The Best End of the Day Ever

Momma works a nine hour day on a good day, today she worked an 11 hour day. That's right, 11 hours. Momma was so tired when she got home that she didn't even stop me from jumping up on her.

She was so exhausted, but the minute she walked through the door she was greeted by the scent of lemon, oregano, and amazingly tender brown rice. I'd gotten to smell it all day, so I know she was jealous of me!

Daddy made the most fantastic dinner ever, and it soothed Momma's sad and hungry soul. It tasted of lemony goodness with the bite of oregano, and the brown rice was buttery soft. And it looked good too!

Momma's job is really involved, and she's loving making policy. Who knows, Momma thinks she might enter the Department of Education when she's all done at the United Way!

Summer is on the way!

Curried Shrimp and Quinoa, Momma's Back to Basics Meal

If there are two things in the world Momma loves food wise, it's the taste of spicy curried shrimp, and the way quinoa pops in her mouth. Since she has work tomorrow, and since she and Daddy had a very successful day today, Momma decided to indulge in both at the same time!

This is Momma's preferred curry mix: Vindaloo curry, ginger, minced garlic, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and pepper. It makes the shrimp not only spicy, but also gives it a lot of lingering flavor beyond the heat. See how pretty it looks:

The quinoa is pretty bland on it's own, it's kinda just... there. It pops in your mouth though, I actually got to sneak a few grains this time. Momma flailed a little bit when cooking and BAM! Corgi swoops in for the kill!

The shrimp smelled super tasty too, the smells in this apartment are less strong, Momma and Daddy now have a stove with a hood fan. It's also got way better lighting and a porch for me! I get to go hang out there whenever I want! Momma says it's like she and Daddy don't own a dog at all, which I think means they're more happy to have me around when I come back in, and not that they are thrilled not to be licked every second. 

This is Momma's dinner, which once again I got none of, and it's not fair. She and Daddy make all this good food, and I don't get a single little bit of it and it's not fair and I am all sad and I'm gonna go sit out on the porch now and sit with the penguin and sulk. So there.

Begin As You Mean To Go On!

Tonight Momma and Daddy made their very first dinner in their new apartment! Momma loves the new stove in the kitchen, the dishwasher, and the washer/dryer. Momma really likes appliances, can you tell? While she's at work, Daddy's done a ton of unpacking and laundry. Momma is so tired by the end of the day, that she comes home and collapses onto the sofa. This affords me the perfect chance to jump up on her lap and cover her work clothes in dog hair.

The very first dinner was Daddy's creation, he made Alfredo sauce with his own special blend of spice and cheese, and then he added in chicken he flavored with pepper and garlic powder. It was so good, Momma had more than one helping of chicken! Momma hates meat, so that was a pretty big step!

Momma also tried out a new kind of Gluten Free pasta, brown rice and flax seed. It was pretty good, but I got the feeling she's frustrated with having to shock GF pasta in cold water. 

I'm really loving the new apartment too, except for all the new sounds. I get my own room, which I share with the washer/dryer. I have my water, and a little area between the washer and the wall where I can curl up and sleep. It's warm, I have water, it's a huge improvement on my kennel, which broke on the drive to Indy. I may or may not have been throwing myself repeatedly at Momma's seat. I never heard her swear so much in my life as she did when I was suddenly in the passenger seat...

We're Online!

Momma and Daddy are back online!

Oh God...

T-Minus 1 day!

Momma and Daddy threw up their hands and said screw it to packing everything. They'll come back over the weekend and grab the rest of the food out of the kitchen, grab the plates and dishes, and clean the apartment. Yeah for having the apartment for another month!

Almost There...

Almost everything is done now, just the kitchen remains. Momma is exhausted, Daddy is exhausted, and I got to go play with Uncle Terry!

Progress!

Momma and Daddy are deep in packing, and making some progress. I get to hang out in my kennel! Yeah....

Big News Everybody!

So, Momma apologizes for not having a dinner post, but she and Daddy had a huge day. Momma got a job! She's working in Indianapolis, and so she and Daddy have a week to move! So this blog may be quiet for a bit while they pack and plan and move. Yeah Momma!

Pescketi!

Today marks the first day of Daddy's first week making the entree. To celebrate/start things off tasty, he made a favorite dish of Momma and Daddy's: Spaghetti Carbonara. Daddy really loves Carbonara, he loves it for the bacon and the cheese. Momma loves it for the pasta and the cheese. They can each find something they like in the dish! Those are always the best dishes. I like Carbonara because the house smells like garlic and bacon, two scents I love most in all the world. Okay, I also love the smell of rawhide and my food and the grass and everyone who comes over to visit.

The fun part of Cabonara is how easy it is to make. Daddy uses dried herbs, which packs a way bigger punch than fresh in much smalled quantities, bacon, eggs, and garlic.

Ingredients are so pretty, according to Momma. She likes taking really close up pictures of the  things she and Daddy use to make dinner. She keeps trying to take pictures of me that close up, and I keep moving. It's a game we play!

Dinner was really tasty, according to Momma and Daddy. They seemed to really enjoy it. I can tell cause they ignored my many attempts to jump on the couch. Look at that bacon! It was all crispy and tasty and smelled really good. The whole dish was light and eggy, with lots of tasty cheese flavor and the bite of oregano. The basil added a really nice sweet hint, and the whole thing was really fantastic.

This was the finished product:

Dinner was a success for Daddy, and Momma was all happy to eat some pasta again. She's going to go GF primarily, but since it's not an allergy issue she'll have some from time to time.

I Got A New Toy!

Today, Momma and Daddy went out for a really long time! I thought they were gonna leave me with Uncle Rob again, which is okay cause he plays with me. Momma and Daddy are always going "No Burke! I'm in the middle of cooking dinner!" or "No Burke, I'm in the bathtub! I don't want to play!" They never play with me! It's not like we do tug of war, fetch, or frisbee at all, ever. Okay, maybe we do, but it's not enough!

Anyway, Momma and Daddy went out to the pet store, and came home with a toy designed to stimulate my  mind. Pssh, my mind is stimulated enough! I have rawhide, and my fox toy, and ... okay. I needed stimulation. It's called the Tug-A-Jug, here is the website: http://www.premier.com/View.aspx?page=dogs/products/behavior/busybuddy/tugajug/description

And here is the toy!

It's really fun, but I'm super frustrated. You have to pull that rope in such a way that the little bits come out, and I can't get it to work right! I'm all squeaky and Momma's all "Stop squeaking!" and I'm all "But Momma!" and she's all "I don't care! Stop it now!" and then I'm all "But Moooooooooooomma!" And then I have to go sit in the corner. 

Daddy wasn't feeling very well, so Momma went off the spicy deep end. She mixed up vindaloo curry power, paprika, ginger, onion powder, and garlic powder, and then coated shrimp in the mixture. She sauteed them with olive oil, a bit of butter, and lemon juice. It made a sound like buzzing electronics, which freaked Daddy out. 

While that was happening, she made Near East Rice Pilaf, and it made the house smell so tasty! Daddy also got me pig ears to gnaw on, so I was content with that. I do like when the house smells good though, it gives it nice ambience. 

The shrimp cooked really quickly, but the pilaf didn't, and it was really funny to hear Momma go all "eeep!" on the stove. I was chewing on my new tire toy, so I ignored her. 

Daddy made his version of Orangina, which is Pellegrino and orange juice mixed together. It's light and bubbly and went really well with the spicy shrimp and the saffron flavored rice. 

I will be meeting a new friend soon! Momma and Daddy's friend has a puppy, and I get to meet him soon! Yeah for new playmate!

What Does Peppery Mean in Vegetable Form?

Momma really loves salad dressing. When she was a little girl, she used to sneak salad dressing during dinner. I don't really know what dressing tastes like, but I'm guessing it tastes like a nice mix of bone marrow, peanut butter, and lamb. I base this on Momma's reaction solely, nothing could possibly taste that good in reality.

Today was a very long day for Momma, she had a really tough class to sub for before her doctor's appointment. By the time Momma and Daddy got home, they were exhausted, and with good reason. Between running around with kids, and having to go to a doctor's appointment, they were pretty much wiped out. Dinner was going to be something with beef, something I wouldn't get a piece of, but that was way off the map now. Instead, Momma and Daddy decided it was a good night for eggs and salad.

Momma loves arugula and spinach, so she mixed them up together with tomatoes. The conundrum came when she went to make salad dressing and found the shallots were all gross and stuff. Momma squeaked, which is funny when you consider that she always tells me to stop squeaking!

Regardless of Momma's hypocrisy, she did end up trying to make Gma's salad dressing, which I think is like Momma's crack. I picked my head up off the couch and she had salad, and a minute later it was all gone! Then again, I may have fallen asleep. I do that from time to time.

Tomorrow, there will be park! And if there is no park, there will be frisbee!

Ancient Grains? Forget That, Give Me Ancient Rawhide!

Now that Momma's back on the Gluten-Free bandwagon, dinner has gotten interesting. Momma always like dinners she can throw together in 10 minutes and put on the plate, and that's no longer in the cards. Momma and Daddy went to Kroger today, and came home with more fruits and veggies than I've ever seen in my life! Most of the food they used to ate came in packages, and there was more to put on the pantry than in the fridge. That was not the case this time! Momma was really proud of them!

For dinner, Momma made her first ever Quinoa dish, a mushroom risotto. Momma felt this was a bastardization of risotto, and thus slightly sacrilegious, and Daddy doesn't like Quinoa, so he had leftovers. Not every night works the way it's planned on paper.

Momma pulled the recipe from Epicurious, and got to work. Momma learned first that Quinoa doesn't cook normally, so I got kicked out of the kitchen. I like to lie at Momma's feet when she cooks, like this:

Momma says I look all studly and protective. I have no clue what that means, but I like it at her feet in the kitchen. It's warm and it smells good, and I like when the kitchen smells of onions!

According to Momma, Quinoa is really pretty when it cooks. It starts out as this little seed, and then pops open, and pops in your mouth! Momma loves food like that, like pomegranates. I think Momma would walk across a desert barefoot in a snowsuit for a good, juicy, big pomegranate. I would not, but perhaps for a nice roll of lamb. Yes, yes I think I would.

This was Momma's prep station, look at all those mushrooms!

That's a lot of mushrooms. I guess it's a good thing Momma really likes mushrooms. There was also wine...

I guess it looks tasty, but what do I know. I'm a dog not a food critic:

And here is Momma's new cookbook!

And here is me! Momma says I'm a ham, but I don't think I resemble a pork cut all that much.

The First Walk of Spring

Usually, when I need to do my business, Momma or Daddy takes me out in the backyard. Today I had a special treat, a real walk! Momma and I walked to the park, and then back home. On the way, I got lots of admiring looks and compliments, which pleased Momma very much. She likes showing me off for the public.

Tonight and lunch tomorrow will be Momma's last meals with gluten. She's going back on the GF diet for lots of reasons, and this time she's promised to be positive. She even told Daddy he can fine her $3 for every time she whines or complains. Daddy is gonna filthy rich in a week, maybe he'll buy me another rawhide!

For her final dinner, Momma made Cheese Tortellini with Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce and Mushrooms. She said it was her way of going out with a bang, Daddy kinda scoffed. It made the house smell all kinds of amazing though! I've developed a taste for the smell of garlic since I can't taste garlic itself. 

There was so much garlic too! And mushrooms, and butter, and cream, and sun-dried tomatoes! There was tortellini, and it was creamy and tangy, and smelled like buttery goodness. Momma and Daddy both really loved it, it was one of Momma's better dishes. It was supposed to have spinach, but nothing I saw indicated that it was missed. Look how pretty it is!

Now that Spring is here, I'm gonna be at the dog park every single day! And I know Momma and Daddy are looking forward to it too, and if they're not they better keep their mouths shut, cause I wanna go. So there. 

It's Warm! Time for Spicy Food!

It's warm in Indiana! It was almost 70 degree today, and Momma and Daddy have promised to take me to the dog park tomorrow! I can honestly say it's the happiest day in my memory, but according to Momma I have a really short memory, so I've probably had happier days... wait... what were we talking about? Hey! You! Did I tell you it was warm today!

Momma made a solo meal tonight, cause Daddy had a really tasty Gyro left over from lunch, and Momma has to go to bed way early tonight. Since she made a solo meal, she got to indulge in something Daddy doesn't have much tolerance for anymore, spicy food! For Christmas, Momma got this from Daddy's stepsister Rachel:

Look at that! That's real curry powder! Never let it be said Momma doesn't know how to use curry powder, she learned from Gma Hallie, who lived with Gpa Henry in India, so Momma is an expert. She put the curry powder on the chicken, which she sauteed in shallots and garlic cloves. The kitchen smelled so good, again! It isn't fair though, Momma and Daddy's food alway smells so good and fresh and flavorful, and mine always smells of meat and is all dry. It's just not fair! Anyway, here's what it looked like when Momma put everything together: 

Doesn't that look good! Doesn't that look like something you want to nom on? Why won't they let me have any? According to Momma, it was really wonderfully spicy and flavorful, and she could taste the turmeric and cumin really easily. 

In the end, I didn't even get a juice dripping. It isn't fair, I mean look at me! I like to gnaw on a good piece of meat once in a while, even if it is still attached to a hand...

Curried Shrimp, Or: Adjusting for Daddy's Ginger Hatred

Momma had a bit of a pickle with tonight's meal, Daddy hates ginger. Hates it the way I hate baths, or vacuum cleaners, or spending time in the corner, or sudden noises, or shots, or... you get the picture. The reason it was such a problem is that tonights dinner was ginger heavy, see:

That's a lot of ginger! Part of what Momma liked about this recipe was how few ingredients it had, but it wasn't until today she realized exactly how much ginger it wanted her to add. Now, I usually ignore Momma's complaining, Daddy says she could complain for the US at the Olympics, and Momma just insists it's her cultural heritage. She's a full blooded Jewish woman, and if she wants to complain, the she's darn well gonna complain. I just ignore them and chew on my fox. The only time I complain is when I don't have water, I'm hungry, I need to pee, my bed isn't right, they won't let me on the couch, I want attention, the room is too dark, they won't play with me... I barely complain at all!

Anyway, my point is Daddy hates ginger, and Momma complains like a world champion. Thus, Momma had to adjust the recipe to Daddy's taste without losing the curry flavor. This worked well, cause it gave Daddy flavor he liked, and it gave Momma something to complain about. Once Momma decided how to fix the ginger problem, everything fell into place. 

Dinner had really simple fixings, everything there went in and all Momma added was shrimp. it smelled so good! The coconut milk and the onions were fragrant and light, and the whole house smelled sweet and bright, like jasmine flowers. The shrimp absorbed all the flavors of the ginger and curry powder, and tasted like India. Momma wrapped up Daddy's portion so he could have it later, he was out helping a friend move. The rice and curry went so well together, Momma even had a second helping! Me? I got nothing but smells. It's torture! I stand by the stove, sniffing, getting underfoot, and I get nothing! Not even a close up sniff.

It's tragic, my life is so hard! Momma says I'm going stir crazy with the dog park closed. I agree, I want to play with my friends! 

This was what dinner looked like when Momma was all done: 

And this is what I looked like while I tried to get food:

I spent the rest of the night doing what I do best, driving Momma up the wall!

Also, Momma said my Gma wanted the recipe for the breading, so here it is!

2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed down

2 tablespoons of the sun-dried tomato oil

2 whole cloves garlic

Put in a processor, and blend til tomatos are coarsely chopped. 

Night Two is Chicken, Or: Why I Had to Spend Dinner in the Kennel

I sometimes have a problem listening, according to Momma and Daddy. They tell me to stop licking, and I keep licking. They tell me to stop barking, and I bark again. Momma tells me to stop sassing her, and I sass back again. It's just who I am!

Anyway, the reason I bring this up because tonight I decided I was gonna ignore Momma telling me to get away from the hot oven door. Apparently she wanted to keep me from hurting myself, I think it was just another ploy from getting at that delicious chicken. It smelled so good! I just wanted one piece, maybe two, maybe three! But check it out! They used to look like this!

I thought it was all gross and stuff this way, but Momma had a way to make it taste better. She took some tasty bread crumbs, mixed them with sun-dried tomatos, garlic cloves, and oil, and then she got to play with the food processor. Momma bought it a year and a half ago, and to this date has only made this and soup. Momma doesn't use it enough according to Daddy, but the noise scares me so I'm okay with it off for a while. Like the evil vacuum monster!

The bread crumbs tasted liked good, apparently. I took a lick of the floor after Momma dropped some, and all I tasted with tomatoes. I guess tomatoes taste good, I personally prefer the sublimely subtle taste of Greenies.

Momma breaded the chicken and tossed it in the oven, and from here I have no idea what happened, cause I stopped listening well and had to spend the rest of dinner in my kennel. What I heard though told me to turned out well! Daddy made creamed spinach too, and it was nice and creamy and spinachy. Again, veggies are gross, and I was in the kennel, so I missed out.

Momma said the chicken was perfectly moist and juicy, with lot of nice tomato flavor and a hint of garlic. The spinach pair really well with the chicken, and overall both Momma and Daddy were really happy with it in the end.

Stupid kennel, I missed out on everything! Even Aunt Polly coming to visit! Momma made it up to me though, she put a carob bit in my puzzle toy. I love that thing...

Sneaky Corgi Steals a Piece of Onion: More at Ten!

Today I got to do two of my favorite things ever, play outside, and steal food!

The snow around our house has melted enough to play frisbee with Daddy again, and it's awesome. I don't like to play with Momma, cause she can't throw very well. I think she's secretly grateful, Momma isn't good at sports. Our yard went from this:

To this:

I was kinda sad to see all the snow go, I'm the type of dog that loves snow! I hop around like a bunny rabbit, and I fetch snowballs! Okay, that one is just Daddy being funny, it's impossible to catch snowballs.

Anyway, now that spring has sprung, according to Momma, and the weather is sunny, I can go back outside! This brings me to my second favorite thing in the world, sneaking food. Corgi's are excellent sneakers of food and other items, and my favorite thing to sneak is veggies. Not good veggies, onions are bad for me and Momma always freaks out when I eat them. Tonight though, she was so excited by dinner that she missed a piece of onion! I was in heaven.

Anyway, dinner tonight was rotini with sausages in a tomato cream sauce. Momma was a bit skeptical when she first started, cause it looked a bit weird. She thought it was going to separate in the pan and never make a good thick sauce, but she should learn to trust Bon Appetit. This is the dinner in progress:

Momma apologizes that she doesn't have pictures of the prep work, she totally forgot about my blog til this stage in the cooking. It's okay though, I got her back. I barked at nothing earlier for about a minute straight. They hate when I do that.



When all is said and done, Momma and Daddy seemed really pleased with this meal. It was creamy, but really flavorful, and the sausage really absorbed the flavors of the tomato and the onions added a really great spice depth. They also had some corn that Daddy put together. Doesn't it look good? I wanted some more, but Momma got wise to me. I'll have to work on my technique.

Why Don't They Ever Take Me Along?

Today Momma and Daddy went to the grocery store to stock up for their very first week of menus! They never take me along, it makes me sad. I have to sit in the kennel while their gone, cause Daddy's afraid I might chew up something again! Geez, chew two Stephen King books and a computer power cord which leads to $4000 surgery, and you're branded for life.

Anyway, while I was chowing down on my rawhide and waiting patiently for their return (they seemed like they were gone hours!), Momma and Daddy picked up a whole weeks worth of food for far less than what they used to spend! Momma was excited!

Tonight, Momma will cook Rotini with sausage, tomatos, and cream for the main dish, and Daddy will make sweet corn! It's gonna be really tasty, at least that's what Momma said. I'm gonna try and sneak some when they're not looking, it's worth a few minutes in the corner.

Uh-oh... Momma is giving me that look again.. the one that says I have to go to the room with the water and the shampoo! Time to run!

Oh the huge manatee...