Puppy (that’s what I call him) still has not found his owner. To recap his story: I found him on the greenbelt next to the pond at my apartments. He sat next to the rail by the creek and he would occasionally approach joggers and beg for some loving. He tried to approach me when I had my pups out for a walk, but Doogie and Dandy were immediately on the defensive and warned him off. I decided at that point to shorten my morning walk and put up the dogs. I went back with a leash and brought Puppy home with me. Gave him food and water then gated him in the kitchen with Doogie before going into work.
When I got home for dinner, Puppy and Doogie seemed to have gotten along. At least, Puppy was still intact. 😀 He followed reasonably well during our evening walk, even elicited some attention from passersby. He was definitely in a playful mood…running and jumping on everything
Needless to say Puppy still hasn’t found his humans and has been rather enjoying his stay in Casa D-Duo. The management staff at the apartments don’t recognize him and neither did the vet’s office up the road. No microchip…and no flyers advertising a lost pup. I’ve begun my search online to see if somebody might have posted about him. Interesting to see many sites for missing pets.
This weekend marked the beginning of my modest herb garden. Since I needed to drop by Home Depot to pick up a bag of garden soil, I decided to replace the dead ornamental pepper plant and pick up some filler for 2 unused planter troughs I still had sitting on the patio. I decided with all the cooking I’ve been doing lately, I might as well stop spending money on store-bought fresh herbs and grow my own. I purchased 2 each of the following: lemon thyme, thai basil and fernleaf dill. I suppose I should read up on the care and maintenance of these plants. (Edit: good info on care)
In addition to the new plantings, I finally got my white salvia into its new pot, which will hopefully prevent it from drying out. I also sank the remainder of my calla lily bulbs in the new herb planters.
My lavender plant grower contacted me this morning to inform me that my order will take another 2 weeks before shipping. I can’t wait for the lavenders to arrive!
Truly the most decadent, richest part of the pig…pork belly usually stars in recipes that evokes the guilt of eating such a fatty piece of the beast. Ever since I cooked up this adobo dish, I’ve been trying to find more ways to cook pork bellies. Filipinos have a love affair with all things pork, and to serve it up in one of their staple dishes, only reinforces this idea.
1 pound of pork belly with skin
12-15 cloves of garlic, crushed or chopped
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup of dark sweet soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of peppercorns
1 bay leaf
water
Slice the pork belly into 1-2 inch cubes. Cook skin-side down in oil over medium to high heat until slightly crispy and a little fat has rendered out. Add vinegar, peppercorns, garlic and bay leaf. Boil until dry, then add sweet soy sauce. Add water to your preference (depending on how much liquid you want in your adobo). Lower the heat and let simmer for about 30 minutes to an hour, making sure that the pork remains tender. Continue to add water if the stew becomes too dry. After removing from heat, served with plain steam rice.
I have to profess admiration for the folks at Blue Diamond. They have come up with some daring tastes in their Bold flavored almond products. One particular standout which has me running down to the local drugstore regularly is their Wasabi and Soy Sauce flavored almonds. Yes, I was initially skeptical…but after being unable to stop popping these things, I can safely agree with them–what a great combo. Affecting and addicting!
I also sampled their Jalapeno Smokehouse almonds, and while it had a distinct mildly spicy-smoky taste, it doesn’t grab me as much as the Wasabi/Soy Sauce flavor.