Mystery in the Woods

So one day we were hiking through Penitentiary Glen, and stumbled upon these HUGE footprints! We followed them through the woods for a very long time. They never flew, sometimes walked in circles, and eventually disappeared. It was a mystery for us for a long time, and then we finally figured it out!

Can you guess what bird made these?A turkey! Oh yeah, that reminds me of Thanksgiving. Another time...

Charley's Friend

It makes me happy to know that the dogs who knew Koby, get to know Charley. Somehow, I feel that they are able to tell Charley about him, in dog language. It makes me feel good to know the things that Koby taught other dogs about being a good puppy, can now be passed on to Charley. Charley and Koby were supposed to be brother some day, so in this small way, they are. This is Victor. He's our neighbor's Leader Dog in training puppy, and knew Koby when he was a baby. Charley and Victor are now friends and like to cuddle up in this little dog bed. Linda said they slept the afternoon away together.

Jill- Did you get it?

THE RECIPE??? I'm dying, and this is the picture that started it all!!!! XOXO.

Siam Cafe

We went to the Siam Cafe for lunch after Chinese shopping one Saturday. This is my favorite Chinese restaurant I've ever been to. The flavors are out of this world. They also happen to have my favorite soup, which has coconut milk and chicken broth, lemongrass, and pieces of moist juicy chicken. It's so amazing. They also make very incredible spring rolls, which are one of our main reasons for eating there. We also shared chicken satay, and Robb got some hot and sour soup, with mushrooms and shrimp. (Which he didn't finish and we ended up leaving our to go box on our table. So sad, all of those shrimp I was going to eat...) I also think they have beautiful plates.

Here I am, happy as can be! Makes me want to go all over again. I shouldn't have looked at these pictures!

Tempeh

After getting home from visiting little Austin, we made a delicious new recipe, Spicy Thai Tempeh with Cashews! Tempeh is a soy food that has been eaten in Asia for hundreds of years. It is made from cooked and slightly fermented soybeans and formed into a patty, similar to a very firm veggie burger. Although tempeh is made tofu, tempeh is also very high in protein and calcium, as well as beneficial isoflavones, but tastes nothing like tofu. Tempeh has a textured and nutty flavor. Depending on the brand, one serving of tempeh provides around 200 calories, 18.2 grams of protein (that's even more protein per gram than tofu!), and 10% of the RDA of both calcium and iron. Tempeh is a naturally cholesterol-free food, as are all vegan foods. For our meal, I steamed and then crumbled the tempeh and used it in the stir fry like ground meat. We served it with tofu shirataki noodles (also low carb, high protein), for a delicious vegetarian complete meal. Robb even gobbled it up, so it had to have been good!

We served it with homemade potstickers and spring rolls! What a fabulous dinner!

Besides the tempeh, this recipe had red onion, roasted red pepper, cashews, and green onion. It was mouth watering!

Velcro Fur #2

Charley's velcro fur also grabs snow! Here's how it happens...

He runs all around through the snow, playing with sticks he finds. Then he comes inside...

I have to blowdry the snowballs off his fur and from between his toes. I think he'll have a pretty short hair cut for the summer. I can't imagine how I'd ever be able to keep him clean with all we do in the summer with this long hair! Stay posted for Charley's first haircut in the early summer!

Velcro Fur

My little Charley LOVES to run and play at our neighbors! She dog-sits and has 2 of her own, so it's always a dog party over there! The downside- she has no grass, snow has melted, and there is mud everywhere! The dogs probably love it, but for the parents, not so much! Charley had a great time playing over there, and came home looking like this... His fur is like VELCRO! Everything sticks to it! His curly poodle fur absorbs whatever is around him and is very hard to maintain. It's hard enough to brush and comb him all the time to get his dreadlocks out, but when he's a muddy mess, oh boy!

He used to be dark brown as a puppy, but now only when he's covered in mud!

Robb gave him a bath this time, since last time my back hurt for days. Look at the muddy water! That was only the rinse cycle. Then there is a wash cycle, a rinse cycle, a conditioner cycle, and a final rinse cycle. It's harder then doing laundry!

Afterwards, he was back to being fuzzy and cappuccino colored again!

But, then he needed brushed and combed! I just love his sweet face peaking out, just dealing with it! He's such a good boy. I've been brushing him since he was a baby, and he's very used to it! Thank goodness!!!