Dogs from Blogs: Sadie from A Cambridge Story

Work has taken over my life once again leaving me very little time to post. Since I had been on a roll, I knew I needed to post. What better time for a Dogs from Blogs post! Meet Sadie! She's similar to Izzy in that she loves to play fetch (indoors and out) but luckily we are on the ground floor! We're jealous that you got to enjoy her puppyhood as we adopted Izzy when she was a crazy teenager.

Hello, Skinny Fat Kid readers! I’m Emily, from A Cambridge Story. I live in Boston (well, technically, Cambridge) and when I’m not cooking for my blog (or, y’know, at work), I am usually hanging with the love of my life. No, not my husband – my two-year-old black lab pup, Sadie!

Now, Sadie is more than just a pretty face. She is a lady who knows what she wants, whether it is treats, balls, bones or a good snuggle. She has perfected the art of whimpering until she gets said things and has a habit of chewing on baseboard moldings when she doesn’t. But let’s back up a second. Sadie came into our lives in July of 2007 smelling farm-stand fresh. We adored her instantly, razor-sharp teeth and all.

Loving all things edible (wood notwithstanding), the little furball was pretty easy to train and, aside from a few potty incidents, a total blast to have around. She also proved to be quite the character, taking naps in her water bowl and the like. 

Today, she continues to be a total goof in and out of the water. In terms of aquatic activities, her motto is “the dirtier, the better” (click here if you’d like to witness her mud puddle antics). This philosophy results in daily showers (hence the wet head in the first photo above).  Sadie also loves a good round of fetch but has yet to realize the distinction between indoor and outdoor play to the delight of our downstairs neighbors.

As her second birthday loomed and human schedules became hectic, we thought it was time that Sadie begin to earn her keep. She started joining my husband at his office, where she has since become the company mascot. Unaware of any puppy labor laws, a red button to deploy computer code was purchased and Sadie is currently undergoing rigorous training to help her rise through the professional ranks.  

Working hard or hardly working?! 

All around, Sadie is an amazing creature. Sweet, precocious, sometimes a little smelly, she winds up winning the hearts of everyone she meets. Thanks to Skinny Fat Kid and her great readers for taking the time to get to know little S! 

Have a blog? Have a dog? Get your pup featured! Send me some pics and a bio to skinnyfatkidblog@gmail.com

WOF in Rhode Island

What is a WOF you ask?? It's a Weekend of Fun. A phrase that was coined by my friends quite a few years ago. Today, I decided to bring it back. By the looks of this post it appears that I love Rhode Island for one thing only, the food. I do like Rhode Island for the beaches, Newport, Providence and its ability to get me out of the city and into the 'burbs for a bit. Not to mention my parents and my sister and her husband live here.

I started my food tour with an Awful Awful from The Newport Creamery. Awful Big. Awful Good. Awful Bad For You. But when you haven't had one in quite a few years, it doesn't really count, does it?? I chose the chocolate mint one with chocolate jimmies inside. Yum! Perfect little snack to hold me over! Since my sister was the one who reminded me about the goodness of the Awful Awful, I was kind enough to pick one up for her as well and hand deliver it.

My unhealthy food tour expanded with my sister to a Rhode Island classic, clamcakes and chowdah. We headed to Iggy's on this beautiful Sunday to dine by the water. AMAZING. I don't really eat chowder anywhere else but Rhode Island. It's just not the same!

In between all this food, I headed to the Newport Playhouse to see my mother perform as Mickey the cop in The Female Odd Couple.

Hilarious! My mom has taken up acting in these past few years. She's been a performer of sorts since I can remember. Growing up, she was a storyteller and travelled to my school as well as others around the area. Of course it was embarrassing at the time, but she was pretty good at it and loved what she did.

The worst part about this WOF?? The three hour drive at the end of the weekend in traffic. Hope it's not too bad!

What is your favorite food from where you grew up??

Grilled Eggplant

The man cave is nearing completion! After months of searching and then over a week of waiting, we finally have our entertainment center/media storage for the man cave. To our surprise, it came fully assembled! I was expecting an Ikea-style build, but lucky for us that was not the case. I tried to snap a few pics of our new addition, but Izzy wasn't having it. "Pay attention to me!"

I was never a huge eggplant fan. I had eggplant parm a few times and it was good, but never something that I would crave or run to a restaurant and order. Last year I wanted to find a side dish that I could throw on the grill so I wasn't running back and forth from the kitchen to the grill. Since we have no grill basket, I needed a big veggie that wouldn't fall through the grates. Eggplant it was! I found a recipe and gave it a try. Now I'm a huge fan. The balsamic seems to break down the bitterness and make these super tasty. I served them up at our BBQ last weekend. Unfortunately, I don't think I cooked them as much as I should have. They were definitely better then 2nd day reheated!

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, sliced
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• black pepper
• various herbs (I used basil and oregano)

Direction:

• Place all ingredients in plastic bag and marinate, up to an hour. 
• Place on medium grill for about 15 minutes, turning once. 

Food Should Taste Good Chips and My First Giveaway!

Ever since I won all that cheese from Gina's Skinny Taste, I've been dying to run my first giveaway! And here it goes!

The kind folks at Food Should Taste Good have offered one lucky SFK reader 5 bags of chips! Now I had seen these chips in the store, but not being a huge chip eater, had yet to purchase. I headed to the store to pick up a couple bags so I knew what I was talking about. I grabbed a bag of the Cheddar and a bag of the Olive. I would have loved to try the sweet potato or the chocolate, but unfortunately my store didn't have those!

Skinny Fat Kid and I ripped open the two bags to run our own taste test. The Olive variety tastes like whole grain tortilla chip with a nice kick of olive flavor in the after taste. The Cheddar chips are amazing! I would definitely scoop up a bag of these to snack on! SFK said I'm sure these are expensive and sure, they're a bit more than regular chips, but they have a $1 off coupon on their website (www.foodshouldtastegood.com) to make it well worth your while! You can't put a price on your health!

Food Should Taste Good chips are all natural tortilla chips made from real, simple ingredients. All of the varieties are free of cholesterol, preservatives and trans fat and do not use genetically modified ingredients. The chips are certified Kosher and gluten free too!

On to the giveaway!

Leave a comment here with the 5 varieties you'd like to try. Choose from Multigrain, Sweet Potato, Olive, Jalapeno, The Works!, Chocolate, Lime, Blue Corn, Cheddar, Toasted Sesame and White Cheddar.

We have a winner! Congrats to Sandy!

Rules:
-Winner will be chosen at random
-Contest ends at 11:59pm on June 23rd
-Open only to US residents
-Other members of my household not eligible (that means you Skinny Fat Kid!)

Product for giveaway provided by Food Should Taste Good. I provided product for samples and am not affiliated with Food Should Taste Good in any way. 

Nice little weekend

Skinny Fat Kid and I had a nice little busy weekend! Izzy's best friend Minnie is moving out of town so they had a little going away BBQ on Friday night. Izzy had to stay home since she's so obnoxious. When we got home, her nose was glued to us. She knew we were with her friend and was jealous!

On Saturday, we went to volunteer for a local dog rescue. They had some adorable husky/shepherd mix puppies for adoption as well as some sweet older dogs. I don't really consider it volunteer work to hold a 12 week old puppy and try to get him adopted! Not hard work! If you're in the NJ area and looking to adopt, check out A Pathway to Hope Rescue!

Cagney (already adopted) and his brother Roo!

Tired puppies!

Morgan finds a comfy bed in the store to lay on!

When we got home, we hung out for a bit before feasting on some lobster! Izzy got a chance to say hi to them before we ate them. I kind of feel bad about eating her new friends, but they were still delicious! Cooked up some shrimp skewers, pesto crostini and grilled asparagus to complete our meal!

 

On Sunday, I had the privilege of heading over to Montclair Golf Club for some poolside relaxation and cocktails! The pool was soon infested with kids and their dads enjoying Father's Day, so we headed back home for a little BBQ with friends. Stay tuned for the recipes and pictures!

R.I.P. Garlic House Hat

The other night as I was pulling the seldom used salt off the top shelf in my spice cabinet, the garlic house took a spill. I managed to catch the garlic house itself, but its little hat took a tumble, smashing on the granite counter and then on the floor into a million pieces.

I loved the garlic house for keeping my garlic fresh for a long time. I go through garlic at a decent pace most of the time, but occasionally I won't use it for a bit and my little house keeps it fresh and happy. The garlic house sits sad on the shelf without its hat. Hopefully it will still do its best to keep my garlic fresh.

Chipotle Turkey Burgers

This was another recipe I found while playing on my iPad on the long trip home from South Carolina. I'm always thinking about food and figured I would be productive and figure out what to make for the next week!

Cilantro is one of those things that I think people either love or hate. There's no "it's ok" when it comes to cilantro. Recently, this little herb has started to grow on me. I do like it in guac, though I won't put it in my own. Using as some what of a garnish, I can handle. That's exactly what it does in this case. Of course it adds flavor and a few leaves really enhanced this burger!

Recipe adapted from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 2 teaspoons minced chipotle in adobo 
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 slices cheddar cheese
• 1 tomatillo, husked, rinsed and sliced
• 1/2 small avocado
• cilantro sprigs 
• whole wheat hamburger buns

Directions:

• Preheat grill to medium heat
• Mix turkey, chipotle and garlic until combined. Form into patties (about 4). 
• Place burgers on the grill, about 4 minutes. 
• Turn over, and top with a slice of cheese. Close grill and cook about 2 minutes more, or until cooked through. 
• Assemble burgers with tomatillo, avocado and cilantro.

I didn't even think this burger needed a "sauce". The original recipe suggest mayo, but not being a huge mayo fan I knew that wasn't going to happen. 

Dogs = Exercise

Need to drop some lbs? Feeling yourself becoming a couch potato? Need something to keep you moving? Get a dog! Ever since we adopted Izzy over a year ago, I find myself sitting on the couch less and forced to move more. Every morning I get up and we go for a 20-30 minute walk. When Skinny Fat Kid is working late, we usually do a 45 minute walk or so in the evening. On weekends (when it's warm out) I'm more than happy to take Izzy out around town for a stroll. A tired dog is a well behaved dog! And I get some exercise so I don't feel guilty when I come back and sit on the couch! Haha. But seriously, miss Bizzy Izzy has forced us to become more active. Right now I'm thinking about how excited I am that it's not raining and we can go for a long walk along the skyline. Nothing beats that! If Izzy wasn't in the picture, I'd be hitting up some of that blueberry beer I have in the fridge and settling on the couch to watch The Voice.

Now Izzy doesn't only get SFK and I moving. She seems to get anyone and anything else moving too! My parents dog is a middle-aged coonhound mix who is satisfied sleeping until noon and lounging in the grass all day. Not when Izzy's around! Izzy barks at Salem when she tried to relax. I've watched Izzy on the webcam at her doggie daycare/boarding facility and notice the same....Before Izzy is in the run, everyone is just hanging out. When Izzy's in there, they're all on the move! Not sure if they're trying to get away from her or her crazy energy just gets them excited! I'm sure Hounds on the Hudson enjoys when Izzy's there since all the dogs must sleep soundly in their kennels at night!

No Izzy. I'm not even sure if that Golden Retriever in the back is awake!

As soon as she's in, she's pounced by the others! You can barely see her legs kickin' up on that black Labradoodle.

All up and moving! Except for that Golden Retriever again....

Now I know I'm a crazy dog lady, but I will pick hanging with Izzy any day over going to the gym!

Chicken Fajita Rice Bowls

Some people order fajitas for the show and sizzle that they put on as they come through the dining room. Me and my friends will actually not order fajitas because we don't want to deal with the production. You get a plate of protein with peppers and onions, a plate of "toppings" like sour cream and salsa, a little vessel to keep your tortillas warm and a plate to eat off of. Here in Hoboken, the tables are small and crowded. The restaurants jam in as many tables as they can. If you're eating fajitas, its likely that the person sitting next to you can easily grab off one of 4 plates that you're currently eating off of.

Simple solution, chicken fajita bowls! Or platters in my case since I didn't have an appropriate bowl. I was inspired by My Sister's Kitchen on this one. I didn't do much measuring, but will try and remember how this went down....It's kind of one of those things where you can make it how you like it.

Ingredients:

• Thinly sliced chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Black pepper
• Lime juice
• Chili powder - divided
• Cumin - divided
• Frank's hot sauce
• Liquid smoke 
• Brown rice
• Green peppers, sliced
• Onion, sliced
• Can of low-sodium diced tomatoes (mostly drained)
• Can black beans
• Desired toppings - jalapenos, salsa, hot sauce, corn, sour cream, cheese, fresh lime

Directions:

• Marinate chicken in oil, black pepper, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, Frank's and liquid smoke. 
• While chicken is marinating, get rice started according to package directions. 
• Pre-heat grill to medium high heat and cook chicken until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. 
• Add diced tomatoes (mostly drained), cumin and chili powder to rice. 
• Saute onion and green pepper together in olive oil or medium heat until veggies are crisp tender. 
• Slice chicken. Place rice in bowl or plate, add chicken and green pepper mixture as well as other toppings. Squeeze lime over top. 

Vacation - All I ever wanted.

So I've been back from South Carolina for a week and headed to Florida for another long weekend for my cousin's wedding! I could get used to not working a full week in the office....

Charleston, SC is one of my favorite places. After college, a few of my friends moved down there and I've gone to visit them every year since. I love the laid back kind of vibe, the beaches and of course the food! I wanted to share Charleston with Skinny Fat Kid and Izzy so we rented a house and hopped in the car to enjoy a week in downtown Charleston! We had the perfect hosts and stayed at an adorable carriage house with everything we needed!

Since I'm a crazy dog lady, I have more pictures of Izzy than anything else. She was truly enjoying herself and we just wanted to capture the moment!

Enjoy the pics and my rundown of what to see, eat and do in Charleston!

Taking a break from paddleboarding

Izzy loves the yard as much as she loves her tennis balls!

My friend Meghan's dog Cal taking in the scenery

Wait for me!!

Charleston SUP Safaris - http://www.charlestonsupsafaris.com/
Jon was the perfect host to take SFK and a very un-athletic me out on the water for our first paddleboard adventure. His buddy Ryan came along for the trip and both were very patient in teaching us. We even saw some passing dolphins that went right by our boards! Dolphin Encounter

Adventure Harbor Tours - http://www.adventureharbortours.com/
Captain Howard took us out on his boat to Morris Island for a few hours of exploring. He is a dog lover and was more than happy to have Izzy on board. Lucky for us too, his quick thinking saved Izzy when she decided she wanted to jump ship! Howard and his first mate Addy showed us the nature of the island and helped the little ones on the tour scoop up some shark teeth!

We stayed in the best little cottage/carriage house in downtown Charleston. They were more than happy to accommodate Izzy and she loved the yard! The house is gorgeous, clean and in a perfect location. Would recommend to anyone traveling to Charleston!
http://www.vrbo.com/232857

Favorite meals:
Magnolia's - Best cocktail I had all week! Try the East Bay Mojito!
Fish - Great for small plates. Blue Ray cucumber cocktail was great too!
Southend Brewery - Not the world's best food, but great place to sit outside and eat with the dog.
Joseph's - Nice breakfast and lunch place. We had the not so healthy eggs benedict.
Hank's - Oysters casino!

Partial Fail: Grilled Smashed Potatoes

I've been having a lot of partial fails lately. At least its just in the kitchen! For our Memorial Day Weekend BBQ, I wanted to serve some sort of potatoes. I love potato salad, but was not about to make any sort of mayo-laden mess. I had done one before with mustard and chives that came out great, but wanted to try something new. I'd seen a few recipes for smashed potatoes and was game. I'm a mashed potato fanatic but what comes along with mashed potatoes is pounds of butter and lots of cream. This seems like a healthy, grilled take on those. I picked up a bag of red potatoes, threw them in a pot of water to boil, checking them often to make sure I wasn't overcooking them. And I think I may have done just that. I smashed them to season them up and they started just falling apart. We tried are hardest to get them on the grill but were afraid if they were on there too long, they would get even softer and all fall through the grates.

None the less, they tasted great! I will try not to cook them so much next time. And maybe use bigger potatoes. Anyone ever made these before and have some tips??

Adapted from Serious Eats

Ingredients:

• About 20 small potatoes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons rosemary
• Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

• Clean potatoes and add to medium saucepan. Cover potatoes in water. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce to simmer and cook about 20 minutes, or until just slightly soft. Strain.
• Once they are cooled enough to be handled, arrange on baking sheet. Gently smash each one, being careful not to break it apart (good luck). 
• Brush with olive oil and season with rosemary and pepper. Flip and repeat on other side. 
• Lightly char over medium grill, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with additional seasonings to taste. 

 

World Record

It's 9:30 on Sunday morning. I'm in bed playing with my iPad. Skinny Fat Kid is still sleeping. Why is this a world record you ask?? SFK is in charge of morning walks with Izzy on weekends as I often do double duty during the week due to his work schedule. Izzy is still sleeping. In fact, she is laying on my left arm dreaming, kicking and squirming! She got up at 8:30 and barked a few times. SFK whispered "no Izzy" as he usually does. I think in the mornings he forgets how wild and crazy she is. A whisper?? She can't hear you over her barking and feet stomping! I lean over the bed and swear at her, just for affect. Seems to work. She doesn't hear me get mad very often, but waking me up is one thing that really makes me mad. She hops back into bed...an hour later, she's still out. I can't believe it! As to not disturb anyone, I could not document the moment on film.

Izzy continued her laziness for most of the day. We appreciated the cooperation in our lazy Sunday.

Please stop taking pictures

Partial Fail: Baked Onion Rings

Who doesn't love onion rings? Honestly.  I don't know what it is about them that makes them so tasty. When I go out to eat and decide it's not going to be a healthy eating night, I'm often torn when presented with the option of fries or onion rings. French fries are somewhat of a comfort food for me. They're always piled high on the plate and the perfect dipper into some great BBQ sauce. But onion rings aren't available everywhere. When they are, I feel the need to take advantage. This sounds terrible, but I always feel let down when my plate arrives and it has 4 onion rings. That's it?? Why did my friend get 75 French fries?

I've seen quite a few recipes floating around for "oven fried" onion rings and I was all on board. I admit to having issues with breading things. Zucchini fries are great, but all my breadcrumbs end up not sticking to my zucchini or left on the pan. These onion rings were no exception! The recipe called for "corn flake" crumbs. On it! I mashed up those corn flakes and went to work, dipping in the egg mixture and then my cornflakes. About 3 rings into it, my corn flakes were wet and not sticky. Tossed that batch and tried some panko. Same issue! Since I only had a bit of panko left and a whole box of corn flakes, I just decided to work in smaller batches. I put in enough corn flakes for a few rings and tossed that when it got too wet. Was quite time consuming, but well worth it in the end! These were delish!

Any tips on getting my batter to stick??? I'll share the recipe as some may not have as bad of luck as I do!

Adapted from Weight Watchers

Ingredients:

• Lots of crushed cornflake crumbs
• 1 egg white
• 1/3 cup skim milk
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin rounds and separated
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 450. Cover baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
• Spread cornflake crumbs in a large plate. In a shallow dish, whisk together egg white, milk, flour, garlic powder and cayenne.
• In batches, dip onions into egg mixture, letting excess drip off. Dredge in cornflake crumbs, coating both sides. 
• Drop in on prepared sheet. Spray with cooking spray. 
• Cook 12 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Williams Sonoma Burger Press - Life Changer

After the mushroom Swiss burger balls I made a few weeks ago, I knew it was time for a change. I think I always try to stretch my meals. Skinny Fat Kid devours his dinner and often has seconds. He needs a large lunch to satisfy them so I don't get any emails that he's starving. In an effort to save money and eat healthier, it's ideal for us both to be able to bring lunch to work, thus forcing me to make larger meals. I typically make sure that I plump up the vegetable portion. They say you should eat a portion of lean protein the size of your fist, right?? SFK said that's not enough for growing boys.

Thanks to Skinny Taste, I had my $50 gift card to Williams Sonoma.While eating lunch in Charleston, we spotted a WS right across the street and decided to pop in. I had already seen the burger press online and knew I needed to have it. Turkey burgers were on my menu this week and I couldn't wait to make them. There I was, at 9pm, starving and pressing turkey burgers. They looked beautiful! SFK came in from walking Izzy and told me a did a terrible job. Of course he was referring to the last one made that didn't quite form the full circle. At least I knew it wasn't going to be a burger ball!

I'm adding the burger press to my fun kitchen toys. Now I can't imagine life without it! More burgers next week...can't wait!