Citrus

One thing that we really liked about the house we decided to rent was the backyard. I was especially excited that there were four mature citrus trees ( orange, blood orange, lime and meyer lemon). I hope to one day have enough property to grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables but for now this makes me happy. We also have a small eureka lemon that we had down in the Bay Area and it is thriving in its new home!

For Christmas gifts I made two types of marmalade--vanilla clove blood orange marmalade and meyer lemon marmalade. The meyer lemon version came out too bitter for our taste but we liked the blood orange. It was my first attempt at canning and I think it went well.

We had so many limes that I ended up spending a few hours juicing over 60 limes--and that hardly made a dent in the tree. I juiced by hand and about 10 limes in I was wishing we had an electric juicer. I filled 8oz canning jars and froze the juice and have been using it for limeade and margaritas.

Josie

We adopted Josie at a rescue in Woodland, CA on August 25th 2012. We had been thinking about getting a dog for a long time and finally had a suitable home for one. We knew we wanted a large dog and so we made sure to rent a house with a decent size backyard. I came across her listing on pet finder. We liked her description but weren't super attracted to her in the photos (they didn't do her justice as we soon found out). My hubby and I decided to do a test visit with her to see what it was like visiting a dog at a rescue.

The next day we went by and asked to meet her. The woman warned us that Josie "didn't like men" and that Ryan should keep back. Well, Josie immediately went to Ryan trying to cuddle. The whole time we were there with her she was attached to him. Eventually she came to me and snuggled up. We knew then that she was ours and we were hers. We took her home the next day and while she can be a pain we couldn't imagine our lives without her.

Josie loves...
-Cuddles (with us--wary of other people but slowly warming up to family)
-walks and runs
-being chased around the yard
-hunting squirrels
-playing with other pups
-soft squeaky toys
-her chair

Josie dislikes....
-most fruit and vegetables (she is the pickiest eater (dog) that I've ever met--even when we got her and she was underweight with ribs, spine and hip bones sticking out.
-people riding bikes next to the car
-strangers in the house
-when I'm still in bed after Ryan gets up (she won't leave me alone until I get up).

Soups

By the time I'm home from work and walking the dog I usually don't have the energy to cook a complicated meal. These two soups are on my go to list. The lentil soup is a bit heartier and yummy with some crusty bread. The pea soup is lighter and would be tasty with a salad or small sandwich. In an effort to save time ( I'm writing this on my phone) I'm only going to post links to the recipes.

Spanish Pea Soup (pictured)

Red Lentil Soup

Chocolate Coconut Cupcakes

It's been a while (years) since I posted last. I've had the urge to try blogging again (thanks A for inspiring me to do so). I'm going through some old draft posts that were never published. The Christmas baskets was probably from Dec 2009. This photo was taken around January 2010 and added to a draft post with no text. I don't remember the recipes I used (maybe barefoot contessa chocolate cake) and a coconut cream cheese frosting. I just like the photo. A lot has changed in the last 3 years--got married, moved, new job, puppy. We are renting a house now with a nice big back yard and a big kitchen (hurray)!  

Holiday Baskets

***This post was sitting in my draft folder for a long time--finally posting***

I made a few of these to give to some coworkers this week and might make a few more for friends/family if I have time this weekend. The basket consists of Orangettes (chocolate covered candied orange peel), Chocolate Chip Cookies with sea salt (I posted the recipe here), Pecan-Walnut Snowdrop Cookies (aka Mexican Wedding Cookies/Russian Tea Cookies and a whole bunch of other names), Rocky Road Bites and Truffled Thyme Cheese Crackers (a recipe I found on another blog).

Orangettes

6 oranges
4 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cup water
Additional water to boil
4-5 oz good quality Dark Chocolate (not too dark though maybe 60-70%)

I am usually pretty lazy when it comes to peeling oranges when making candied orange peel and will often just take a potato peeler to it--this time I took my time.

Quarter the oranges and cut each quarter in half again. With a pairing knife carefully cut the peel away from the flesh of the orange (I left a lot of pith at this stage). Put the peels in a large bowl of cold water with some koser salt 1/2tsp-1tsp (I didn't measure). Let them sit for a few minutes and then take them out one by one and cut off most of the pith I left a little bit on. Cut each peel into 1/4 inch (width) slices and return to water. Fill a large pot with cold water, add peels and bring to a boil over med-high heat. Let boil five minutes and drain. Repeat process with new cold water, bring to a boil, let boil five minutes then drain. Let dry overnight (sometimes I toss in sugar for a crunchy texture but tend to prefer it without). Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 sec increments making sure to stir each time--don't overcook. Or melt over a double boiler. Dip the orange peels in the chocolate 3/4 of the way then place on a piece of wax paper, repeat until all of the peels are covered in chocolate.

Romanesco--Strange but Beautiful!

We got this interesting veggie in our CSA box a little while ago. I wasn't quite sure how to use it. I ended up cutting it into small spears, blanching it and then tossed it with some sauteed onion/garlic/salt/pepper/chilli flakes and olive oil and served it over pasta with some Parm. It was quite good...a mix between cauliflower and broccoli.

Candied Orange and Chocolate Biscotti

I made these biscotti a few times in the past and always alter the recipe slightly. Sometimes I feel like a softer cookie so I'll add more butter and alter the bake temp and time or for a harder cookie, omit the butter and change the temp/time. I love cadied orange and the combination of the orange and the dark chocolate in the cookies is so good. I also made a pistachio/cranberry/white chocolate but failed to take pictures of the final products (for both). I always make the orange peel in advance because it does take some time to make. I use the recipe for candied orange peel found on Food Networks site.

Candied Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti

2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick--softened)

1/4 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 cup candied orange peel

1 cup chopped dark chocolate

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F
Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat
Whisk flour and baking powder in a bowl
With a stand mixer mix together butter and sugar with the paddle attachment.
Add eggs to the butter and sugar one at a time until light yellow and fluffy
Add flour mixture and mix just until combined
Gently fold in the candied orange peel and chocolate
Form into two 13″ X 3″ logs and place on the parchment paper side by side
Bake for 40 minutes or until brown move to a cooling rack and cool for about 30 minutes.
Cut the logs into 1/2″ thick slices with a serrated knife.
Place the slices cut side down on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes turning them over halfway through the baking time.