Corn Bar

Ever since fresh corn appeared in the grocery store, the husband and I have been obsessed with it.  We are grilling a lot to enjoy our patio and the beautiful weather and corn is something we can season and throw on the grill (wrapped in tinfoil of course).  This past weekend we had family in town, my great aunt and uncle from Oklahoma and my aunt and her kids from Alaska.  My parents hosted a cookout so we decided to bring a corn bar.  It was easy for us to put together and something fun for people to do.

Before we left, we cut up basil, cilantro and lime to use.  We also gathered some spices including Old Bay, chipotle seasoning, salt and pepper.  Since corn is best with some sort of fat, we brought butter and olive oil.  There was a roll of aluminum foil that everyone could tear a piece off, add their own seasoning to the corn and roll it up to be grilled.  We used a sharpie to write everyone's name and the time before it was popped on the grill for 10-15 minutes.  There were a lot of good combinations but lime and cilantro with olive oil is my favorite.

Corn bar!

1 year Finniversary

1  A year ago today we decided to bring home this guy.  A friend of ours had done a personal rescue from a shelter in NC and brought him and his brother up North to find them homes.  We went to meet him and took one look at his little face and knew he was the dog for us.  We didn't realize when we got him how long it would take to work through his many fears and shyness.  We still are a year later but he's such a goofy, sweet little dog it has been worth every second.

     1) I’ve learned that I am Finn’s voice. I know that seems really obvious but it wasn’t until I had a dog that I started understanding how unaware some people are.  The first few weeks we had him were rough on everyone in our household and it wasn’t helped by people coming up and wanting to pet him.  I can’t blame them; he’s so darn cute who wouldn’t want to say hi.  But Finn still becomes nervous when people really focus on him; he’s much more likely to sniff the hand of someone who isn’t making any eye contact.

When we first got him I would say to these people, “He’s shy, he’d prefer if you don’t pet him” and they would say “No it’s fine, dogs love me” or “I don’t mind” and proceed to move in on my shaking dog.  Finally I realized there was no deterring these people so I now maneuver him behind me and make it clear that he does not want to be petted.

2) I’ve learned that people are oblivious.  Having a dog has really opened my eyes as to how some people really are ignorant to the fact that not every dog is happily socialized.  There are people who haven’t taught their kids to ask a stranger if it’s okay if they pet their dog and seem generally unaware that they should.  For some reason Finn is terrified of kids.  He’s scared of new people and in particular men, but a pack of screaming kids waiting at a bus stop a block away will send into a fit of trembling.  We have not figured out how to solve this yet, and as my niece gets older and our own children come it’s something we will need to work on.  But in the meantime we don’t allow kids to pet our dog.  The one woman that blew my mind was holding her toddler one her hip while I was walking Finn and put him down and without even looking at me, told him to go pet the doggie.  I immediately put Finn behind me and told her that my dog was not used to children.  She said the classic line “It’s okay, he loves dogs” and told him to go ahead.  Again I told her that it was not okay for her kid to pet my dog and she finally gave me a look of disgust before picking up her kid. 

3)    I’ve learned that people are kind.  About 2 weeks after we got Finn, we found out my husband would be have to go on a work trip for four weeks.  And he’d be leaving within days.  At that point he was still terrified of us and our building, so we were still carrying him out of our apartment, onto the elevator and through the lobby to pee.  No small feat with a 35 lb dog who was gaining weight.  A few days after he left, I met with the trainer and Finn and I made a lot of progress.  But at the time I had a long commute to a job I hated and I was crating him during those long days.  I originally planned to pay a dog walker but I quickly realized he would be terrified of a stranger coming into the apartment so we just had to deal with my schedule.   I would wake up and take Finn on a long walk very early in the morning when it was still quiet but by the time I got home the building and neighborhood would be busy with people coming and going.  I would try and wait until later to take him out but I was always worried that he hadn’t peed in such a long time.

I’m sure we were a sight to see those evenings after I got home from work.  There were times I was almost crying trying to get him to pee so we could go back to our apartment.    There were times I had to carry him to the grass because he refused to walk and a couple of times I got peed on.  I think we became known in the neighborhood, several people would stop and tell me stories about how their rescue dog was the same way and to give it time.  There was one gentleman I passed almost every morning with Finn and he stopped me to tell me that Finn was making progress even if I couldn’t see it and that he was proud of me for my patience. 

4) I’ve learned that the problem with unwanted dogs is even bigger than I thought.  Before we adopted Finn, I knew there was a problem in this country with overcrowded animal shelters.  I knew people were uneducated about getting their dogs spayed and neutered, but I had no idea how big the problem was.  I got these statistics from the Humane Society:

6 to 8 million—Number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year

25 percent—Percentage of purebred dogs in shelters

3 to 4 million—Number cats and dogs adopted from shelters each year

2.7 million—Number of adoptable cats and dogs euthanized in shelters each year

30 percent—Percentage of shelter dogs reclaimed by their owners

An estimated 2.7 million healthy shelter pets are not adopted each year, and only about 30 percent of pets in homes come from shelters or rescues.

While doing research on helping a rescue dog adapt, I also learned a lot about the rescue animal population.  While there are many dogs in the shelters who were abused and/or unsocalized, there are just as many dogs who are left behind when people have to move into new housing or who’s owners have died.  There are also many puppies between 6-12 months, sometimes purebred, who are simply dumped because they have stopped being little furballs and become balls of liveliness instead.  Sweet, loving, social dogs and their only “defect” is getting bigger and having more energy.  I'm happy that a year ago we chose to adopt and I hope more people start doing the same.

Spicy Eggplant and Tofu

For Meatless Monday this week I wanted to try something with peanut sauce.  I found this recipe and since we don't have eggplant very often I thought this would be something tasty and delicious.  Plus we had mushrooms and broccoli that needed to be used.  

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces firm tofu

1 small eggplant

1 small onion

1 package mushrooms

1 cup broccoli

4 garlic cloves

1 dash red peppers or 1 dash cayenne

1/4 cup peanut sauce

white pepper, optional

1.  Slice tofu into bite sized pieces.  Place in bowl and toss with cornstarch.
2.  In a large skillet add olive oil and pan fry tofu over medium high heat.  Allow to cook at least 5 minutes on each side or until brown.  Remove tofu from the pan.
3.  Add eggplant, onion, mushrooms and broccoli and sautee to hot pan. Allow to cook for 6-8 minutes or until broccoli turns a bright green and onion is browning.
4.  Place tofu back in pan with a 1/4 of peanut sauce.  Add red pepper and a dash or white pepper.  Cook for 2-3 minutes.  Turn heat to low and simmer for at least five minutes, the longer it simmers the better for flavor.
5.  Serve over rice or noodles.

Tofu and Broccoli

Our streak of Meatless Monday has stayed alive.  Last week I decided to make Tofu and Broccoli, similar to beef and broccoli you get from the Chinese restaurant... but much healthier.  I found a recipe I liked on Pintrest which I modified so I could stick with my normal method of pan frying the tofu and removing it from the skillet, cooking the veggies and then adding the tofu and sauce to let it all simmer together. 

I also learned a new trick with this recipe.  If you toss the tofu in cornstarch it will become crispier.  We also discovered you can buy tofu at Costco, we have enough to last 6 meals for about $7.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp sesame oil

Ginger, to taste

8 oz. extra-firm tofu, cubed

1/3 cup cornstarch

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced

2 garlic cloves, diced

1 bunch broccoli florets

1/2 tbs. sesame seeds

3 scallions, chopped or chopped green onions

Instructions

1. Mix together soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger and set aside.
2. Toss cubed tofu in shallow bowl with cornstarch. Shake off excess pieces and set aside.
3. Heat large skillet to medium-high heat and add olive oil.  Cook tofu about 4-5 minutes per side until browned. Remove from pan and set aside.

4.  Add onion, pepper, garlic and broccoli and cook until tender, about 7-8 minutes. 

5.  Add sauce, sesame seeds and tofu to vegetables. I sprinkled in some white pepper to add heat.  If you've never used white pepper it's potent so a dash is more then enough.

6.  Cook for an additional three-four minutes.  The longer you can let simmer the better and toss together with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with noodles or rice.