Learning New Tricks

Hello Dears,

Pippi and I have been learning new tricks. Once a week Pippi goes to puppy class. Every Wednesday night Pippi and I head over to petsmart and learn something new. She has been doing great and picking things up quickly. She doesn't bark at the other barking dogs in class and sits by my side (whining sadly) without trying to play with the other dogs. I was worried about how she would adapt to not seeing Chip and living in a house with another dog and me working a lot. She has taken it in stride like a pro. Axel and her are best buds and she has wiggled her way into every heart in the house. She has adapted to a new routine of walks and play with dog parks worked in. Watching her has made me think about my adaptation.

I have worked out my work schedule to make sure I get to the gym two days during the work week. Being back at work has meant that I also have had to schedule Pippi's walks as well as my own workouts. I've also had to schedule when I cook dinner for the family and when I can't. I haven't adapted as well as I would wish. I haven't connected with people as often as I would like. I haven't had time for things that I wish I could do. I haven't gotten to be with Pippi as much as I would like. Some of this I have been able to work on. Like spending time with Pippi.

Pippi has come to work with me. It isn't an every day thing or even an every week thing. But when she does come I am amazed. She is amazing with the kids. She is perfect with them. She is calm and stays low and lets the do whatever they want without a grumble. It always reminds me of how lucky I am to have such an amazing dog. It makes me strive to be as patience with her and others as she is with me and the kids. She is young and has a lot of energy but her self control amazes me.

             Here is to taking everything in stride like Pippi and making more time for the things I love! 

-Mattie 

Roller-coaster Weekend

Hello All
So this holiday weekend has been a little crazy in my world. As some of you know Chip and I broke up and I've moved back to my mom's place in west LA. It's been a hard move and I've had a lot of trouble emotionally with it all. I've been coping with it by hiding and not going out much at all and not seeing anyone really. I go to work, I'm back at Keck Family Childcare, and then go home. I might go to the market if I'm feeling exciting. I know this isn't the healthiest way to deal and so this weekend I decided to change that.

Friday- Went to a show with an old friend then picked up pippi from my mom's and stayed up all night talking.It was amazing to catch up with someone I've been friends with for so long. And it was good to get out even if I did end up sleeping half of Saturday away because of it.

Sunday- I went to farmers market and picked up different things to make for a picnic at the Hollywood Bowl! Chip and I had got tickets (box tickets) for John Williams. It was as a gift to some of our friends who love Star Wars and had never been to the Bowl. I took Pippi with me to Chip's place to cook and prep. While I was at the market picking up some last things Pippi ate some sugarless gum. It turns out that sugarless gum is worse them sugar gum due to the additives they had to it. In fact it is highly toxic. I got home and she had eaten two containers of the stuff. She seemed fine until she started hacking and couldn't walk straight. Then she started having convulsions. Needless to say I freaked out and called chip to come pick us up and take us to a vet. Thankfully we got there in time and they pumped her stomach and were able to get most of it out. But they still needed to keep her at least over night and maybe up to 3 days. So we left her there and went to the Bowl.  The show was amazing. He is one of my favorite composers and though I've seen him at the bowl a few times his show is always different. It was also amazing to be able to share that experience with people who truly enjoyed it.

Monday- I had stayed at Chip's place the night before since the vert where Pippi was was close to his place. We got updates throughout the day but it was beginning to sound like they wanted to keep her an extra day. Since we wouldn't know until after dinner time I started prepping dinner. Chip came home and he had Pippi! They had called and said she was doing fine and could be taken home but they wanted to keep her just in case. Since it was silly to make her spend another night at the vets, which would most likely stress her out, for what seemed like no reason Chip insisted on taking her home. She was so sleepy and clingy that Chip had to sit with her while I finished dinner.

Today- Pippi is doing all better and though I am still watching her carefully to make sure I don't need to keep her near the vet. Today we go back home and I go back to work and into the crazy routine of childcare.

I thought a weekend of seeing people and doing things would be good for me. And while it had amazing high points so did my blood pressure. It does remind me that I need balance. I can't hide away all the time but I also need to be careful how much I try to pack into one weekend. I am just glad that this adventure turned out ok.

Hello again, Farmers Market, and Dammsugare

Hello All!
Yes I know it's been a while. Life happens sometimes and takes us away from our goals. But I am back my dears.

So I want to talk about Farmers Markets. I have moved away from some of the best farmers markets I know and now have a 30-40 minute drive to get to them. But it is worth it. Dear lord it is so worth it.

This is my bounty from this past weekend. Basil, tomatoes, blueberries, the best strawberries ever, peaches, Persian cucumbers, and lemon cucumbers. My car was filled with the smell of basil and strawberries. It was amazing. It smelled like summer. It smelled like picnics and gatherings. I came home full of energy and purpose. Recipe ideas were swirling around my head and I felt virtuous and healthy. I was ready to cook. So I did. A lot. 

I made a salad out of the cucumbers. Easy and so basic I won't even deign to call it a "recipe" I just cut them up (only peeling the lemon cucumbers) and put dressing on it. The tomatoes and basil went with some mozzarella I had to make a caprese salad. The strawberries went with a loaf of almond pound cake and ginger whipped cream to make my version of strawberry shortcake. The blueberries into a blueberry tart. The peaches have yet to find a goal and may just end up eaten. But non of these were my biggest challenge I set myself. That was reserved for Dammsugare.

So Dammsugare is a Swedish dessert. In Swedish it means "vacuum cleaner". I haven't met anyone who knows why this is. But they are delicious! The dough is easier then I expected but it turned out amazing. Here is the recipe I worked off of. 

To make dammsugare (makes around 10):

(from London eats)

For the filling:

• 250g cake crumbs (e.g. vanilla sponge)
• 75g unsalted butter, softened
• 20g unsweetened cocoa powder
• 40ml punsch or rum

To decorate:

• 300g marzipan
• few drops green food coloring
• 200g dark chocolate

To make the filling:

Put everything into a bowl and mix well until you have a soft dough. It will be a little sticky and slightly crumbly. Form into 10-12 rolls.

To decorate:

Add some food coloring to the marzipan and knead well until evenly coloured. Sprinkle a worktop with icing sugar, and roll the marzipan into a long strip 2-3mm thick (you might find this easier in two or three batches).

Use the marzipan to cover the portions of dough – get a good seal on the underside, and pinch the end closed. Roll the marzipan-coated dough on the worktop to get a smooth finish. Keep going until all the dough pieces are covered.

Next, melt the chocolate in a double-boiler, and dip the ends of each dammsugare into the chocolate. If you want them to look professional with glossy chocolate, you can either temper the chocolate, or take the easy option – skip the tempering, and put the dipped dammsugare on a plate in the fridge to harden.

I made a few more then 10. You can make them whatever size you want. 

I made them small, about two bite size. They are best kept in the fridge I found. When left at room temp the marzapain didn't stay hard enough to hold them together. So good though! I want to try with different types of cake and cookies. You can use either or whatever type of sweet crumbs you have around. 

Now on another note I have a puppy! Her name is Pippi and she is a pitbull-lab mix. She is the sweetest most out going dog around. So be ready for more updates about the exploits of Pippi the pup! 

Have a beautiful day and be kind to each other!