Sunday's Child

Ramping Up

Andie's new ramp for the sofa arrived today! It's made of compressed foam, so to ship it, they squish it into a wodge and shrink wrap it in plastic and wrap the whole thing in clear packing tape and then slap a FedEx label on it. A steak knife is required to bust it out of the plastic wrapper.

Since we already have a ramp in the bedroom, Andie is a pro and knows exactly how to use it. I only have it turned sideways for now, while we work on using it every time - for both up AND down.

I'm pretty thrilled with the red toille cover. I got to pick the fabric and Scamp Ramp's seamstress made the cover custom for us. I guess if we have to have a ramp in the living room, it's nice that it matches my decor!

Creamy Orzo

I was looking for an easy pasta dish on foodnetwork.com, and found this from Giada.  (I don't have a picture, but there is one on the recipe site.  Mine came out looking just like that.)  It is quick enough to put together that I tried it tonight after I got home from work.  Easy and tasty!

Here are my notes:

• If you use the whole box of orzo, it makes about six dinner-size servings or an endless number of side dish size servings.  Cutting it in half seems like it would be a good option if you don't want a ton of leftovers.  If you make the whole recipe, this would be perfect for a pot luck or a big family gathering.
• When using the whole box of pasta, the secret is to boil it in your big soup pot, and then pour the pasta back into that pot after you've drained off the water.  Then, add the rest of the ingredients to the big pot, rather than trying to fit everything in your saute pan.  
• I used two huge cloves of garlic because one is just never enough, and that was a good call.
• This is a simple recipe with very few ingredients.  That means the ingredients you use either make or break the dish.  Splurge on a block of real Parmesan from Italy (not the kind that comes already shredded or grated in a plastic tub).
• I think this was from Giada's "cooking with kids" series, so it's very light on spices.  I added more salt and black pepper than was called for, and would consider adding a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes next time.  Don't season it too much before you add the cheese though - Parmesan is very salty.
• To make this a meal, I added some cubed deli chicken breast that I had left over.  Another good option would be little salad shrimp.

Cream of Chicken Soup

Bust out your soup pots, people.  It's time for cream of chicken soup.  Until I saw this recipe on FoodNetwork.com, I thought cream of chicken soup was something that only came in a can, and you only used it for casseroles.  Turns out, it's a smooth and tasty variation on your typical chicken noodle soup.

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  Here are my notes:

I used four carrots instead of three, and a whole celery heart.  I don't know what a Spanish onion is, so I got a regular old yellow one.  I also threw in two cloves of garlic (minced), because I always have it on hand, and it feels wrong to start a recipe without minced garlic.  I only had dried herbs, and that worked out fine.  I used about a teaspoon of dried thyme, and probably a tablespoon and a half of dried parsley.

Sweet corn was on sale in the produce department today, so I used the kernels from three ears.  I added that at the "bring it to a boil while whisking continuously" step.  If anybody knows the secret to slicing corn off the cob without the kernels getting e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, please leave me a comment. 

The flavor of this soup is lovely and delicate - don't stump your toe on the sherry, or that is all you will taste.  I cheated and used box stock and a chicken from the deli, but I can tell that using homemade stock and a "from scratch" boiled chicken would add another layer of awesomeness to this recipe (I just didn't have time for all that today).

Final verdict: this is really good, and the reviews on the web site indicate that it's great left over and freezes well.  Serve with french bread and a green salad (the soup does have heavy cream and a whole stick of butter in it, after all!)

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An Andie update, since I figure some people are wondering:

Andie is doing very well.  She checked out okay at the regular vet when we went for our followup appointment, and we have since finished all the meds.  She has bed privileges now (to preserve my sanity), so she is only confined to the crate in the evenings between the time I get home from work and bedtime.  We will continue with that routine until June 9, and after that she will be crate free, but I will get a ramp for the sofa.  The other furniture will have to be off limits because jumping is now taboo.

Tough Love

This weekend, Andie and I spent some quality time at the emergency vet. Dachshunds are genetically predisposed to Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD), and Andie is now one of the 20% of doxies that get it. She had a relatively minor flare, which is really the best case scenario if she is going to have back problems. She passed all her neurological exams and does not require surgery, so for now that means meds every 12 hours and a minimum of one month of crate rest while her back heals.

The first day, crate rest was a piece of cake. The vet dosed her up with an NSAID, a pain killer, and a muscle relaxer. The combination made her sleepy. Now she's feeling much better, so she's been complaining about the living conditions to me. She alternates between licking the crate gate (maybe thinking it will rust through over time?) and pouting with her head tucked into the back corner, buried in her blanket. Poor baby. Living in a tough love household is rough.

Photos are up!

All the Maui photos have been edited, and the "keepers" are posted to SmugMug and captioned.  Enjoy!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

As my flight took off from Kahului, there was a huge rainbow on the side of the mountain right outside my window.  There were four screeching babies on my very full flight from Honolulu to Houston.  Ugh.  Every time I would drift off to sleep, I would get that "fake falling" sensation and jerk back awake again.  I probably only got thirty minutes of sleep.  The flight landed half an hour early though, and my checked bag made it, which I consider a small miracle since it had to change airlines with me in Honolulu.

After a short stop in Conroe to sort out my car situation, collect my dog, and share stories and souvenirs, I made it back to Houston.  I slept about fourteen hours last night, trying to catch up, and today I feel mostly back to normal.

Pictures from the first day in Maui are uploaded to SmugMug and captioned.  More will continue to come online as I sort through and edit them.  Click here if you just can't wait any longer.

Heading Home

Today is a travel day. This has been the most enjoyable trip I've ever taken. I have seen and done absolutely everything I wanted to (twice in some cases!). I am out of clean socks and used the last of the sunscreen this morning, and I miss my Sonicare toothbrush, so it works out pretty well that it's time to head home.

I have over a thousand photos to sift through and edit, which I'll start on this weekend. Photography was the main idea of this trip, and I'd say it was a success!

Much aloha, Maui - it's been a blast!

Maui Ocean Center

This place is expensive, but awesome. I was just in time to catch the diver in the shark tank feeding the spotted eagle ray mussels and scallops (with shells). He petted the thing like it was a giant dog. The staff members here are very enthusiastic and have answered all sorts of questions for me. Tammy, the reason there aren't any shells on the beach is because the water is a little too warm, and the few shells they do have get pounded to pieces by the surf because the beaches are so steep in most places.

All the fish and coral here are native to Hawaii, and they continuously cycle fresh ocean water through all the tanks. I'm hoping some of my pictures of the luminous jellyfish turn out - that display was cool.

Wailea Beach

I'm out at Wailea Beach this morning, checking out the beachside walking path and the posh resorts. The snorkeling in this area must be pretty good, judging by the brisk business the fin rental stall is doing.

Next up today is the Maui Ocean Center - an aquarium that gets mixed reviews. I think the people knocking it are the ones expecting something as big as Seaworld. It's all about proper expectations...

On the way down here I followed a taco truck with a big shark fin on top called Jawz Maui. That's what Houston needs - shark fins on all the taco trucks!

Nakalele Blowhole

The Nakalele Blowhole wasn't doing anything yesterday afternoon when I visited, so I looked up the tide information to try to catch it at a better time. High tides are at 4:30 am and 8:30 pm right now. Unless there's a full moon to go along with that, you wouldn't be able to see anything. I got up at 5 this morning and was up there by 6:30, hoping the tide would still be high enough. The surf was definitely more violent than yesterday, but the blowhole was anemic at best. The pic below is where the impressiveness should be. Use your imagination or something.

The local meteorologists are all excited - the trade winds are back! That means I was leaning into about a 20mph wind on the cliff this morning, but also that the volcanic haze is gone. Hooray! The island off Ka'anapali beach is back, which is reassuring. Lost is filmed around here somewhere, after all...

The winds are improving the weather, but also fanned a brush fire that has Hwy 30 closed south of Lahaina, so I'll have to find something to do close to the hotel today while they deal with that.