Woof.

What a nice Labor Day Weekend just went by. We did a lot of resting and relaxing. On Sunday I took Ayla to Hap McGee Park, one of my favorite dog parks that I don't often go to since its further away than the other two. But its very big, with oak trees for shade and pretty benches as in the photo above to hanging out. It was a hot day, hence Ayla's huge baloney tongue, but she ran around and had a great time. She also adopted a family that already had two dogs and kept bringing the ball back to them, though she didn't drop it for them.

On Monday I took Ayla with me to wash my car, and the guy that runs the coin-op car wash brought out a box of cookies for her. Then we went to Memorial Dog park, which is much closer to home. We met up with a couple that had a scrappy little terrier named Benny, and it turns out they live in my condo complex. Hopefully we'll see them more often; I think Ayla kind of like Benny.

When I got back from the dog park I went to relax by the pool for a while, where I ran into my next-door neighbor and her friend. We sat around for about an hour sipping peach champagne and soaking up the sun, which was heavenly. Then I threw some chicken on the BBQ for Chris and spent the rest of the day reading, watching movies, knitting, and playing sudoku. Not terribly exciting, but extremely restful.

At one of the dog parks Ayla found this pink ball, which she brought home to Mac (when she finds a ball at a park that she likes its near impossible to get her to drop it, so I bring a couple balls with me each time we go to replenish the resident ball supplies). Mac loves it, maybe even more than his glow balls right now, probably because its new.

It compresses a bit more, so he can almost chew it like gum which is great exercise for his jaws. Mac is still recovering from his illness. Its been very, very slow and with frequent set backs, but I'm still hopeful. In the meantime we've discovered he cannot tolerate dry kibble and doesn't do very well with canned food either, so for the past three or four weeks I've been cooking homemade food for both dogs. Ayla now starts whining for dinner about half an hour before its time, and Mac cutely begs at my feet whenever I'm cooking up a batch (every couple of days) and when I'm dishing it up. The things I do for my pets.

Woof.

Why Did I Decide to Bake Bread in this Heat?

This summer has been so mild; at work its been cold even. The Farmer's Almanac is predicting a mild winter for us as well. However, this week and the previous week we've actually had some hot weather. What better way to celebrate than bake bread? Yeah, I'm a rebel.

We're been attempting to cut gluten from the majority of our diet, to see if we notice any effects. But we also like a good piece of toast with melty cheddar alongside a cup of coffee on weekend mornings. Last week I bought a loaf of gluten-free tapioca flour-based bread. It was tiny, and very dry, pricey, and just kind of sad overall, though I did make some mean sandwiches for dinner one night with it. I'm going to look into making my own gluten-free goodies, but in the meantime I picked up a bag of Bob's Red Mill GF Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix.

The bottom left picture makes me think the bread is raising an eyebrow at me. 

It is quite good! They recommend a stand mixer to make the dough, but I used my food processor with the dough blade and dough cycle and it worked out just fine. I did have to add a few more tablespoons of water than the mix indicated though. I also let the dough rise until it was puffed up over the bread pan (I had something else in the oven, so let it rise extra long inadvertently), which I will definitely do again. The bread is nice and light, not dense as I was fearing it might be. The taste is close to pumpernickel or rye, with a moderate carraway seed flavor. There are whole sunflower and sesame seed that provide good texture. The loaf is a good size, and the cost of the mix is about half the cost of buying premade GF bread at the store. I'm hooked! I'm also looking forward to playing with all of the GF flours out there.

I also made this quiche from a new-to-me blog, Dixie Caviar.

I had some trouble with the crust, perhaps because I was using my food processor rather than mixing by hand. It was too crumbly to roll out (probably needed more water) so I ended up just pressing it in to a pie plate, and its nowhere as pretty as Nealey's version. I also used salted butter since its what I had on hand and could have done without adding the extra salt to the dough.

The quiche itself is very, very good. It is simple and not too eggy, as I find many quiches to be. I even used all half-and-half in place of the milk and cream, and it turned out great. To me this is comfort food with a glass of wine, a great light dinner. In fact, I'm going to go have leftovers now.

But before I go, just a reminder that my dog is funny:

She's a good girl and let's me do pretty much anything to her, and the white tank top did make her easier to see when I took her out that night to with the laser pointer in the dark. She loves chasing the "laser bug" and its a great way to tire her out a little more before bed. And the ears? They flip inside out all the time - they're her Princess Ayla buns.

Related Recipes:
Zucchini Bread
Banana Bread with Macadamia Nuts and Chocolate Chips
Tomato Swirl Bread

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. :)

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

This is what I had for breakfast - banana blueberry pancakes. And now I have a bag full of pancakes in the fridge, since I'm the only one here who usually eats breakfast, ready to be reheated and re-crisped in the oven for a few more days. They are great too, even for cheater pancakes. Yup, I used Bisquick. And I used the recipe on the back of the box for melt-in-your-mouth pancakes (to the regular recipe add 1 tablespoon each of sugar and lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon each of baking powder and vanilla). I also added my last handful of fresh blueberries and a chopped banana.

But you're not here for the pancakes... because I ate them. No, you're here for the creamy macaroni and cheese.

I used to make macaroni and cheese where I baked it after combining the pasta and cheese sauce, but I've found that to make it too dry. Although cutting a cold hunk of macaroni and cheese out of the dish from the fridge the next day and being able to eat it out of hand is always fun. I had a macaroni epiphany last winter while visiting with family and making dinner. The back of the cornstarch box had a recipe for cheese sauce that yielded something silky smooth and cheesy. Then I realized if I wanted a creamier mac and cheese, I should just skip the baking step, which is what I've done since.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

1 package of cooked pasta (I used bowties this time)

2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup milk

1 Tbsp. cornstarch (or 2 Tbsp. flour)

Seasonings as desired

2 c. or more of shredded cheddar cheese

Get your pasta cooking in salted water. 

While the pasta is bubbling away, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium low heat. If you're using flour, add it to the melted butter and stir with a wooden spoon or whisk constantly until golden, then add the milk. If you're using cornstarch, mix it with about 1/4 cup of the milk and add the cornstarch mixture and the rest of the milk. Stir until thickened, then add whatever seasonings you wish. I used salt, pepper, garlic, dry mustard, and crushed red chili flakes this time. Then add the cheese and stir until melted.

When the pasta is cooked, drain and toss with the cheese sauce. I like BBQ sauce and Sriracha sauce with my mac and cheese, as well as topping it with a little shredded Parmesan and sliced basil.

Related Recipes:

Boozy Mushrooms and Fresh Pasta

Zucchini "Pasta"

I'm Still Here!

So, that was a long blog break. I kinda lost my mojo for a while, and then looked at my Google Reader where I had somewhere between 400 and 500 unread posts, after which I threw my hands up in the air and just walked away.

But, I've since regrouped. I simply marked all of the unread posts as read without looking at them. I'm sure I've missed seeing some great things, but sometimes you just have to let go. And now I'm back posting here in my little corner of the world.

Here's some pictures from our trip for the 4th up to Mammoth. Hopefully I have other good stuff to put up soon too. Until then, enjoy and thanks for coming back!

Chris and Greg, and Greg's awesome truck that he drove through a creek

The hippopota-Willy

 Beers and a bulldog on the deck

 My two favorite guys

 The most patient lab ever - he didn't even try to take my sunglasses off

 Chris and I went up to the Main Lodge on the mountain and wandered around. It was completely empty, but everything was mostly how we remembered it from when we were kids skiing up there.

 We played mini golf just around the corner from Greg's place. It was actually a good little course too.

Pool and Big Game Hunter at Grumpy's, as well as Hefeweizen and jalapeno poppers

I took Ayla and Willy for a hike around Horseshoe Lake on our final morning

There was a snowboarder building a ramp over a bridge to jump - I can only assume he wanted to land in the lake and its ice-cold snow-runoff water

Willy sure likes it though

Ayla prefers to play fetch on the beach, but I didn't have her swimming vest so maybe she would have like swimming too... dogs are strange

Case in point

Mac loves that Ayla is forced to snuggle with him in the car

Golden Gate Park

This past Saturday I played with the Pleasanton Community Concert Band at the Golden Gate Park Concert Band Festival in San Francisco. I haven't been to Golden Gate Park in quite a while now, so it was fun to go back and see it again. We were one of six bands playing on Saturday, and another six played today. Its an annual event put on by the Friends of the Golden Gate Park Band, and its free for people to come see some of the bands that play in their communities. The weather was absolutely gorgeous (I'm glad our uniform is short sleeved polo shirts) and I got to play at the Band Shell on the Music Concourse, which was very cool.

Check out the detail on the frescoes:

I got to the park a few hours before we were scheduled to play, because I wanted to be sure I'd get parking (which turned out to not be an issue after all, but better safe than sorry). I wandered around the Music Concourse, which has many statues and was filled with people doing Tai Chi. Its flanked on either side by the California Academy of Sciences and the de Young Museum. The Concourse is undergoing renovations right now, but there are still trees and flowers, including this particularly beautiful-smelling rose:

Since I had some time to kill, but not enough to really enjoy either museum, I headed over to the Japanese Tea Garden. Its a gorgeous Japanese-style garden originally built as the Japanese Village for the 1894 California Midwinter International Exposition, with pathways winding through beautiful foliage, koi ponds, a small waterfall, pagodas, statuary, and a tea house. And so early in the morning, it was nearly empty.

Crazy bridge

Pagoda and crane statues

Stepping stone bridge

Pagoda peeking through the trees

Rock garden

Pagoda

Stone pathway

Iron Buddha

I liked his hand, it reminds me of how you hold your hands for ballet

Fountain in a large granite boulder shaped like a canoe

Self-portrait and koi

What a beautiful day, and what a great experience!

Bobbing for Apples

Or balls, in my dogs' case.

We keep a bucket of water on the patio, for watering the plants (it usually takes a watering pitcher plus the water from the bucket, and more when it gets very hot in the summer). The dogs are obsessed with drinking from the bucket and race outside to it whenever we open the slider. For fun we throw a ball in there to retrieve.

Ayla delicately puts her long snout in the water and pulls out her orange ball.

Mac has no such luxury, and must shove his entire head into the bucket since the water offers so little resistance to get the ball far enough into his maw so he can pull it out of the water. Its impressive. And splashy.

Then he helps Chris water the plants.

He helps by getting right behind Chris and making him almost trip when he backs up. What a good dog.

And then we all head inside for dinner...

While the patio dries out again and its peaceful once more.