What is it? No. 7

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Dinner at Taste of Thailand

I last ate at Taste of Thailand in November, for lunch. I could've done a little research and come up with somewhere new to try tonight, but we were tired and just wanted something easy and casual that we knew we would enjoy.

I would like to say we started with the chicken dumplings, but they showed up with our dinners, which was a little disconcerting. But we liked them anyway.

I had the moo yang salad, which is pork with sprouts, cucumbers, tomatoes, papaya and onions in a tangy sauce, with shredded toasted coconut on top. I liked it very much, except for the overwhelming presence of red onions. I like onions just fine, but a little goes a long way when they're raw. I ended up picking most of them out and piling them on the side so I could enjoy the rest of the salad.
I would order this dish again, and just ask them to go easy on the onions.

Taste of Thailand
504 E Hampden Ave
Englewood, CO
303-762-9112

P.S. I am so happy I figured out how to set a custom white balance on my camera and do a long exposure. These pictures were taken in fairly low light, but they look just fine! Not pro quality, but pretty good for a point-and-shoot amateur.

Easy lasagna with butternut squash and spinach

The other night I had an unexpected free hour before I needed to go to the airport to pick up my guest (flight delayed), so I swung by the grocery to get some beer, cheese and crackers for us to snack on this weekend. While I was there, I thought, why not get stuff to make lasagna?

I've been craving lasagna lately, and wanted to make a big pan of it so I could freeze some for work dinners. This took about 40 minutes to throw together, and would've taken less, except the butternut squash needs time to roast. It was all assembled just in time to toss it in the fridge and head out the door.

So you'll understand why I didn't take photos of the process. But I'm sure I'll make it again.

I use a big foil roasting pan (cheap from the grocery, and reusable). I assemble the lasagna in the middle of it, using three noodles, and there's enough room around the edges so it doesn't overflow. I don't prebake the noodles, and I use jarred sauce, which really cuts down on the prep time.

The cheese is a big tub of ricotta with a bunch of shredded parmesan and a couple eggs mixed in, then a package of frozen, shredded, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed.

The meat is 1/2 pound each of pork and veal, browned and drained.

I used half a butternut squash, cut in small dice and roasted with a drizzle of olive oil until tender and a little caramelized.

The filling goes like this: thin layer of sauce, noodles, layer of cheese, layer of roasted squash, a little sauce, noodles, cheese, meat, sauce, noodles, sauce. Cover and refrigerate to bake later, or bake covered at 350 for about 45 minutes. Take the cover off, sprinkle on mozarella, and let it bake another 15 minutes or so.

I put on so much mozarella that I ended up turning the broiler on for a couple of minutes to brown it at the end.

The bread is no-knead parmesan. The lasagna came out, the bread went in, and it was all served hot.

And now I've got 10 future dinners ready in my freezer!

(P.S. You might also try lasagna with asparagus, chard and queso fresco.)

Lunch at Gurkhas in Boulder

Yesterday we had Indian buffet at Gurkhas in Boulder (or technically, Gunbarrel, northeast of town). Nice selection of flavors, chicken curry, saag paneer, samosas, etc., served from a buffet that was clean, well-stocked and not full of stuff that had been congealing for hours.

I would've taken notes on what I got, but we were too busy chatting. The service was friendly and efficient, and our mugs of chai were refilled promptly (always nice!).

If you're in Boulder and looking for a good lunch, this would be a place to try. (It's in the place formerly occupied by Rangoli, which was seized for back taxes.)

Gurkhas Restaurant
6565 Gunpark Dr. #190
Boulder, CO 80301
Phone: 303-530-1551

Rosie outlook

Here's something you don't get to do every day!

This is Rosie the tarantula, who is really one of about 30 Rosies in the stable at The Butterfly Pavilion. Rosie hangs out in a room full of creepy-crawlies, most of them behind glass, and thankfully so. Hissing cockroaches and giant centipedes? Yeeccchhhh.

But Rosie's pretty cool, and you get sticker for letting her march across your palm.

I got some nice shots of butterflies, too. I'll post them later.

Homemade lasagna and homemade bread

What could be better?

(Posted from my cellphone. Better pictures later.)

Salad and sandwich at Gaia Bistro

Had a friend visiting yesterday and today, and another coming tonight, so I'll be slim on the posting for a few days.

To tide you over, here's a look at today's lovely lunch at Gaia on Old South Pearl Street. Their basic (!) salad:
And a yummy egg sandwich with bacon, cheese and pesto.
The food at Gaia is always good!

Peep season has begun!

Poodle pictures, on the other hand . . .

I've got a LOT of those.

(Posted from my cellphone.)

Poodle tchotchkes

A discussion came up recently with other poodle owners about poodle tchotchkes. Because, if you have a poodle, it's inevitable that you will have some other poodle stuff. In some cases a lot of poodle stuff.

You may remember my little rant about this. So I thought I'd take an inventory of my poodle collection.
You've seen the pin on the left before, my souvenir from the Alameda Antique Fair. The one on the right was a gift from my sweetie and lives on my suede jacket.
Two more gifts: A goofy little hanging ornament that verges on too cheesy for me. But! It's got Sophie's name on it, so I like it. And the requisite pink fuzzy poodle with magnets in the paws. It lives on the towel rack for now, and has also adorned a lamp pole and the fridge.
Another gift, cute and useful, the poodle ruler! (Seen previously in my pasta-making adventure.)

And finally, puchased for maybe too much money on eBay, but I have yet to see another like it (and I've looked):
Sophie says: "I never go anywhere without my Enid Collins box purse!"

And that's it except for a couple of Christmas ornaments: a pink metallic poodle and and an ornament from my childhood, featuring a black poodle in a basket that was "personalized" with the addition of several little tufts of black and cream yarn to represent my first poodle, Henrietta, and her puppies. I'd show them, too, but they're packed away.

What do you collect?

KALEidoscopic!

After viewing yesterday's Nutella-fest, you may feel the need for a little detox. Feast your eyes on this!
At the grocery store on Saturday night I felt a hankering for some greens. I really wanted chard, but they were out. Instead, I found this fabulously huge and healthy bunch of kale for the whopping price of $2.

It's as big as my head! And, it matches my hat.

I'd been seeing people rave about roasted kale, so I thought I'd try that.
It's very simple. Tear or cut your kale from the tough stems in chunks. Doesn't have to be too small, since it shrinks down when it cooks. Rinse it thoroughly and spin it dry or pat it with paper towels. Toss it with a splash of olive oil and a little salt and pepper. You can add garlic, or lemon zest, or a little sesame oil. But I opted for plain-Jane to start with. Spread it in a foil-lined pan and bake in a 400-degree oven. After 5 minutes, toss it a little, then keep checking it every few minutes. Some people like it more green, and some more browned and crispy. I took it out when it was still a little of both. It's a very interesting flavor and texture! Rather on the chewy side. I think I like it crispier, so I'll let it cook longer next time. Makes a good snack!

But I didn't use all of it. How could I? BIG AS MY HEAD! What I really wanted was some sauteed greens to put on pasta.
So I chopped up some more and tossed it in a pan in which I'd already cooked a little onion and garlic in olive oil and a dash of sesame oil, stirred it and let it cook for a minute, then added oh, half a can of chicken stock, covered it and let it cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile I cooked some herb-y trumpet pasta.
There was a hint of nutmeg or maybe cinnamon in the pasta that worked nicely with the slightly bittersweet greens. And a sprinkle of shredded parm on top is de rigueur for me. Tasty!

And I still have some kale left to try roasting it again.

(P.S. from Tuesday night: I just roasted the rest of it, and I believe the trick is to leave it in the oven much longer than you think you should. I didn't time it, but I'd say 15 to 20 minutes, tossing occasionally. Much better! Crispy and crunchy but still with a little bit of chewy.)

You may hate me for this

The basic no-knead dough recipe works just as well with sweet things as savory. Pull out a hunk, flatten it a bit, smear on a very generous application of Nutella and roll it up.

Bake at 450 covered for 15 minutes, then take the lid off and start checking it after another 5 minutes. You don't want it to burn. (Mine started to a little on one end.)
Here it is, sliced, after some cow-orker depredation. And appreciation. It's very yummy. I recommend serving it warm if at all possible.

So much for crocuses

We're back to monochrome outside. Thank goodness for a little bit of color in!

Sophie doesn't mind the snow. She's probably relieved that her big shaggy coat is seasonally appropriate again. Besides, what's a little snow when there's a bone still containing some molecules of marrow?

Here's the view from the window seat. The snow must be coming up from the south for a change, to plaster the glass this way.
Originally 1-3 inches were forecast. Now they're saying 3-6, and it's a bit on the windy side. Sophie will enjoy her walk. Me, not so much.

Spring teaser

All week we've been warming up and today it hit 75! And here's my first crocus spotting of the season. Not in my yard, alas, but I do have what looks like crocus foliage coming up, and tulip shoots, so there's hope yet.

I've spent the last two days doing yard cleanup, from dog leavings (poop and bones, oh joy) to dead leaves and stems. I did a pretty good job of this in the fall, but of course more leaves blew in and a lot of foliage died back further. It's best to get everything as cleared away as possible before new stuff starts filling in.

Did two walks today, too, and had to hose down an overdressed Sophie.

Lest you get too jealous, though, the high tomorrow is supposed to be 35, with 3 inches of snow forecast. Mother Nature is such a tease.

D'oh!

On Monday night I thought I'd make a loaf of red pepper parmesan bread to take to work the next day.

Looks good, doesn't it? I baked this maybe a few minutes too long (the crust was just starting to burn). But that doesn't look like parmesan, does it? No, it looks more like cheddar.

That's because this is a loaf I baked today. Monday night's loaf went somewhere else.

Outside of a dog, books are a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, bread dough is Very Bad Thing.

Yes, Leo ate the dough. I went upstairs while the oven was preheating. Sophie and Lannie followed. Leo did not. I heard the oven beep and went to put the dough in. Found instead a small piece of it and lots of scattered parmesan on the floor.

I confess, I yelled. VERY LOUDLY. And got this look from Leo like, "What's your problem, lady? Can we go for a walk?" Meanwhile, Sophie and Lannie were both completely cowed. "We're sorry! Whatever it is, we're sorry! Sorry sorry!"

Then I called the emergency vet. "Is this a problem?" "Yes! Bring him in now!"
Turns out, raw bread dough is an incredibly bad thing for a dog to eat. Because it keeps rising. So you have a risk of blockage. And it keeps fermenting, which can cause the equivalent of alcohol poisoning, with liver, kidney and neurological damage.

So Leo got a shot to make him throw up, and then spent the night there and at his regular vet the next day for observation and with an IV to keep him hydrated. (Reportedly, the triage area smelled very yeasty, and they were glad I'd warned them about the red peppers.)
Happily, he's just fine, as the dog park photos attest. (Hydration? No problem!) And Beeb's getting back tonight, so she'll hear all about it before she sees this post.

I think I will dub this version "Leo Bread."