Cats > Dogs

I am more of a cat person. They're self-cleaning, independent, etc. I don't dislike dogs, I just don't automatically love them. They jump all over you, they smell (don't try to deny it), they slobber, they need you to take them outside at all hours of the day/night, they're messy, they're loud, etc. I just prefer cats. That being said, I still like dogs and will pet and play with them when I visit friends and family. When I was a teenager, we adopted a black lab puppy and when I came home from work she would crawl into my lap and sleep. She still tried this full-grown. I loved that dog. I like most dogs and mostly tolerate their I-just-met-you-and-must-lick-you enthusiasm. I can enter a room with four other people (including babies and small children) and invariably the dog will seek me out first. It's almost as if they can sense my wariness. I'm certain they can smell it. The second I sit down they are up on my lap and sniffing my head. It often takes the owners several minutes to realize my predicament. I laugh and don't usually mind.

Usually.

I went over to a friend's house the other day. She has a small dog. I think small dogs tend to be on the yappy side in order to make up for their size. They need to be fierce (in dog mind) because they are small. I don't like most small dogs. Dachshunds, Malteses, and terriers are pretty much the only exceptions. Aside from their yappiness, they are plain ugly. Especially the ones that look like a door was slammed in their face. And yes, there ARE ugly cats too, but we're not talking about cats right now. Stay focused. This particular small dog wasn't ugly, but she isn't cute.

As soon as she was allowed out to inspect me, she began licking every piece of exposed skin she could find. I couldn't sit down because she was especially intent on my ears. She started jumping up my leg as if I had a squirrel hidden in my hair somewhere. Her owner would get her to stop, so I could go and sit down. So she'd resume jumping all over me like a toddler who has spied you eating Oreos. Then I'd stand up and the owner would call her off. This cycle was repeated several times until I passed her interrogation. Once I was allowed to sit down, she decided I was now her best friend. She climbed up on the pillow next to my head and presented her rear end to my face several times. She took no less than 1,000 turns around the pillow and finally settled down.

I thought I was in the clear.

All of a sudden, there was a new threat in her doggy mind. The location of this threat was her crotch. So intense was her focus, that all other noise was eclipsed by her determined chewing, licking, and snorting. "The butt nugget must die! I must find it and neutralize it! ALL THINGS DEPEND ON THIS!!!"

The minutes ticked away as I prayed for cessation. I was enjoying conversation with my friend when out of nowhere, A TONGUE WAS IN MY MOUTH. My new best friend decided I must sample what she had been enjoying for the last 30 plus minutes. "Taste the butt nugget, Human! Don't you think it tastes dangerous?!?!" I gagged and did my best to wipe my mouth out discreetly.

The rest of the evening passed without incident. Until then. Came then.

After a brief nap, the dog resumed her crotch patrol. After a while, she stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief, until I noticed her having difficulty getting the last swallow down. All my senses were on high alert for the millions of hours it took. She then stretched and started to stand up. She put her front paws down on my leg, indicating she wanted to crawl into my lap.

Three things happened in the next millisecond.

One: The dog started heaving.

Two: My brain started screaming at my body, "WE ARE AT DEFCON 1. NUCLEAR WAR IS IMMINENT. MOVE NOW!"

Three: The dog regurgitated all of its last meal and all of the butt nuggets it had worked so tirelessly to remove.

Because I had started to get up, the landing area was mostly on the couch. Sadly, my leg was also a casualty. All I could do was sit there, with dog vomit soaking into my pants, while my friend put the dog outside and grabbed some paper towels. All she could manage to say was, "Sorry my dog threw up on you." And truly, what else can you say at that point?

The dog was relegated to the outdoors for the rest of the evening and made sure we knew how much this displeased her.

At least cats have the decency to puke on the carpet or your bed.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My friend Lizz gave me two cookbooks of her family's favorite recipes. Pretty much everything we've tried from them has become a favorite in our home too. These cookies are no exception.

What you need:

1 cup sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (NOT the pie filling)
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinammon
1/4 tsp salt
1 package mini chocolate chips


What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Mix sugar and butter (I used my KitchenAid for all the mixing). Add pumpkin and mix well.

2. Add other ingredients and mix thoroughly.

3. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen.

Enjoy!!

I sometimes decrease the amount of chocolate chips because these cookies will be very generous on the chocolate ratio. :)

Caramel Corn

My friend from high school, Becky, hosts a "Romance Movie Night" where we get to watch some of my favorite stories from Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens, etc. Everyone also brings something delicious to snack on. Last time someone brought homemade caramel corn. Soooooo goooood. Her recipe called for sweetened condensed milk, which I did not have. I got this recipe from my friend Lizz (also from high school, go WX Wildcats!).

I may or may not have eaten it for dinner.

What you need:

plain popcorn
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup brown sugar (I only had dark brown)
2/3 cup dark Karo syrup (I only had light)
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter (1/2 a stick)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda

What you do:

1. Butter a large bowl. Pop enough popcorn to fill the bowl. Set aside.

2. Bring the sugars, syrup, and water to a boil and cook until it reaches the hard ball stage. I had never done this before, and I'm still not sure I got it right... I only have a meat thermometer which tops out at 220. But it worked out and tasted great!

3. Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Immediately pour over popcorn, stirring as you go.

Enjoy! This had a delicious hint of vanilla and just enough salt to give it that salted caramel taste. I think I 'll go have some more right now.

Chocolate-Orange Truffle Cake

I have to admit that the first time I saw this cake I scoffed. Homemade cake from a box? NO thanks.

I am happy to say that I was wrong. So very, very wrong.

This cake in no way tastes like a box cake. Here is the original recipe where it has a FIVE STAR rating. I have modified it for more orange flavor like other bakers because, orange.

What you need:

For the cake:
1 box Betty Crocker SuperMoist chocolate fudge cake mix
water, vegetable oil, and eggs as called for on the box
1 Tbsp orange zest (this took me two oranges to get)

For the frosting and topping:
1 tub Betty Crocker Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (don't skimp on the fat)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/8 tsp orange extract


What you do:

1. Bake and cool cake as directed on package for two round pans; add the orange zest with the water.

2. Stack and frost the cake. Make sure to put a layer of frosting between the two layers.

3. Heat cream in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot. DO NOT BOIL.

4. Remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until melted and smooth.

5. Add orange extract and stir. Let stand 5 minutes.

6. Carefully pour onto top center of cake and spread to the edge, allowing some to drizzle down the sides.

7. Refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is set.



Enjoy!!

He Cooks: Honey Ginger Chicken

Ingredients 

Per pound of chicken use (we eat about 2-3 pounds):

Marinade and reduction sauce

• 6 tb Soy Sauce
• 4 tb of Honey
• 4 tb non-alcoholic white wine
• 2 tb Ginger
• 2 tsp Fresh Garlic

To Experiment:
1 tb of Dijon Mustard
or
1 tb sriaccha sauce
or
Lime Juice

Garnish

• Cut green onions
• Sesame seeds

Steps

•  Cut the raw chicken into bite sized pieces
•  Mix the Marinade together and place in good sized bowl (wisk together until try components are well mixed)
•  Marinade the chicken in the bowl for about an hour.
• Once marinated, have a pan ready at medium high heat with a bit of oil and Sesame oil. When the chicken hits the pan, it needs to be already hot to give it a quick sear.
• Sear the chicken until brown. and then continue until the chicken is cooked through.
• Take all the chicken out of the pan, and pour the rest of the marinade into the pan. Lightly boil out some of the liquid turning the marinade into a reduction sauce. (until it is sticky)
•  Add the chicken back in and toss until the chicken is throughly coated.
•  Serve on top of white rice with a veggie.

He Cooks: Beef and Broccoli

Marinade
1 pound thin sliced sirloin
4 Table spoons Soy Sauce
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tea spoon garlic powder (or minced fresh garlic?)
2 table spoons brown sugar
1/2 tea spoon ginger

(To try: Green Onions? Leeks?)

Olive/Canola/Vegetable Oil of choice for Saute (Sesame Oil to try next time?)

3 tablespoons corn starch
Dash of Red Pepper
Dash of Black Pepper
Dash of Garlic Salt
Bit of Sesame Oil for flavor (if not used primarily)



Thin sliced Sirloin.






Marinade

Combine everything except the corn starch in bowl a and mix until it's disolved. Cut the thinly sliced Sirloin into bite sized strips and place into the bowl with the marinate Sirloin for 30 minutes.







Sear


Remove from marinade and heat pan with sesame oil. Saute the marinated beef in the marinade. Let the marinade reduce. (Boil down a bit). Add the Broccoli which should almost soak up the last of the liquid from the sauce, so add some more marinade back in with corn starch to thicken the sauce. Reduce this group down until the sauce in the pan is nice and thick. You should have to stir fry quite a bit during the time and watch closely. Finish with the last of the marinade into the sauce. There shouldn't be much left. After a minute or two (enough to cook any raw meat danger out of the marinade) pull off of heat and prepare to serve.



Top on to rice.

Story of My Life

'Cause I can't make you love me if you don't
You can't make your heart feel something it won't
Here in the dark, in these final hours
I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power
But you won't, no you won't
'Cause I can't make you love me, if you don't

These lyrics have run their course through my head more than a few times over the last two decades. They always sting. They always hurt. They always make me cry.

 

I love. I love so much sometimes it becomes detrimental to my well-being. I am loved back, but not the same. Sometimes I am just tolerated. And I know it. And it hurts.

So for now I am just going to allow myself to be hurt. Because I know I am loved, but not really liked, by some of the people that mean the most to me in the world. And that sucks.