 Big Guy and I created our fairy garden filled with a flower loving dragon and six pairs of adorable hedgehogs. We knew fully well the arrival of a puppy would be a magnet to the little village, so we bought old wrought iron fencing from @refabstl to protect our little friends.
Unfortunately, a monster known as Bonny Doon has been finding her way into the village and snatching our friends. I am thinking we should have named her Houdini since I still do not know how she is getting around our barrier of protection. We decided to be adults about it since we do not want Bonny to think her nickname is “no bonny.” We have temporarily relocated our friends to our cold frame for summer vacation. I think I will join them for a brief social media respite. Chasing a puppy is tough work and I am sure we could all use a rest!
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 Cinco de Mayo is certainly a motivating way for me to seek out a new recipe. Thanks again to @nytimes, Big Guy noticed a recipe from @chefrickmartinez that featured beans and chorizo.
This may seem crazy, but I happened to have chorizo in the freezer and black beans, fire roasted tomatoes, and pasta in my pantry. As @billengvall would say, “here’s your sign!” The recipe was straight forward and easy to make if you followed the instructions in the recipe. The first step was to make the salsa which consisted of chicken stock, beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic, chili powder and oregano. I did not have a blender, so I used my @cuisinart to blend the ingredients. Chef Martinez noted to make the salsa in batches, so you do not overflow your appliance. I next cooked the chorizo. Once done, I took the chorizo out so I could add the pasta to the hot, red oil of the chorizo fat. Once you notice the pasta browning, it is a matter of adding the salsa to the pot to allow the pasta to cook. I returned the chorizo to the pot and allowed the entire mix to simmer into a rich stew. It was the perfect meal and unbelievably delicious. It was fun to layer toppings such as onion, cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, and cheese for added flavor.  Big Guy loves a good sandwich, and he especially enjoys a hot one fresh off the pan. Today he decided to make his version of a Monte Christo sandwich. I say his version in that it was not traditional because we did not have turkey in the cottage. He toasted the bread, then got to work layering it with ham and cheese. He gave it a quick bath in egg and placed the sandwich in a hot pan with melted butter. He opted to make it savory with added salt versus making a dipping sauce of syrup. It turned out to be the perfect lunch sandwich with a side of the pasta I made earlier in the week served up as a salad.   Big Guy is doing well with finding great pasta recipes that are quick and easy to make, especially with a puppy running around my feet. The best part of the recipe was the fact I had all but one ingredient on hand. The recipe from @nytimes, submitted by Melissa Clark, was a creamy asparagus pasta with peas and mint. Forgive me, I did not have any mint, but I had two types of basil, so I already tinkered with the recipe. Regardless, it was delicious with the green vegetables with creamy parmesan sauce elevated with lemon juice and zest. I will make this recipe again although the next time I will show restraint in the amount of peas I used for the pasta. It is amazing the number of peas that come out of a bag!   I was talking with an old colleague when she asked what I was cooking in the kitchen. It was a rare day when I had nothing on the stove and was planning an evening out with Big Guy.
Since that question, I admit I have not prepared big meals as it has become the “land of puppy toys.” Bonny tolerates me cooking from time to time, but I spend my time playing and talking to her until she passes out. I know this puppy stage is temporary, but it has been interesting to relearn how to work in the kitchen with a puppy under foot. I think I have rewashed the same spoon through four loads of dishes since Bonny never fails to lick it before I can get it out of her reach. I look forward to my baby growing up, but not too fast please. I am loving this moment and want to mark each milestone along with way!  Big Guy and I have a reputation with our chosen family. We have been known to have a drink and then buy a big-ticket item. The first such example was our first family dog, a beautiful Weimaraner, we named Misty Blue. We later discovered she was a puppy mill dog, but it did not matter, we were smitten and shared our home with her for over fifteen years.
The second example was the purchase of new chairs for our living room. Again, one drink each, but we were determined to get contemporary furniture. We bought our chairs and then waited and waited. The joke was whether we really made the purchase, but we had the receipt. After several inquiries, we were told by the sales representative we bought custom-made chairs which would take up to six months to be delivered which our salesperson did not tell us. AH! Which leads me to our standing joke that every dog in our home since Misty deserved her own “drink.” Thanks to our friends @grapevinewines, Boony Doon now has a “bottle” of Tanqueruff and Johnnie Dogwalker Ruff Label. She is in heaven!  Do you ever have leftover fruit that lingers in a bowl? It so happened I had two oranges that were showing signs of their age. I know I could have squeezed them into juice, but I decided to take another path.
I recently read that if you slice the oranges and boil them in water it would add a “calming” aroma to the kitchen. I thought I would give it a go so I could extend the life of these oranges. The initial aroma was delightful, and it was lovely to see the bright slices dancing in the water. I would only add caution that you should not leave the water on too long as the oranges started to take on a different aroma that was less pleasant. Ah, the art of experimentation in the kitchen.  Big Guy started early on his lettuce plantings thanks to the addition of his cold frame to the Carondelet Garden. Thanks to our milder weather, I have been able to bypass the “sad” lettuce at the grocery store and pick fresh butter crisp, spinach, and romaine lettuce from my backyard. Yum! As we live with the motto, you can never have enough plants, we also recently added a city garden variety to our selection. The great part about the cold frame is we can easily harvest our lettuce and it is usually pest free since the slugs do not have access to it. Now, if I can only get my baby doodle dog to stop eating the rest of the produce! The joy, and forgotten memory, of having a puppy! |
AuthorJust a super cool old couple who love to cook and eat and drink in their Carondelet Kitchen in South Saint Louis, Missouri! Archives
March 2025
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