Daily Archives: February 17, 2009

We Love Puppies

Posted on February 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

Our friend is getting her female Lab pup this weekend and we can’t wait to see photos and, if we’re still in TX, meet the pup soon. I’m so happy for them. It’ll be a lot of work on her part for house-training et al but they’re both great with dogs and this puppyhood will be a photographic extravaganza then the dog will grow up and work for a living. Treats, anyway, at a VA.

Another friend, who is local, is “interviewing” a pup who sought shelter at a new neighbors just prior to IKE. The pup is about six months old and well cared-for. Our friend already has an uber-cool cat so they have a play date coming up.

I wanted to tag this “recipe ideas” but don’t think cat or dog should be on anyone’s menu, at least tonight. Hey, this is the news according to Dee, and I’m a pet lover, gimme a break! I’m starting to dread a house in the country because of the number of dogs and cats that would be dumped upon us. In the rural areas there are few options for such animals and it doesn’t seem adoption is one of them which is why they were dumped in the first place.

At my highest count in a 600 sf place I had one dog and two cats. That’s it. No room for a boyfriend. And I volunteered every weekend for shelters and other humane animal endeavors, including spay/neuter clinics. I can’t take in everyone who comes to call. But I don’t have to worry about that right now. There’s enough with the economy and jobs. Keep your chin up, Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Pet

Groceries

Posted on February 17, 2009 | 1 Comment

A favorite grocery store is a very personal thing. First off, it depends upon whether one cooks or not, because priorities are different. When I lived on the “left coast” I had the luxury of a farm stand, Trader Joe’s and a major grocery chain a few feet away from each other. I’d start at the farm stand, move on to TJ’s and then the grocery chain store if needed.

I loved Trader Joe’s and miss them for the past five years we’ve been in Texas. Chowhound recently had a TJ’s forum and I didn’t write in. I must confess to taking 15 minutes at TJ’s while Mom was in hospice to buy French flat sponges, plastic dish scrubbies and a hunk of parmesan cheese. I didn’t really need the cheese but the others are staples in my kitchen.

At home, Central Market is a culinary mecca. I don’t get there often, perhaps six times per year. That’s where I go for exotic vegetables, any meat my heart desires, breads and cheeses. Also they sharpen 1-2 of my knives I can’t sharpen myself, the 10″ chef and 7″ Granton edge Santoku as the first is too big for me to use a stone and the second requires a specific and different angle.

Spec’s is a wonder in that it is a deli, specialty foods store and liquor and wine depot like no other. They also have esoteric beverages for Jim like original Dr. Pepper with Imperial sugar, or strange brands of root beer. This is where I buy many of our cheeses, pasta and vino. Over the holidays they sell fresh lebkuchen and it is marvelous, especially that no-one around me likes it so I get it all to myself.

A serious nod goes to Randall’s Midtown, my grocery store. The people are friendly, prices are lower than elsewhere and their produce and butchery people are fantastic. If I’m stuck in an aisle someone comes up and asks if I’m finding everything I’m looking for, when I’m having a “senior moment” and can’t remember the last item on my mental grocery list. The checkers are great and tell me that with my club card I’m entitled to 36 eggs for the price of 18 and I run back to get another. The manager deserves kudos for hiring and maintaining such a qualified team, and I haven’t yet gotten to the security guards! Or the florist. Kudos to all.

Wherever we end up in the next few weeks we would like to thank the people who put food on our table every day. Sometimes I mess it up. Rarely. I like to take good ingredients and treat them well with little muss or fuss. If this is our Texas farewell, we’d like to take all of you with us! Cheers, Dee

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Posted in Editorial

Keys

Posted on February 17, 2009 | 5 Comments

Our next door neighbor moved away a couple of weeks ago. A few years ago she adoped a “Katrina” rescue dog and I offered to walk him at lunch time on weekdays and also learned he was terrified of thunderstorms, which we get a lot in TX, so I’d bring him over for the duration so he could burrow under my down pillows.

Someone is moving in tomorrow and I realize I have the key, so looked on my key racks (two, imagine that) and I had a couple of other neighbors’ keys as well so turned them in. When I first moved here I learned that the people who live here “trade” for dog-sitting. I took care of one neighbor’s dog once a day for two months before she returned from an overseas gig and we finally met – we’re now fast friends! For three years I collected keys and took people’s dogs out or over here for a weekend, all for free. A couple of years ago an emergency came up and Jim and I had to go away for a few days and I called ten people who I’ve helped numerous times without them EVER taking Zoe. Everyone turned me down, so she had to board at the vet’s. So I quit taking care of other dogs, except my neighbors but only in thunderstorms.

Years ago, in another location, my neighbor always called with an emergency, that he’d be working late or such, and wanted me to take care of his two wonderful Aussies. A couple of years after he moved away, there was a knock on my door from the new condo resident. “Do you have a screwdriver” he asked. “What kind?” “Both.” I asked what he was trying to do and he said he forgot his keys and needed to jimmy the lock.

I asked if he’d ever changed the locks then sheepishly added that the former owner gave me his key. I apologized and gave it to him. Five minutes later there was a knock on my door. He was giving me the key back. I told him he should keep it. He said “no,” that he misplaces his keys from time to time and would knock on my door if there was a problem. It happened a couple more times during my tenure there.

I’m making pizza tonight. The dough is rising now and I have peppers and mushrooms prepped and sauteed. All I need to do is separate the dough, form it and let it rest, slice pepperoni and put the mozz through the food processor. I’ll freeze the cheese and shredding disc for about fifteen minutes beforehand. Mozzarella gets extraordinarily gummy. As it is, I had to buy pepperoni from one store and cheese from another. Last time I got the really expensive mozz at the specialty store it was very salty and I’d rather it be more bland so that the vegetables and pepperoni can shine.

Hope you’re cooking your loved ones a fantastic meal! I made pizza because I already had peppers and mushrooms in the frig (so they’re “free”). Tell my brother that I knew I didn’t have much flour so went out and bought 5#, and when I took out the flour canister there was already a 5# unopened bag behind it. Oops. Cheers! Dee

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Posted in Editorial, Pet

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