Treats, no tricks

The best part of Halloween is Boo Berry cereal. Since Boo Berry cereal is only available at this time of year, it fits the definition of a seasonal food. And it's made with whole grains now. So it's healthy. And boo berries are a fruit. And boo berry trees also absorb carbon dioxide.

A lovely limoncello risotto. It's pink because I also splashed in some rosé wine.

Preston will always choose treats over tricks.

Down chuck

Preston's been throwing up all day. So sad.

Pumpkin pulpit

I wonder how Barack O'Lantern sales are doing? I have yet to see one in the neighborhood. And they were never there when I walked Preston over to buy one.

Camarones chimichurri con arroz. I had to pack away my organic local seasonal pulpit and admit that every ingredient came out of the freezer. Frozen shrimp. Frozen chimichurri marinade. Frozen rice. Yes, I keep my rice in the freezer. Trying to eat organic local and seasonal takes a lot of time and effort. I'm often lazy.

Beet with pretty stick

A pilgrimage to the ceramics store mecca yields items such as sponge on a stick. $2.65. I spent many minutes at the shop inappropriately fondling the pottery wheel I've been lusting after. Alas, I can not afford the thousand dollars to buy it. Pottery wheel! How you tease me! My attempts at marrying wealthy have so far failed miserably. Marry me please? I'll feed you.

So like most of America, I drown my sorrows by eating an entire rack of baby back ribs. This time, hickory smoked with a cilantro bourbon molasses glaze.

And roasted beet, radish, and gorgonzola salad. My current kitchen gadget obsession is the mandolin slicer. So far, I've managed to keep my fingertips. But it's only a matter of time before I slice off something important.

And for healthy-like snacking- Jewel toned beet chips! These turned out very beautifully translucent. I might not have sliced off my finger tips going overboard with the mandolin slicer, but my hands still wound up bloody beet red.

And then I made an empanada for dinner #2. Because I felt peckish.

Hari-kari

While having my coffee at the dining table this morning, I see out of the corner of my eye a brown blur aimed squarely at my noggin. Feeling like prey first thing in the morning wakes you up much better than any cup of Costa Rican. The labrador retriever in Preston wants to fetch the dying kamikaze dive bombing hawk that smacked itself against the window. This appears to be a somewhat endangered-like sharp shinned hawk. Can any of the bird watchers in the audience identify this one? If the other hawks are similarly prone to committing suicide with windows, they'd be extinct soon.

Unagi from the frozen section of Mitsuwa Marketplace. These are surprisingly good for frozen food that takes seconds to heat up. It has umami.

Project layaway

There is only one habanero pepper in this year's pitiful harvest. Mucho Pitiful. My thumb is not so green this year. But it's the first year tromboncino squash and basil were fruitful. So I count my blessings and save my cursing and ill thoughts for Dick Cheney and Proposition 8.

Because a clean and fluffy Preston is such a rare occasion, I will document each occurrence. This time, Preston models a fierce new safety orange dog collar for that early 2000's state penitentiary look. Heidi Klum and PetSmart would approve. Work it for your bitches Preston!

My poor planning requires that I make some curried cous cous to tide me over because ratpatootie will take over 4 hours to make. Hunger and ratpatootie don't go together well. Why do I attempt time consuming recipes late at night? I wonder how the French do it?

Ratpatootie ala Pixar is delicious, but painstakingly slow to make without interns and sous chefs. Costco needs to sell interns and sous chefs.

Mad props

Prop 8 = Weapons of Mass Destruction

Twice cooked pork

Tomatillo braised pork loin obsession continues. I makes again tonight. And again and again and again and again...

Hidden talents

If I block the front door, you can't go out and leave me behind.

You see, I'm smart. I just don't apply myself.

Salmon encrusted with wasabi peas. It's main entree and savory snack, all at the same time. Apples, radishes, and fennel dressed with sherry vinaigrette. The radishes are cut into teeny tiny matchsticks because I'm showing off.

Squeeze play

Still weeks to go until Halloween and I'm already hitting the candy pretty hard. I always have to buy more candy on Halloween day because I've eaten most of it by then. Will I ever learn? Yes, my OCD is showing.

Preston has a new nemesis.

Perfectly curled Preston tail. I did not know it was physically possible for his tail to bend this much. Maybe 12 years of me accidentally stepping on it has loosened things up.

Texas toast

I was going to get some cheap ass vodka for pie baking and other nefarious purposes. But I was suckered by marketing yet again. How could anyone resist vodka made in Texas?

This week's Dinner with Davy guest is Flip. Tonight, we have rosemary garlic potatoes. Half baked bread with roasted garlic spread.

And stracoto with porcini mushrooms. The sprig of rosemary counts towards our green veggie requirement for this meal.

Sadly, Flip wasn't under the influence of Tito's Texas Vodka. He's normally like this.

Preston thinks licking fingers does not count as begging for food.

Wanted: bacon honey

Walking Preston on garbage days gives us a great excuse to snoop on the neighbors. I am totally jealous that someone is getting bacon of the month club.

I wash my bacon sorrows with barbeque. Cilantro honey bourbon glaze. But it's not the same. I want bacon of the month club. Someday... after I marry for money, I will join the bacon of the month club.

Shrunken wood

I couldn't resist mini ciabatta rolls at the store. Irresistibly cute baby sammiches. I totally fall for all the tiny cute sized marketing hype. Cocktail wieners. White Castle sliders. Mini-M&M's. Mini gold fish crackers. Mini muffins. Tiny cornishon pickles. Airline sized bottles of booze. If you shrink them, I will buy them.

Idle hands means anything and everything will be getting the wood grain treatment. I'm currently working on miniature wood grained puppies.

Wood grained fake guitar turned out to be less dork-tastic than I thought.

Hope autumns eternal

Itty bitty baby bananas emerging from the flower. I hope the feral bats and feral monkeys don't eat my bananas. That would be bad.

I hope my papayas ripen before the winter storms kick in. That would be bad.

Italian trombone squash is making some interesting shapes. I should eat these now before the skin gets tough. That would be bad.

I should probably harvest some persimmons before the feral squirrels eat them all like they did last year. That would be bad.

Preston has discovered the giant water dish in the backyard. He won't go back to drinking from his water bowl. The vet says that's not all that bad.

Pig latin

It's been ages since I've seen one of my favorite Sachi's. We will catch up and reminisce with the aid of pork dishes. Sachi brings gifts of beautiful irises. Are irises edible?

A bit of wine, some manchego, and a nibble or two of salame while I finish up the other courses.

We will be guinea pigs* to my new invention. Interactive caesar salad. Slightly grilled romaine lettuce for a bit of smokey flavor. And the components of a traditional caesar dressing broken out and treated as their own individual side dishes of fried eggs and warm bagna cauda. Just mix everything together however you wish when you eat it. This was a bit too interactive for my tastes. I'm essentially lazy, so I'd rather not play with my food on the plate and would prefer something pre-tossed. Sometimes, it can be too much work to eat something. But I have to admit it looks nice on a plate.

But the old standby of tomatillo braised pork loin never fails. It's doubly wonderful today because pork is cheap this week due to the Jewish holidays. I have 18 lbs of pork in the refrigerator.

I kleenz krumms auf u.

*there was no lipstick on the above mentioned guinea pigs

Domestic policy

I made maverick mushroom pasta tonight. It's no different from any other mushroom pasta. But it's a maverick mushroom pasta because I say it is.

Updated: Added recipe for Erika

Maverick Mushroom Pasta

1 lb dried pasta - any shape
1 lb brown mushrooms
2 garlic cloves- smooshed or slivered
1 Small onion- finely diced
3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp Olive tapanade (or chop up some olives)
1 tsp oregano (mexican works well)
1 cup red wine
1 Dried bitter Republican
1 Fresh tart Republican
Olive Oil
Water
Salt, Pepper, Grated Pecorino cheese to taste

Saute diced onions in a few tablespoons olive oil until softened and golden. While onions are cooking, chop brown mushrooms into itty bitty pieces. I'm lazy so I use the food processor and blitz until it's moosh. Add mushrooms, garlic, olives, tomato paste, and red wine. Heat until mushroom mixture is sticky and paste-like.

Boil pasta and Old Republican in salted water according to directions on box. When pasta is nearly done, add enough pasta water to mushroom mixture so it becomes the texture of thick marinara sauce. Salt and pepper sauce to taste. When pasta and sauce is done, toss together and sprinkle on pecorino cheese over the top.

The Young Tart Republican adds nothing of value to the recipe and is just a distraction.

Spare change

The wonderful Ellie and Neil stopped by to nosh today. I enlist them to help eat all the food I've been making. Agua de Jamaica looks like wine when consumed in a fancy glass. But I will tell everybody we were boozing it up since noon. I have a reputation to keep, ya know.

Grilled squash. Delicious? You betcha!

And rosemary garlic encrusted lamb chops. Lollipop handles are built in, so there is no need to waste our time on utensils. Just like the Average Joe's on Main Street.

I didn't realize the my grill had a clean out tray. Eeek! 7 years of schmutz under there. Nastiness. And yet, I did not clean it. Just closed it back up. Out of sight, out of mind for another 7 years. I will wait until it gets really bad and hope for a bailout.

And tomato salad seems to show up daily. I should be a maverick and change it up a little.