Cody Bear

I miss the constant pant-pant-pant he made.  Cody probably panted 18.5 hours a day.

I miss the way he'd plop at my feet when I was blow drying my hair, not minding the noise, wind, or heat ,since he could spend time with me.

And I miss watching him play with his lovey doll (see the resemblance?), without which he couldn't go to sleep.  

He left on Tuesday and I've been a little bummed every since.  If you are a dog person and someone asks you to dog sit their Golden Doodle puppy for a week, take note: you will want to keep this dog and it will be very hard to say goodbye.  

I think Cody wanted to keep us, too.  

Garlic Vinaigrette

Every time I make my own salad dressing, I vow to never use the stuff out of the bottle again.  Sadly, Trader Joe's has continued to make $1.99 off of me every month or so, despite my repeated vows.  It takes less than five minutes to make salad dressing, yet that can seem like quite the impediment right before you serve dinner.    I may have finally solved my problem, because when you make the double batch of dressing, the next night you actually do have bottled dressing.  Hmm...maybe it's time for a quadruple batch?

Homemade salad dressing requires very few ingredients, usually olive oil, salt, and pepper plus a few other wild cards.  This dressing is a garlic vinaigrette, so we use a garlic clove and red wine vinegar for balance.

This recipe requires a mortar and pestle, but I think you could probably wing it with a spoon and a small bowl.  I have a tiny mortar and pestle (from my mom) that works perfectly.  I also have a tiny whisk that is my new favorite kitchen gadget - perfect for dressings and marinades.  Plus, all things tiny are more fun anyway.

I've never tasted a bottled salad dressing that takes half as good as homemade.  Not only does homemade taste better, but it's much healthier as well.  If you've ever read the back of a salad dressing bottle (after you get over the shock that water is the first ingredient), you will notice that olive oil is almost never in the list of ingredients.  Why use olive oil when you can use something cheaper?  Sigh.

Give yourself an extra five minutes to get dinner together tomorrow, and make your own garlic vinaigrette.  It's time to join me in my vow to stop paying for watery dressing!

Garlic Vinaigrette
From Alice Water's In The Green Kitchen

Makes 4 Servings

1 clove of garlic
2 large pinches kosher salt
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons olive oil

Peel a garlic clove and place it with two big pinches of kosher salt in a mortar.  Grind using a pestle until the garlic is pureed and no chunks remain.  Add 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and grind in some black pepper. Allow the dressing to sit for 3 minutes or so and then whisk in 3-4 tablespoons olive oil.  Taste the dressing for seasoning and add in more salt, olive oil, or vinegar if off balance.  Toss with greens immediately before serving.

iPumpkin

John and I went to our favorite pumpkin patch, Farmer John's in Half Moon Bay, to get our pumpkins last weekend.  And yes, I mean pumpkins plural.

We brought Maddie so she could help us pick just the right pumpkin.

And because it was Bernese Mountain Dog day at the pumpkin patch.  We probably saw 10 there in the 30 minutes we were walking around.  They were adorable.

I made the mistake of telling John he could choose his own pumpkin.  Look which one he chose.  Sigh.

This message brought to you by iPumpkin.  My Nikon arrived in the mail today, so hopefully this is the last of the iPhone posts.

And if you're craving pumpkin desserts like I am lately, feel free to check out this or this or these.

Anika's Visit

For better or for worse, Anika and Justin managed to visit on the last weekend of "summer" (it was September) in the Bay Area.  Temps were in the 90s during their whole trip, which didn't exactly line up with what I forecasted for them.  I apologized for my apparently blatant lies about the cool California weather, but at least we got to enjoy a nice day at the beach.  

Rodeo Beach is just north of San Francisco, and has really great views.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the bluff while watching the surfers bob up and down.

Next we headed to Sausalito, where we constantly bring out-of-towners because it is too adorable to pass up.  Getting there takes awhile, but the view of San Francisco is worth it!  Justin particularly enjoyed the art gallery with Dr. Seuss pieces.  Cat Detective in the Wrong Part of Town almost went home with them.

It was so nice to spend a weekend with a best friend and her adoring husband.  I can't wait to see their beautiful baby!

And of course, no visit from a friend would be complete without a visit to the Mountain View Farmers Market.  Anika ended up getting her ugly green plum for free from The Lady.  She planned on buying just the one plum and The Lady said she could just take it and enjoy.  I bet you can't get that kind of service in Chicago!  Come back soon and I promise more fresh fruit, guys!

For a much cuter version of their trip, visit Anika's blog.  

House Guest

So...we have a house guest for the next few days.  His name is Cody and we are in love.  How could you not be with a 7-month-old Golden Doodle?

Oh yeah, and we also have this gal staying with us too.  Good thing Courtney likes dogs!

(My Nikon is at the "spa" currently, getting some TLC.  Sorry for the iPhone pictures)