Happy Birthday Lollipop

Lollipop turns 3 today (or the BIG 21 for those of you counting in Doggy years - woo hoo!!)

We know that there are other "dog people" out there like us as well as people who make fun of us for how we treat her. She is not just an animal to us, she is a part of our family. We try to include her in our family activities and when we can't, we make sure she is not home alone for long periods of time. We let her go on dates with her Yorky boyfriend Zuki and weekly trips to Doggy Day Care. She thanks us in return by being a loving, well-behaved (for the most part) and gentle little dog.

There is a paragraph in the book "Marley and Me" by John Grogan that sums up perfectly the love and lessons a dog can give a family:

"Was it possible for a dog- any dog, but especially a nutty, wildly uncontrollable one like ours- to point humans to the things that really mattered in life? I believed it was. Loyalty. Courage. Devotion. Simplicity. Joy. And the things that did not matter, too. A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbols mean nothing to him. A water-logged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn't care if you are rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his. It was really quite simple, and yet we humans, so much wiser and more sophisticated, have always had trouble figuring out what really counts and what does not. Sometimes it took a dog with bad breath, worse manners, and pure intentions to help us see."

Lollipop teaches our family about friendship, selflessness and unwavering loyalty. And most importantly it is the simple things in life that Lollipop teaches us to appreciate like walks on the beach, naps in the sun and curling up under a blanket.

Tonight we will let Lollipop indulge in what would probably be the equivalent of cake to us, her favorite "people food", string cheese, and we will celebrate the wonderful 3 years that our first child has brought to us.

Happy Birthday Lollipop!!!

Lollipop and her main squeeze Zuki

Who can resist this cute smile!

Tuna with Asian Slaw

Seared ahi tuna is one of my favorite seafood's to eat. Now that I am pregnant I have to cook my portion all the way through, but it still tastes good. I found this recipe in Real Simple Magazine (one of my favorite magazines) and it did not disappoint.

I had an issue trying to crush the whole coriander and peppercorn seeds with a knife or a pan like they recommend below. I don't have a spice grinder and our coffee grinder was full of coffee so I used our Cuisinart. It worked fine but I hate to bring out the Cuisinart to grind a couple tablespoons of seeds, it seemed a bit silly.

Recipe from Real Simple Magazine


Makes 4 servings

Ingredients
2 cucumbers, peeled
1 bunch radishes, thinly sliced
5 scallions (white and light green parts only), thinly sliced on the diagonal
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
4 teaspoons canola oil
4 6-ounce tuna steaks (about 3/4 inch thick)


Preparation
Working over a medium bowl, use a vegetable peeler to create long, thin strips of cucumber. Add the radishes, scallions, cilantro, vinegar, sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper and toss. Cover and refrigerate.

Using the flat side of a knife or the bottom of a heavy pan, crush the coriander seeds and peppercorns. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle the remaining salt over the tuna and press some of the crushed coriander and pepper onto each side. Cook, turning once, until the tuna reaches the desired doneness, about 3 minutes per side for medium-rare. Divide the tuna among individual plates and serve with the Asian slaw.

I am not happy with this picture. I need to get better at my food photography. Part of the problem is that as soon as I start plating up dinner, I have a hungry husband staring at me and a toddler who is in borderline meltdown mode so setting up a photography session is not in the cards.

Lane Farms Pumpkin Patch

We made it to our third and final pumpkin patch of the season, Lane Farms.

Samantha checking out Harley the Pig

Samantha LOVED the turkeys

until...........

one nipped her finger!

This turkey was really in to getting his picture taken

He kept posing in different angles

This goat had the sweetest smile

He was doing some odd yoga moves

Bonnie and Clyde

We took a hayride around the farm

Todd and his new friend

Here are the two pumpkins Samantha picked out

And I couldn't resist throwing in a picture of Samantha last year at this time.

The Lemon Festival

Another day, another festival in Santa Barbara. This was the first time we attended the Lemon Festival and it will probably be the last time. It was a total dud. There were a few fun things that Samantha liked but we were disappointed in the whole lemon concept.....there didn't seem to be a lot to do with lemons. In fact, we walked around for a long time trying to find a lemonade!! And once we found it, it was good, but not great.

There was a Smokey the Bear mascot walking around (this guy must of been dying in the heat) and Samantha spotted him. She was so scared of him that her face froze with fear. He tried to give her a high five and she gave him a little swat! After that incident, we knew it was time to go.

The Lemon festival was a total LEMON! (that was Todd's corny joke, not mine)

Pumpkin Patch #2

We are making it a point to hit all the pumpkin patches in Santa Barbara. We went to Dave's Pumpkin Patch yesterday and it did not disappoint especially since it had a bounce house. We are saving the best for last, Lane Farms, for this weekend when Daddy can go with us.

Rainy Day

Samantha and Lollipop went for a walk in the rain (okay, Daddy went too) and checked out Mission Creek. Todd was impressed by the beauty of Mission Creek. Living so close to Mission Creek puts us in a high risk flood zone according to our insurance company. Perhaps the beauty of the creek makes paying our flood insurance bill a little easier for Todd??

Caldo Tlalpeño

It was the first rain of the season today and soup seemed like the perfect thing to make. I love chicken tortilla soup so I decided to try and make Caldo Tlalpeno, which is another popular Mexican soup. Despite using two kinds of chiles in this soup , it is not as spicy as you would think. I do recommend only using a tiny bit of the chipotle chile, using a whole one would be way too much. I used a Pasilla chile rather than the recommended Poblano or Anaheim chile and after doing a little research on the Internet it looks like these 3 chilies are so vastly different that they are not interchangeable. I think I may need to do a chile tasting to decipher the difference.

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine
Serves 4

6 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 poblano or Anaheim chile pepper, chopped
1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, (see Shopping Tip)
1 cup instant brown rice
4 radishes, sliced
1 small avocado, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, quartered

1. Bring broth, water, garlic and chicken to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, skimming any foam that rises to the top, until the garlic is tender and the chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the heat. Transfer the garlic with a slotted spoon to a blender and the chicken to a clean cutting board.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skilletover medium heat. Add onion and poblano (or Anaheim) chile and cook, stirring, until beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add to the broth.

3. Add 1/2 cup of the broth and chipotle pepper to the blender and process until smooth (use caution when pureeing hot liquids). Pour the mixture back into the broth in the pan. Stir in rice. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until the rice is tender, about 10 minutes.

4. Shred the chicken and divide among 4 bowls. Ladle the broth over the chicken and top with equal portions of radish, avocado and cilantro. Serve with a wedge of lime.