WANT

Our neighbor Bruce

This is Bruce. He lives a few doors down.

Bruce is always happy if you stop to give him a skritch.

But we don't stop long. Sophie disapproves.

Car bombs?

Now that's tacky.

Nutella bites

I'm sure you've on pins and needles (ahem) since my mystery post. No, I'm not mainlining Nutella. It's a substance best administered orally, and I wanted to see if I could improve my delivery system by creating Nutella bites: little nuggets of dough filled with the stuff and baked like monkey bread.

Here's the result:
Looks pretty good, doesn't it? BUT.
When I cut it open (photo on the left), I found that I really wasn't able to get that much Nutella inside using a poultry injector. (Which I suspected; it was not easy squeezing the plunger!) For comparison, I also filled some dough balls by spreading them out, spooning a big dollop of Nutella on and wrapping the dough around it. (Photo on the right.)

That proved more successful:
Still, the Nutella ends up mostly near the edges rather than the center. I'm not sure how to remedy that. Maybe I can't. Do you have any ideas?

I ate the whole plate yesterday (in the interest of quality testing, of course), then lapsed into a carb- and chocolate-induced coma. Ah, the prices we pay in search of perfection.

What is it? No. 8

Here's one that may not leave you much more enlightened after you click the photo. (That is, if you click the photo, you'll see exactly what this is, but the question remains: Why?) Let's just say I'm doing a little experimenting. I'll reveal the results later.

Meet the owl butterfly

While Rosie the tarantula is fun to visit at the Butterfly Pavilion, the butterflies are of course the real attraction. We happened to get there just when they were about to release some newly hatched butterflies. This fellow (gal?) is an owl butterfly, native to Central and South America.
The moniker comes from the large spot, natch, which is designed to scare off predators. But this guy also has a backup defense: a snake head. See it there, facing right?

Apparently holding the butterfly that way doesn't harm it, but we were warned not to let any butterfly walk on our skin; the oils will muck up the tastebuds in their feet (!).
Here's a happier fellow, noshing on a rotten banana (and getting a taste through his toes, presumably.)

Many butterflies will have dull-colored or camouflaged patterns on the outsides of their wings, but brightly colored interior patterns, which they will flash when threatened as another means to startle predators and chase them away.
Here you can see his long tongue, going to town on the banana.
Yum! Maybe I should make some banana bread today.

Poodle-palooza

Got a couple videos uploaded from the meetup. Not very exciting, but it gives you an idea of it.

In this second one, you see Sophie at the end getting pulled toward the camera. Not because I wanted her on film but because I was pulling her away from someone she was pestering for treats.

Hence the pissed-off look.

Cheddar cheese bread

I started to make a small loaf of this no-knead bread yesterday, but seeing that left just a little dough from this batch, I went ahead and made two. One for me (goes great with lasagna!), one for the cow-orkers. Love that cheesy goodness!

The recipe is here. Just add your fillings or toppings (cheeses, Nutella, etc.) when you're shaping it before baking.

Starbucks weirdness

I forgot to post about this last night. The weirdest damn thing happened at Starbucks. I went to get my usual late-afternoon latte and I was waiting at the counter for my drink. A tall older black man came in, dressed normally, not scruffy-looking. He looked over the folks lined up, and turned to the bar where the napkins, cream and sugar sit. He started pulling big wodges of napkins out of the dispenser and putting them in a plastic bag he was carrying.

Hmm, weird, I thought. Then he looked around again, turned back and put two of the small shakers for cocoa and cinnamon in his bag.

"Hey!" I said. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!?"

He looked at me and said calmly, "None of your business, young lady" and walked out the door. He wasn't even hurrying.

The gals behind the counter and the other customers were all looking at me, and I explained what had happened. "He jacked the shakers?" the barista said. "Really?" Then she just shook her head. "People will take anything."

I've got crocus!

This is in my own yard. There are some white ones, too, and I see evidence of other bulbs coming up.
Meanwhile, the sedum isn't really blooming, but it does look pretty.

Hooray for spring!

(And yes, we're supposed to get snow again tomorrow. Of course.)

"My name is not Hell"

"But I am on wheels!"

"Off-roading for skritches? No problem!"

(What you can't see here is my fingers skritching behind his right ear, and his little back leg vibrating with delight. The rolling eyes, though, say it all.)

"All done? K THX BAI!"

California dreamin'

I didn't go to California this weekend, but it came to me. Lemons from my guest's tree and avocados from the neighbor's. I see guacamole in my future, and lots of lemon ice cubes.

Poodle Meetup

On Sunday a bunch of poodle owners met up for a romp and a walk in Washington Park. I'd say we had close to 30 poodles in attendance. The dogs had a great time, and the owners, too.
The full Flickr set is here.

Brunch at Hotcakes

Doesn't this look good? It's a sweet potato waffle at Hotcakes, where we had brunch on Sunday.

It was supposed to be breakfast, but we dragged ourselves out of bed early only to find that our breakfast companions had missed the daylight saving announcement. Which was fine; it gave me a chance to get fully caffeinated and compos mentis.

Let me tell you, these are some damn fine waffles. Crisp and tasty and sweet. I had mine with bacon and eggs and (more) coffee.

My companions seemed pleased with their breakfasts, too (the side-orders of fruit, especially, looked very nice).

Friendly, efficient service, and we never had to ask for coffee refills (very important in a breakfast place!). If you want a great breakfast, try Hotcakes.

1400 E 18th Ave
Denver, CO 80218
303-832-4351

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