Still Alive

And if you get that reference, I just might kiss you.

I'm still here, I just haven't had an urge to blog much lately. I think its coming back though.

The tomatoes are finally starting to ripen on the patio. This has been an unseasonably cold summer, with a few hot spells here and there (107 degrees last week!), so they've been slow to mature.

We've been eating, of course. There has been sinfully rich creamed corn (adapted from some recipe I found online, but I no longer remember where it was).

There has been many a spicy sriracha burger (just add a good amount of sriracha sauce and whatever other seasonings you like, such as garlic powder and black pepper, to ground beef and grill; I coat a veggie burger in a similar mixture for myself, and plan to incorporate it into a homemade veggie/bean burger soon).

Last week was my 3rd Veggie-versary, and I celebrated by making personal zucchini lasagnes in big ramekins (thinly slice zucchini length-wise and toss with salt, put in a colander, and let the moisture leech out for at least 30 minutes; then use in place of lasagne noodles with your favorite lasagne components).

I've been keeping quite busy with music, playing on board the USS Hornet with the Hornet Big Band; at the Sunol Jazz Cafe for regular gigs and even a wedding party with the Nightlife Big Band; and at the Livermore Farmers Market, Alden Lane Nursery's Art Under the Oaks, Ravenswood Historic Site and more with the Pleasanton Community Concert Band. I have no pictures, since my hands were full of saxophone, but I'll try to get hold of some that I know were taken at some of the events.

And today my good friend Stef came to visit and have some fun. We started with lunch at Stomp Wine Bar in Blackhawk Plaza. They have a large wine list and small plates for noshing. We sat on the patio in the comfy cushioned patio chairs, near the fireplace that I imagine is divine on a cool night. I had the 2007 Skylark Pinot Blanc, from the Orsi Vineyard in Mendocino, which was very good - subtle and refreshing. She had the 2007 Unti Barbera from Dry Creek Valley, which was underwhelming until we tried it with food, then it was quite good. When you sit the waiter brings water and house-made potato and root vegetable chips, with a little dip.

We stuck the metal lizard in the cone there in honor of our friend Liz, who we wish could have been there with us. There was another metal lizard on the fireplace grill that we were taking pictures of, so the waiter brought this one out for us to play with.

We ordered the fava bean crostini - spicy fava beans on top of what I believe was ricotta and toasted baguette, with an apricot drizzle. It was excellent.

And we had the fresh fig, goat cheese, prosciutto (I didn't eat the prosciutto), and caramelized onion flatbread, which was earthy and delicious.

I was eyeing the house-made chocolate and cheese platter desert course, but we were too full, which only means we'll need to go back and sample some more.

After lunch we had a good time shopping and hanging out. And I bought a pair of black sequined flats as DS shoes that are very cute, so I'm happy. Then we took the dogs out to play a little fetch, and Stef chased Mac around trying to get his plush soccer ball from him, which is just what he wanted.

All in all, a great day. I may not have a ton of friends, but I truly love and appreciate the ones I do have. :)

Too Much Fun

In fact, I had so much fun last weekend that I just now have the energy to write about it.

It has been far too long since Stef, Katie, Liz and I got together and acted like our usual immature selves, and that's exactly what we did Friday through Sunday last week. And it was awesome.

Katie drove through a snowstorm to get to my place Friday around noon. She met the dogs, and Ayla surprised me by instantly liking her. I showed Katie around and we took Ayla out to play some fetch. Then we headed out to Stef's place to meet up with Stef and Liz. Then we all piled into Katie's car and drove up to San Francisco. We parked the car and checked in to our room at the Hyatt in Union Square. Then we hopped on a cable car, packed like sardines in with the other passengers, and headed to Fisherman's Wharf. He had dinner and drinks at Cioppino's On The Wharf. I had the three cheese tortellini that was nice, and a great peach bellini that was even better. Yum! After dinner we walked to Pier 39 and barked at the sea lions, checked out Alcatraz from a distance, and enjoyed the street performers. As evening fell we walked down to Houston's at the Embarcadero to have wine and beer on their gorgeous patio by the fire pit. Then he hopped on a Muni car (free ride night!) and headed back to Union Square. We went to the top of the Hyatt to the Grandviews Lounge for more drinks and listened to the piano player's last set. Finally we went back to our room to laugh ourselves to sleep.

Saturday morning we blearily and pre-coffee dragged ourselves to Max's for breakfast (yummy blueberry pancakes!). After the coffee perked us up a bit we walked around the city. We stopped to check out The Palace Hotel, with its stunning Garden Court. Then we walked through the financial district where we saw some really weird and cool horse statues made out of driftwood and cement. Once we got the the Embarcadero we walked around an arts and crafts fair, and then to the Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market. We walked down a pier and watched people catching their dinners, and then headed up to Chinatown. Then we had to get back to Union Square to see Spamalot, which was fantastic! I think quite a few in the audience didn't know what they were in for, which confused me, but we were laughing until our faces and stomaches hurt. The Lady of the Lake was especially great, and she really stole the show.

After the show we headed back to the room to relax a bit and share a bottle of wine that Stef had brought. Then we had dinner at Scala's Bistro, where we had another bottle of wine along with our dinners (pesto ravioli with lemon cream sauce for me, yum!) and where Katie and I developed a crush on the sommelier. After dinner we took silly pictures in front of the store windows in Union Square, and then went to The Carnelian Room at the top of the Bank of America Building, the tallest building in the city. The view was amazing, and the apricot colada was good too. Stef, Liz, and Katie went downstairs to meet up with Stef's fiance and the kids (who brought us really cute plush flowers) while I held our table and just enjoyed watching the sun set over the city. Then we walked to North Beach, got chocolate at a candy store, and walked back to Union Square again. We stopped in at Lefty O'Doul's for a beer and then went back to the room. Liz was hungry again so we ordered a pizza from room-service. Then it was one or two in the morning, so we hit the hay. One more day to go!

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and went across the street to Starbuck's for coffee and food. Then we drove across the Golden Gate Bridge and stopped at Battery Spencer on the north side to take photos. Then it was onward to Napa and wine tasting! Our first stop was Viansa, a gorgeous winery and marketplace where the tasting was a mere $5. Our favorite was the Frescolina, a dessert wine. We drove a bit further down the road and stopped at Domaine Carneros, which was very impressive. We shared the sparkling wine flight (the rose was the best) and a cheese plate with the best goat cheese I've ever had. We headed up to Beringer, and though we missed the tour we had a nice lunch. Then we drove back down Highway 29 and stopped at Heitz Cellar where I made friends with the resident dog. She was so cute, as soon as she woke up she rolled over for belly rubs. The port here was very good too. Our final stop was V. Sattui, one of Stef's favorite places. They have a very nice lawn where I hung out while Liz and Katie tasted wines - I was a bit wined out by this point, but I hear the wines here are very good.

Finally we drove back home to my place so Liz could see the condo and meet the beasts. Then it was time for everyone to go home. We had such a fantastic time and laughed ourselves silly; our voices were hoarse toward the end because of all the talking and laughing. It was so great to be with the girls again. We're so lucky to be able to pick up right where we left off the last time we saw each other. And I'm very lucky to have such wonderful people for my friends. Love you guys!

The full set of pictures is here.

The Little Brother Graduates

Full album/bigger pictures here

This past Tuesday was my little brother's graduation from Western Nevada College with an Associate of Arts degree. I took Ayla and went up to my parents' place Monday morning to be there for the ceremony and spend some time with the family. Later Monday evening my Nana and Ted (grandparents on my mother's side) arrived too. We had a nice dinner of grilled vegetable, tofu, and shrimp (for the omnivores) kebabs, with my favorite quinoa salad on the side.

The following day Mom, Nana, and I headed into Carson to do a little shopping. And look who I got to see!!!!

Apologies for the crappy iPhone picture

Katie and Eric! Katie's parents live not too far from my parents, and they just happened to be visiting and in Carson for lunch. They came over to the store we were in to say hi, take a picture, and give me a chance to embarrass Eric by hanging out in the women's lingerie section. I'm so happy we got to see each other, even if it was for only a few minutes. I'm even happier that we'll be getting together soon with the other two members of the Four Musketeers. I love you guys! And by the way, nice catch Katie!

Tuesday evening we attended Clay's graduation. We got there an hour early and were lucky we did, because not everyone who showed up got into the auditorium. The ceremonies were about to begin when we suddenly hear a huge shout from the back. I thought it was some crazy dude, but then the bagpipes began. The shout had come from the major(?) of the Scottish band, and he along with the pipes and drums led the processional into the hall. An improvement on the usual Pomp and Circumstance, if a loud one. Anyway, I didn't get many good pictures during the ceremony since the lighting in the hall wasn't great and when Clay walked across the stage to receive his diploma I was yelling for him, which made my camera shaky.


After the graduation we went to dinner at El Charro Avita where we had yummy food and large margaritas. By this time it was late so we went back to my parents' place where Clay opened a few presents and then we sat around chatting.

The next morning we had a leisurely breakfast and then I headed home. Ayla managed to make everyone fall in love with her of course (Ted was referring to her as his dog after about ten minutes - she adored him!), but I know she was happy to head home where she could really rest. Its just so exciting up at my folks' house, with so many people to watch and play with, and so many cats to sniff. The drive home was uneventful, and Mac was more excited to see Ayla than he was to see me when we finally walked in the door.

Overall it was a great trip: I got to see both sets of grandparents, see my little brother graduate, and spend time with my family. Thanks everyone!

The Larsons Hit the Town

As I said last time, I've been battling a cold for a number of weeks now. Its mostly gone, but I'm still coughing and have a bit of a frog in my throat. While I stayed home sick, Ayla and Mac kept me company on the couch, under covers. Good dogs.

Sympathetic pooches

Earlier this week my mom and dad come to visit. They arrived on Wednesday just in time to see me perform with the USS Hornet Band. I guess its once a parent, always a parent since they took photos and video of the performance. :) I need to bug them for one of the photos they took (hint, hint Dad). That night Chris and I took to them The Pearl Garden for dinner, our favorite Chinese place here in San Ramon that has the best veggie dishes.

Thursday Chris had to work, so we did a few things around San Ramon. We took their new Toyota Prius to the car wash, and I took them to Bay Books, my favorite used book store. I'm reading Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series, which is absolutely addictive, and I needed the next book since I'd read the previous one in only about four hours. Then we picked up a spanakopita plate at Mykonos Mediterranean Grill for a light lunch and took the dogs for a walk.

Thursday afternoon we hopped on BART and headed in to San Francisco. Mom and Dad had never seen the Nordstrom Mall so we wandered around a bit, taking in the 8 or so floors of curving escalators. Then Stef met up with us at First Crush for dinner. The restaurant is a tiny place with a bar and some tables at street level, and a lounge and more tables downstairs. The food was absolutely wonderful. We started with drinks and bread and pesto. Next was salads: us girls had the chilled beet salad which was fresh and juicy while Dad has the green salad that was topped with the best slice of blue cheese I've ever tasted. I had the risotto which was drizzled with brown butter (oh my god was that good!), Dad had the chicken, Mom had the ravioli, and Stef had the fish. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their entrees, and I liked the brown butter so much I made some to put over mashed potatoes last night. Stef, Dad and I had the chocolate espresso pots du creme for dessert and Mom had the lemon tart - all perfect caps to the meal. We left absolutely stuffed, too!


After dinner we walked down to the Orpheum Theater to see Wicked. I have been so excited to see this musical since I read the book a few years back and found out it was turned into a Broadway show. Last fall I heard it was coming back to SF, so I immediately rallied the troops and bought tickets. Stef's mom was supposed to join us, but unfortunately couldn't make it so my Dad came in her place. He said that he was glad Mom Schafer couldn't make it because he had been jealous! The theater is gorgeous, with an ornately carved ceiling and plaster work. The set for Wicked was amazing, the show was amazing, the production was just huge. All I can say is, wow! I wish I was going again tonight.


Friday we met up with Chris for lunch at Fuddruckers before Mom and Dad had to head back home. I furiously knit the entire morning and was able to finish Mom's birthday blanket and give it to her before they left. This is the Lion Brand Cable Comfort Throw, knit with a little over eight balls of Wool-Ease Thick & Quick in Denim. I like knitting blankets with this yarn since its so soft and squishy. The pattern is easy and quick (this took me about a month to complete). The only modification I made was knitting it all at once on a circular needle instead of in five separate strips that get sewn together.


The dogs were worn out after Mom and Dad left. Its a lot of work entertaining the visiting humans! They snoozed in the sunshine Friday afternoon to recuperate.


And last night I was messing around on the computer when Gretel tried to climb into my lap. I pushed her away since I didn't feel like having twelve pounds of feline on me right then. A few minutes later I turn next to me and see this:

Apparently Gretel found a better place to rest.

Thanks Mom, Dad, and Stef for going to the show with me. It was great seeing everyone!

Holidays

Christopher and I are nearing the end of our two-week vacation. It has been very, very nice and relaxing. Last Tuesday we went up to my parents' place for Christmas. It was wonderful to see them, and to finally introduce Mac to them. Of course, Ayla is their princess and gets spoiled whenever we visit as well.

Over the summer Mom and Dad found a cat and her six kittens in their backyard. They took them all in, got the kittens and mama-cat all fixed and vetted, and tried to get in touch with a local cat rescue organization. With the pet overpopulation problem as it is, the cat rescue was unable to help out and Mom and Dad ended up keeping them... all of them. Now they have the six kittens, mama-cat (who lives with my dad in Vegas while he's working there), and the two old lady cats Precious and Jo (I got Jo in high school and she grew attached to my Dad when I left for college). In addition to the nine cats they have a bearded dragon named Puff, a turtle, and a fish tank with four gouramis and a couple algae eaters. Its always been a zoo in the Larson home!

Here's a slide show that starts with the kitties, then goes into some holiday photos:

We came home on the day after Christmas (to a loudly protesting Gretel kitty). On Sunday we decided to replace the carpet in our bedroom. We ended up going with the Pavilion Berber in Desert Stone at The Home Depot since it fit our room (12' wide rolls) and wouldn't require seaming, it was in stock, its about a third the price of putting in laminate (what we put in the living area), and it would be good for the pets. We aren't expecting this to last forever, or be what we sell the condo with if we ever sell the place. We just wanted something nicer than and different from the standard apartment carpeting that was already present.

We brought home the 12' x 16' roll in the good old Jetta - gotta love the fold-down back seats, that car has been nearly as good as a truck for us. That afternoon we moved everything but the bed and the Bowflex out of the room, ripped up the old stuff, laid down the new (the original carpet pad was still in fine condition and didn't need replacing), and maneuvered it into place under the remaining furniture. It was quite the task, but didn't take long at all. It certainly isn't a professional job, but its more than good enough for what we want right now. And for less than $150, its definitely made the room feel a lot nicer. I don't have a good picture (its not an easy room to take a photo in due to lighting issues), but click on the linked product name to see it.

Yesterday we headed into San Francisco for an early New Year's Eve dinner at Daily Grill. This is the restaurant we went to last year around the holidays, and where my great-aunt and -uncle took the family to for my college graduation six(!) years ago. We shared the spinach-artichoke dip with crostini, Chris had an aged rib eye with creamed spinach and mashed potatoes, and I had the pesto penne. The service wasn't as good as last year which was a disappointment. The food was quite good, though not warranting a trip into the city alone. After dinner we headed to Nordstrom's to have dessert and coffee at their cafe like we did last year, but they had closed early for New Year's Eve. I love sitting at the top of Nordstrom's and watching the city below, so I was quite disappointed that we couldn't do that this time. Instead we caught BART back home - we didn't want to be in SF when it got really crazy for New Year's Eve, it was crowded enough while we there. We stopped off for ice cream at the market and watched the ball drop in New York on TV, with my ark snuggled happily in my lap:


It was a nice evening overall. Next year we'll try someplace local for our little tradition of a fancy holiday dinner out, though I told Chris I want to go to a very nice vegetarian place in the city for my birthday in April that I've been wanting to try.

For the next few days before work starts again we'll be relaxing and enjoying ourselves, and conditioning our bodies to wake up before 10 am again (ouch!). I hope you had a happy holiday and here's to a wonderful new year!

Shenanigans

Pride Mountain Vineyard picnic area

Last Saturday I went wine-tasting with Stef, Philip, and Phil's friend Richard. Richard has the connections - his uncle is a wine maker at Pride Mountain Vineyards in St. Helena. We started off in the tasting room with a Chardonnay, Viognier, and a red (I don't remember the varietal). Then we went on a tour of the wine caves.

Clink!

I don't remember how many wines we tried inside. I do remember that the Reserve Claret was amazing, and has a ten-year waiting list for purchasing. Oh, it was good though! The caves were like a labyrinth and very cool. The wines were very good too, though a bit dry for my tastes. After the cave tour we went back to the tasting room where I nursed my glass of the Claret. Then they brought out a dessert wine that was very tasty. I'd be a happy girl if I had a bottle of the Chardonnay, Claret, and dessert wine. I just don't know when I'd drink them, since Chris isn't a wine fan.

We headed back down to Napa and had lunch at the Rutherford Grill (menu here). I had the best veggie burger - they make their own with grains, veggies (including beets!), and a soy glaze. Their slaw was really good too. Rich had brought a bottle of wine from Pride with us for lunch as well, and Stef and I drank most of it since the guys were drivers.

I wish I had more pictures from Napa, but I was too... drunk... to be taking many pictures. Phil took quite a few good ones and I begged for a few from him, but I don't think that's happening. We had such a good time, and I can't thank everyone enough for the invitation and generosity!

* * *

Tonight's dinner was a Barefoot Bloggers entry, Mexican Chicken Soup chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. My changes were halving the recipe, using baked tofu in place of chicken, and omitting the cumin since Chris doesn't care for it.

The lineup

Mirepoix, the aromatics onion, celery, and carrot sautéed in butter or oil, is a common base for many soups and stocks and is often referred to as the Holy Trinity of French cooking. Also on the cutting board is minced garlic and minced green and red jalapeños. Those brown blocks are baked tofu from Trader Joe's, in savory flavor. I love this stuff so much and kept snacking on it while cooking.

Always a good start

Once the mirepoix is ready you add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for a while.

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

Then top with grated Cheddar, sour cream, and avocado (mine aren't ripe yet) and enjoy. This is a really tasty and easy soup. I made a quick batch of cornbread muffins to serve along side the soup. I'll definitely make this again!

Dinner is served

* * *

In other news, Mac is a very, very bad boy.

*Le sigh*

Wish You Were Here

Stef came to visit me today. I didn't bring my camera (darn it!) but we had a great time. She got to meet Mac, and Ayla was overjoyed to see her as usual. We hopped in the convertible and went to Danville to find a little trouble. We had lunch at The Rising Loafer where we sat on the patio and watched the people and motorcycles go by. Stef had a turkey sandwich on very tasty garlic basil bread, while I had a slice of quiche and cup of cream of green chili soup. The soup was good and very thick. The quiche was way too eggy and the additions were only on the top, not mixed throughout. I think next time I would try a sandwich or salad.

After lunch we walked down to the library where there was an Art Fair on the lawn. There was a nice jazz trio playing and we did well naming the standards they played (Stef got "Satin Doll" in the first few bars - impressive!). We looked at the pottery, jewelry, and wall art. And Stef bought me a pair of really cute earrings with little iridescent butterflies, insisting she had missed my birthday. I love them!

Then we headed over to Corks Wine Store to do some tasting. The store is decorated in warm and dark tones, with great art on the walls and marble tables (even chess tables). Stef had a nice Watts Chardonnay (I think) and I had a fantastic Bacchanalian Cabernet. The woman running the store poured us glasses instead of the tastes we had asked for, but refused to charge us for more than tastes. We also ordered a chocolate fondue with bananas, blueberries, strawberries, and rice crispy treats for dipping. It was so decadent and fun, and the proprietress was really great. She definitely earned our repeat business.

Finally we stopped by my favorite used book store, Bay Books. I picked up a couple more books, despite the growing stack I have already. But I had to get Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire. I read Wicked sometime last year, and this is the sequel. And we just made plans to see the Broadway production of Wicked when it comes back to San Francisco in January. I'm so excited about this - I've been dying to see it since I read the book and found out about the show. Stef, her mom, me, and my mom are going to go together (I just bought the tickets!) and I can't wait!

If I had my camera with me, I would have taken a picture of us at the wine bar with the two empty (comfy) chairs at our table. Liz and Katie, we missed you!

Culinary Delights

Going for a walk

Mac heading up the hill

Ayla smiling

I recently realized that I have never seen The Sound of Music. How could that have happened? It was on TV a few weeks back so I recorded it. By the way, I love having a DVR. I can easily record things I want to watch, and fast-forward through commercials. And with our AT&T U-verse service I can pause live TV to take the dogs out, or rewind if I miss something. Its great! Anyway, back to The Sound of Music... I watched it Friday night, while having a dinner of microwaved popcorn and Fat bastard Chardonnay. What, you haven't done that? I'm glad I finally watched the movie, it was of course great and Julie Andrews amazing.

Sunday we took the Toyota in for an oil change. While we were waiting (it was supposed to take two hours, but ended up taking four) Chris and I headed to Broadway Plaza in Walnut Creek. We did some shopping - Banana Republic has the best polo shirts for Chris and you have to love end-of-season sales. We went past the fancy-schmancy jeweler, Davidson & Licht, where we got our wedding rings. They even have a uniformed, white-gloved doorman! Its the best jewelry store I've been too (including the pretentious Tiffany & Co., which is right down the street). We had lunch at Boudin Bakery Café - the California Veggie sandwich was mediocre, but the Tomato Soup in the Sourdough Breadbowl was quite good. The service was a bit snippy: it was somehow my fault they forgot to bring us the sandwich, and I guess I was supposed to prostrate myself in thanks that the server found it on the counter. And we walked around some more shops (must find a less expensive version of the Smith and Hawken 3-Tier Plant Stand for the patio).

We each drove up to Walnut Creek so we'd have a car to get around in while we waited on the Toyota, so we took the Subaru in for a cleaning inside and out. We don't drive it much, so it gets quite dusty. We've also decided to haul the dogs around only in my VW since it has leather upholstery which is much easier to clean, but there was still a lot of dog hair in the Subaru. The car wash people did a good job getting a lot of the dog hair out, but it is tenacious! Later we picked up the Toyota (the service people were very nice, despite being quite busy and me showing up three or four times to check on the status), and headed home.

Lately we've been making lots of pizzas. Out of one batch of dough we can make five personal-size pizzas. I'll make up two batches of dough and we'll make a bunch of little pies, eat a few, and toss the rest in the freezer so there's easy food on hand (made entirely of ingredients I recognize and can pronounce!). Sunday night I made up three batches of dough with my trusty food processor and Mark Bittman's easy recipe (see below):

Plain, garlic and red pepper, and basil and oregano (after rising).

Chris is a pro at shaping the dough. I topped them with either marinara from the freezer (I made a bunch a while back, making it a smooth sauce with my immersion blender), fresh-made pesto with basil from our still-bountiful crop, or leftover basil cream sauce I made a few days before. Then I added shredded mozarella, sliced Tofurkey Italian sausage, mushrooms, sliced tomatos from the garden, chopped artichoke hearts, and a little shredded cheddar. I cooked the pizzas (we split one for dinner, along with a green salad), cooled them, and now have a stack of fifteen of them in the freezer. They reheat in the microwave in about four minutes, so when I don't feel like cooking dinner or making lunches its very easy to have a tasty meal with no work. And its fun making them together. I love the smell of rising dough!

Here's the recipe for the dough:

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, plus more as needed
(I prefer bread flour)
2 tsp. instant yeast
2 tsp. coarse kosher or sea salt
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a food processor. Turn the machine on and add 1 cup water and 2 tablespoons of the oil through the feed tube.

Process for about 30 seconds, adding more water, a tablespoon or so at a time, until the mixture forms a ball and is slightly sticky to the touch (I haven't had to add any extra water). If its dry, add another tablespoon or two of water (but no more than a total of 1/4 cup in this step) and process for another 10 seconds. (In the unlikely event that the mixture is too sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time.)

Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a few seconds to form a smooth, round dough ball. Put the remaining olive oil in a bowl, turn the dough ball in it, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap; let rise until the dough doubles in size, 1 to 2 hours. (You can cut this rising time short if you're in a hurry, or you can let the dough rise more slowly, in the refrigerator, for up to 6 or 8 hours.) At this point you can stop, wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or a bag, and freeze for up to a month if you wish (bring to room temperature before proceeding).

When the dough is ready, form it into a ball and divide as you wish; roll each piece into a round ball. Place each ball on a lightly floured surface, sprinkle with a little flour, and cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Let rest until they puff slightly, about 20 minutes.

At this point I roll out the dough, top as desired, and cook in an oven set to 475°F until golden brown and cooked underneath.

Leaning tower of, what else, pizza

I've made a little more progress on my Cable-Down Raglan. The first cable is completed and I've started the side cables on the arms. I have some irregular increases on the raglan portion, but I'm not going to frog back and fix them. Its too much work for something that's taken so much time to get started and is mainly a learning project for me. I also found an uncrossed cable, front and center, but I'm not fixing that either since it doesn't detract from the look of the sweater. I guess I'm more of a process knitter. And I plan to wear this while walking the dogs or some other similar casual activity in the cooler weather.

Cable-Down Raglan (with uncrossed cable!)

Speaking of, check out my new wellies! Target was selling these last fall/winter season and I kept eyeing them but never bought them. I found them for $5 on Saturday and couldn't pass them up this time. They're perfect for taking the dogs out once its raining and our pathways become ponds. And they're polka-dotted!

Busy Bees

I've done a lot over the past week or so!

Two Saturdays ago Stef and I went to the Gilroy Garlic Festival. We got there in the early afternoon and were famished after driving in the traffic, so we stopped at one of the first vendors for lunch. I had a Greek salad which was ordinary and Stef had a lamb gyro. It was very hot out so we decided on beer. You have to get in one line to have your ID checked if you're under 30, another line to buy a beer ticket, and then head into the beer tent where you get in yet another line for your beer. I'm not a huge beer drinker, but it sure did taste good by then! We walked around, looked at the arts & crafts booths, found the gourmet alley where I got garlic bread dripping in butter, watched some cooking demos, stood in the rain tent (with overhead misters to cool us off, along with about 30 of our now closest friends since it was crowded in there) and at the end watched a swing band. We also laughed until our cheeks hurt and talked until our voices were hoarse. All in all, a good time!

Stef in front of the flaming garlic

Me in front of the flaming garlic

Sampling the garlic wine... one sip is enough

On Wednesday I met up with a couple friends from grad school for dinner at Chow in Lafayette. It was great to catch up with them, find out what they're up to now that we're two years out of school, and have a nice dinner (the bruschetta was great!). I also learned how dog-friendly Lafayette is - there were a number of dogs with their owners on the patio where we ate, as well as quite a few walking by.

This past Friday I went with a couple of my neighbors to the Summer Concert Series at Blackhawk Plaza (a ritzy shopping area in Danville). And since well-behaved, leashed dogs are welcome I brought Mac along. We had dinner at a little burger shop - yeah for Gardenburgers! - and listened to the band play fun funk/rock music. Mac absolutely loved it. He got tons of attention and pets from the crowd. A lot of people told me about their bulldog at home, the bulldog they used to have, or their friends' bulldogs... welcome to the club (its the same when I take Ayla out). One person was saying hi to Mac and asked him to sit, which he did of course, so I told him to ask for a high five. Mac did his cute little high five and about 20 people around us "ahhh"ed at the same time. Another lady came by about 3 times to visit and the last time nonchalantly said, "Ok, I'm just going to take him home now!" He definitely draws attention, but just loves meeting people and is a complete joy to take places, and I think he's probably contributing to a rise in the population of bulldogs in our area just by being cute. By the end of the night when my neighbors and I were chatting in the parking lot Mac was so tired he was trying to drag me home. It was great! We're going again this Friday - I think its a Neil Diamond tribute band this time.

When did I get such an active social life?

This past weekend Chris and I decided we needed to do more home improvement. Well, Chris decided and I got roped into it. See, we hate our carpets. Carpet is intrinsically unsanitary, and having pets (going through two puppies no less) doesn't help matters. Chris was talking about replacing them with a Berber carpet and wondering if we could DIY such a job. I told him I didn't want carpet at all and if we were replacing them we should put wood down instead. Well, he got that familiar gleam in his eye and planned out the project within 2 minutes.

Friday afternoon we headed to The Home Depot and picked up 12 boxes of Dupont Laminate Flooring in Maple and three rolls of 3-in-1 underlayment. Saturday morning Chris got up bright and early at 8 and started moving furniture and ripping out carpeting in the living room. I sleepily followed (what a role reversal!) and helped out. Taking up the carpet wasn't nearly as bad as we had expected. We had to do about half the room at a time so we had space to shift the furniture around. Unfortuntely we (and mostly Chris) had to do all the plank cutting by hand with a hack saw. That hurt, and still does. By midnight that night we had about half the room newly floored and the other half prepped, as well as all the old carpet out in the dumpsters. The next morning we got started around 11 (Chris had to run back to the store for transitional flashing and I took the dogs to the park to play) and completed the rest of the flooring around 9. By 10 we had the new floors cleaned, the furniture rearranged, and were very much ready to sleep.

I really like the end result. I still have to finish tacking in and sealing/painting the baseboards, maybe next weekend. With rugs down Ayla seems to be doing okay on the slippery floor, not looking like Bambi-on-ice as she usually does on semi-slick surfaces. She was a major consideration in this, but we just had to feel clean and decided to figure out a way to deal with her needs. Chris bought an awesome crimson shag carpet rug that I love, and a larger area rug that she can play on. I think she'll get better and better with time and exposure too (fingers crossed).

The only down side... Chris is now eyeing the bedroom carpet.

Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

No, I didn't try to burn my house down, but we have a bunch of wildfires burning in California right now. While they aren't near our home, we have had a lot of smoke in the area and that familiar smell of fire in the air. Luckily its cooling off after a hot weekend, so hopefully the firefighters get some help.

We had a nice weekend. I took the dogs swimming on Friday afternoon, as I usually do. It was around 100 degrees but I spent most of the time in the water as well as the pups, so it was very nice. Saturday I went to a high school graduation in Berkeley, and I took Ayla to run on the golf course in the evening. She's starting to understand how to play with other dogs (thank you Mac!). We met what I think was a Catahoula and after some initial posturing, she started play bowing and jumping around with him. Ayla ran her fool head off too, though I of course kept her off the greens.

Sunday Chris and I spent a lazy morning torturing Ayla and Mac:

Ayla dusting off her 4th of July attire

Mac wearing Ayla's "Wanna be Doberman" shirt. It fits! He's big!

Group Shot

And Again

Mac left the shirt alone once I had it on him, but he kept trying to take Ayla's hat off. Maybe he thought it was too embarrassing?

After we tried their patience to the limits (and Mac fell asleep) we went out to lunch at El Balazo where we had Bob's Burrito, one of their vegetarian specialties. It was very tasty, and I enjoyed watching Chris sweat eating the jalapeno and onion relish. Then we walked over to the Cold Stone Creamery and shared a banana ice cream with chocolate chips (yum!). After lunch and dessert we went to see The Incredible Hulk. It was pretty good. I think Edward Norton is a very good actor, and of course Liv Tyler is just gorgeous. The movie was well done, and leagues better than the previous Hulk from 2003. There are a lot of good summer movies coming out, so we'll be going often I think.

After the movie we took the dogs to the elementary school to play. We can play keep-away with the ball for a while, but once Ayla gets the ball its very hard to get it back from her. She likes to run away with it and lie down in the shade, and will run if we come toward her. But while she was hoarding the ball, we ran around having Mac chase us. We've discovered that from a dead stop, he's as fast or faster than us, though we can outlast him. The little guy moves! After we tired the dogs out we came home, did some gardening, and grilled hot dogs (and a tofu pup for me), enjoying the warm evening.

I've made some progress on the Travelling Roses scarf. Here it is three lace repeats in, only ten more to go. The color is truer in this picture than in the previous one I posted:

Travelling Roses Lace Scarf

Finally, I baked up some cookies tonight and am very happy with the results. I adapted the recipe from the back of the bag of Guittard semisweet chocolate chips. These are like little fluffy clouds of banana and chocolate yumminess! And yes, we are on a chocolate and banana kick lately. Does it show?

Chocolate Chip Banana Cookies

2-1/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. banana extract
1 banana, pureed
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy (I use an electric hand mixer). Beat in eggs and vanilla until smooth. Beat in banana puree. Gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop by well rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown. Let rest on cookie sheet for 1-2 minutes, then remove to wire racks to cool. I made about 4 dozen cookies.

Enjoy!

(Un)Forgettable

Chris and I have a history of being forgotten in restaurants and other service establishments. We've nearly walked out of a Baker's Square because they forgot us in an empty dining room and never brought us our check. When I go out to lunch with coworkers my meal has come ten to fifteen minutes after everyone else's, on many occasions, and its often wrong or cold when it does arrive. No wonder I'm such a critic of service in restaurants.

The worst case has probably been our first trip to Maui, at the car rental booth. We waited for more than an hour and watched car after car of people leave who had arrived and checked in far after we did. We'd ask about our car, wait some more, ask again, wait some more. Finally a supervisor noticed we'd been hanging around a long time and got a car for us. It all worked out quite well though, since he waived a lot of the fees (and the extra charge for renting a car when you're not 25 or whatever the age limit was) and comped a few of the days, so we ended up paying next to nothing for our rental.

Getting to my point, last night Chris and I went out to dinner at Marie Calendar's since we wanted to pick up Chris' birthday lemon meringue pie there anyway. They told us the wait was 20 minutes so we put our names on the list and took a seat in the waiting area. After a while we noticed that people (specifically, parties of two) who were arriving after us were being seated. I gave the host a quizzical look, he asked for our name, and then said they must have erased us. As we were being lead to our table Chris and I were joking about always being forgotten, but we weren't upset - at this point we mostly expect it and laugh. We had our dinner (its slim pickin's for vegetarians, y'all) and then waited for what must have been fifteen or twenty minutes for our waiter to bring us the check, with our plates on the edge of the table and obviously done with our meal, and him passing by us every minute or so on his way to another table but not noticing us. Finally he comes by and we order our whole pie to go. The manager who seated us must have overheard us joking before because he came over and smilingly told us that though other places may forget us, Marie Calendar's doesn't and dessert was on him. He didn't know that we were still forgotten in his restaurant, but it was awfully nice of him to give us a free pie!

Now, those of you who know I love to bake might be wondering why we were buying a pie. Simply, my lemon meringue pies are terrible. Really, they are inedible. I made two or three great ones the first few times, and after that they always taste like metal. I have no idea why, but its better if I buy them now. Unfortunately its Chris' favorite dessert and what he always wants for his birthday, which makes me sad that I cannot make it for him.

By the way, HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY CHRISTOPHER!!!

He took the entire week off for vacation and has had a lovely time. He and Ayla have done something fun every day, he and Ayla and Gretel have napped in the sunshine every afternoon, and he's generally just enjoyed relaxing without going anywhere and doing whatever he wants. He's requested my Bechamel Lasagne tonight (I'll post the recipe this weekend; its very rich and sooooo tasty) and the Marie Calendar's pie we picked up yesterday.

Here's a picture he sent to me this week on one of his outings with the pup:


I can't wait to get off work and get home today!

Hiking and Holidays

Yipee!!! We're going hiking!!!


Ayla and I went hiking with the Saturday morning group. Here she is at the top of the Elderberry Trail in Las Trampas Regional Wilderness. This is overlooking Castro Valley and you can see the bay in the background.

Hiking is thirsty work. Here's Ayla and her buds Christie and Coby getting a drink at one of the watering troughs. There are cattle grazing through the area and the water for them makes for convenient dog watering too. Ayla didn't have to put her front paws up like these two, she could just stick her head over the side since she's so tall. Looks like she'd rather drink the mud here though.


Speaking of cattle, here's Ayla wondering what she should do here. This cow and the others on the other side of the road had calves with them, so they were a bit grumpy and mooed a lot.


Finally back in the car after four or five miles of hiking, with Christie. Look, they're holding paws! :)


It was a great hike and Ayla (who is eviscerating her stuffed goose toy as I type) was good and tired after, which was a great thing because Chris and I were going out that night - gasp! :) Chris' work sponsored a holiday party on the San Francisco Belle, so we got dressed up and hopped on the bus with many of his coworkers in Pleasanton. The ride over the Bay Bridge was neat - we were up so high in the bus and could see so much more than I'm used to when I drive over the bridge. It dropped us off at Pier 2 in SF and we boarded the boat. It was decorated for the holidays and there were appetizers and a jazz quartet.


Before the boat launched, Chris looked over at me with a gleam in his eye and said, "You know, we could get off the boat and go have a nice dinner and see a show or something instead." I took a look around and realized that while the party was nice, I only knew a few people there, and the appetizers weren't promising for a vegetarian (unless I wanted to eat just cheese cubes, carrot sticks, and goodness-knows what had been dipped in the chocolate fountain). The music was good but it was loud and enclosed in the room, and I have an awful time focusing and holding up my end of a conversation in that type of situation. So off we went! Funny, we felt at first like we were breaking the rules or getting in trouble, but then realized we're adults, we can do what we want! How silly is that?

We found a bus stop and looked at a map, wanting to get to Union Square. It looked to be about a mile away so we set off on foot. On the way we got to look at a lot of holiday decorations, and though it was cool we had coats and gloves so we were happy. We made our way to Union Square and walked around a bit looking at all the holiday cheer (kittens in the Macy's window display!), looked at a ticket office but didn't see any shows nearby that we were interested in, then happened upon the Daily Grill, a restaurant my great-uncle and -aunt Loren and Lynn took the family to for my college graduation 5 years ago. We had a wonderful dinner: I had grilled vegetables, risotto, and a glass of Shiraz. There was so much food it looked like I had hardly touched my plate, but I was stuffed! Chris couldn't pass up the 28-day aged porterhouse with fries, though he usually doesn't eat meat either, and a spiced rum and coke. He said the steak was one of the best he's ever had, and this is a man who loves steak.

Then we walked down to the big mall and rode the many curving escalators, something we did together on that National Honor Society trip 11 years ago when we first fell in love. We went to the Nordstrom's Cafe for coffee and dessert (creme brulee and a sorbet & gelato trio) and looked out over the city and its hustle and bustle. After that we caught an easy BART ride back to Pleasanton, walked a short half-mile or so back to Chris' work, got in the car and drove home.

It was such a wonderful day and we had such a good time. I'm pretty much hobbled today since I walked too many miles in the city in 3-inch heels, but it was very much worth it. I'm sure the boat would have been nice, but I'm glad we decided to do our own thing instead. Here's to my husband and his spontaneity! What a wonderful gift it was!