use real butter

Recipe: mushu pork burger

It’s been months since Kaweah has been able to walk up the stairs on her own. She walks down the steps just fine, albeit slowly (with an escort to catch her if she stumbles). But one of us will carry her up to the main floor several times a day. Of course, we can’t ask our dear neighbor to carry Kaweah up a flight of stairs when she lets the pup out while we’re gone all day. So we’ll typically keep Kaweah on the first floor – where there are only three steps. Except now, Kaweah can’t get up those three steps either. I figured a ramp would be a good solution to let Kaweah wander up to the front door when she pleases (she likes this as she can look to see who is coming and going). I dropped a wad of cash on a dog ramp at the store and it turns out that it’s too narrow for our aging dog. Kaweah’s hind leg kept slipping off the edge and it scared the hell out of her little doggy self. We returned the ramp, went to the hardware store, and bought some materials.

et voilà!

Some plywood, hinges, support beams, wood screws, and foam cushion bathmats ($13 each at Costco) made for a nice, solid ramp. At first Kaweah was reluctant, but after some coaxing (i.e. treats) she got the hang of going up and down the ramp like a pro. Yay, success! Why the foam cushion bathmats? She seems to get better footing on these than on standard carpet on an incline. Also, we know she likes them because she always stands on them in our bathroom.

no prob

she is all about the treat

It was a simple DIY project, but I love making things to my specifications. The same goes for food. Actually, I think food is easier because I work with food all the time. A few days ago, Jeremy and I were reminiscing about the California roll burger. We’ve only ever made it twice, but it is so unbelievably GOOD. And it got me thinking about burgerfying other dishes… like mushu pork.

ground pork, green onions, fish sauce

mix it together with some salt and pepper

form the patties

**Jump for more butter**

Recipe: shredded kale salad

Over the holidays when I was recovering from my cold, but still essentially useless, I rifled through my sizable yarn stash and decided to put a dent in it. I wanted to make something for my friend, Kat, who is moving away this very week. Knowing how sorely out of practice I was, I made a trial run which ultimately had some inconsistent tension and resulted in a scarf that I’d be willing to wear, but was too flawed (in my opinion) to gift to someone.

the trial run scarf

I made the test scarf blue because I prefer cooler hues and because I needed to save my green yarns for Kat’s scarf. Green is her favorite color and I happened to have a lot of different funky novelty yarns in greens. It’s a remnant scarf which means you use up the remnants of various skeins of yarn. When I was done with the tassels, it reminded me of a rainforest. And she loved it, which is what really mattered.

kat’s scarf

Even though I’m pretty much recuperated, I am finishing up one last remnant scarf for another friend. It makes me realize how impatient I am to sit down and work on these things when I’m back to normal, because I much prefer being on my feet. So I am forcing myself to hurry up and get it done lest it be forgotten in my yarn bin for another two years.

kaweah likes to keep me company and doze on the couch

But you know, there are days when it is just too nice to pass up getting out under those bluebird skies. Our winter blues are the best kind, really. Erin agrees with me.

i kid you not

After our hike, Erin and I met two other girlfriends in Boulder for a late lunch at Oak. I really like their food, so much so that I reproduced their shredded kale salad at home. I have been loving on winter greens salads for the heartier texture, the slight bitterness, and most of all – because I can make a big batch and enjoy the salad over the course of a few days instead of preparing a salad fresh each time!

olive oil, orange, apple, red wine vinegar, salt, almonds, kale, togarashi

Oak’s version of this salad uses Parmesan cheese, but I omitted that because I wanted to keep this light. They also put candied almonds in their salad (which tastes great) as opposed to the seasoned almonds I had on hand. I think next time I’m going to use baby kale. It’s so tender that I could skip the step of stripping the leaves from the ribs.

strip the leaves from the ribs

roll the leaves up and slice thin (chiffonade)

If memory serves me well, Oak uses a simple oil and vinegar dressing. I wanted mine to have an orange juice base. But you know what? It’s a salad. That means you do whatever you want to it. Of course, I have to say the orange juice dressing is lovely… unless you have a thing against oranges in which case, I am sad for you.

place the vinegar, orange juice, and salt in a bowl

whisk in a steady thin drizzle of olive oil

pour over the kale

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Recipe: chana masala

Today, my baby puppy Kaweah turns 14 years old. And even though I call her my puppy, even though she acts like a puppy, even though so many people think she’s a puppy… she’s pretty old. So when she turns off her ears and doesn’t come when called (her hearing is perfectly fine, she can hear me open the closet door to her dog treats from across the house) or when she stumbles because her back legs are weak, we are extra patient and understanding with her the way we would be with our grandmas if they were still alive. I don’t generally make a big deal of birthdays, but this one is special, because it may be her last one.

a little salad, puppy biscuits on cheddar, and raw flank steak

kaweah started with her veggies first (good girl)

apples, peanut butter sauce, unsweetened whipped cream

such a patient pup

jeremy blew the candle out

birthday girl!!

We actually celebrated on Thursday, one day early, because our schedules are completely bonkers. The holidays really make me want to do the opposite of what is considered de rigueur. I can get away with some of it, but not the baking. Our local post office ladies ask Jeremy every November if I’ll be bringing cookies for the holidays. And I can’t not give cookies to my vet, because we love him so much. My ace #1 oncologist – he gets cookies for sure. We always gift cookies to the administrative staff in Jeremy’s department. I don’t mind the baking because this is an expression of gratitude. What I do mind is having heaps of sweets around me. Gah! Get them away! To balance out the craziness of holiday baking, I’ve been gravitating toward simple, but awesome savory dishes.

cayenne, garam masala, paprika, turmeric, coriander, cumin, cumin seeds

spices, salt, garlic, onion, lemon, tomatoes, ginger, jalapeño pepper, and chickpeas

This is a recipe that has been eating away at me for a few years – chana masala. My friend, Nicole, brought it to a potluck party in Seattle two summers ago and I loved it. It was a big party, and I never got around to asking for the recipe. By the time I remembered again (months later) I hit the interwebs which 80% of the time lead me to Deb.

grind the toasted cumin seeds

everything chopped, diced, grated, minced, ground, or juiced

**Jump for more butter**