.

To prepare for my Daily Corgi debut, Momma asked me to post what she considers quintessential "Burke" pictures, so here a year in my life!

This is me as a little puppy, when Momma and Daddy first brought me home. That's Squidbilly, he was my favorite toy ever, but I accidentally destroyed him in a FRAP, and now all that's left is a tiny little bit of him. I miss him a lot.

This is me with Uncle Fitz. I also miss Uncle Fitz.

Here I am nomming on Momma's finger. Fingers, while a tasty toy, are not for nomming apparently. I wish someone had told me before I nommed. 

Here I am under the couch. I used to be able to fit under there with no problem, but now that I am a fat butt, I can't fit there. Here I am also nomming paper towels, another non-nomable. 

This is The Burke Picture according to Momma. I'm not sure what I'm looking at here, but I know I wanted it badly!

Corgi stare!

Corgi smile!

Corgi 'Sup.

HAI! I'm a Corgi! Love me!

Me and Momma lie in the sun. You can kinda see my frisbee as well, I love frisbees!

See! I love my frisbee!

Last but not least, Old Man Winter Corgi!