T-Minus 13 hours to Surgery!

   In preparation for my ankle surgery tomorrow, I came home from work tonight and cooked for nearly three hours. I went grocery shopping on Sunday, and loaded up my fridge. And now I have a fridgeful of healthy & yummy prepared food, in case I'm not feeling up to cooking over the next few days. Homemade crab cakes, soup, salad, and a few supplements from Trader Joe's kitchen.
   Tonight's dinner combination was admittedly odd, but everything sounded so good that I wanted to try it all at once. It was still 55+ degrees when I got home, so I went outside and grilled a few huge pork steaks, with sweet & spicy Thai chili sauce. It goes great with roasted apples, mango and red onion. And I tried a new recipe, cauliflower "mac and cheese", which is much healthier than the pasta version of the dish. It didn't disappoint!
   Since I am not allowed to eat or drink *anything* after midnight, I'm facing a long 11+ hours before the procedure. So my plan is to stuff myself right up until midnight so maybe I won't feel so hungry. Hope it works.
   In any case, I have so much food in my fridge & freezer that anyone who saw it would think a family of twelve lived here. Nope, just one very tiny, very hungry person! :)

Dinner and a Campfire

   ...But wait! There's more! After enjoying a gorgeous sunset, I met everyone back at camp for a steak dinner (thanks Scott & Allyson!!!), and then we walked up to the Esbergs' campsite to enjoy drinks & snacks with everyone around the campfire. We laughed and talked for a while, and I found it increasingly difficult to keep my eyes open after such a fun-packed day.

   This time when I went to bed, I threw caution to the wind and left the space heater on all night so that we wouldn't be freezing again. I think the dogs were very grateful—Taylor only tried to escape a couple of times, as it was nice and toasty in our tent.

Feast Your Eyes

   I've been cooking for a couple of hours now and just sat down to catch up on Project Runway (I'm currently all three episodes behind!) and enjoy the feast that resulted from my ridiculously huge grocery run Friday night. (Well, some of it anyway.) Barbequed pork chops, and two new recipes: roasted root vegetables (sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and parsnips), and a Greek couscous salad.

   It seemed like kind of an odd combination at first, but there was actually good balance between the sweetness of the caramelized BBQ sauce and the garlicky roasted veggies; the lemon juice in both the veggies and the couscous, offset by the the veggies' natural sugars and the crisp cucumber in the salad, and the sourness of the feta. There was a good variety of textures too. And the plate looked like an artist's palette! (Crappy Blackberry photo aside)

   I've learned two things: 1) Parsnips are DELICIOUS. And thank goodness, because I had to buy a whole bag. They look like white carrots, and taste similar, but with a little more aromatic spiciness. Yum. Kristin said that parsnip puree is to die for. That may be up next.  And: 2) One SMALL box of couscous makes a LOT of couscous. If anyone is in the mood for Greek salad, please, for the love of God, don't make any. Help me eat mine!

Sulky Shiba

   The dogs often hang out outside all weekend, when the weather's nice. They really enjoy it (partly because they can run off all the birds, squirrels, rabbits, and the like).

   So while I was outside grilling barbequed pork chops, I glanced up to see that Mr. Taylor had gone up to the top level of the deck--the closest vantage point to the grill surface--to see if he could nap a chop. He was standing there sticking his head through the railing and leaning forward expectantly. At some point he admitted defeat and laid down, sulking like a child. So funny!

   And while I was eating dinner (with the dogs stashed safely outside), Gypsy was all over me, trying to get the pork. It reminded me of a comedian I heard years ago, who joked about beef-flavored cat food in a bag that promised that it "satisfied a cat's natural craving for beef." And then went on to paint the picture of cats stalking cattle in the fields. Apparently Gypsy would prefer to stalk hogs.

Food Porn

   I don't wanna brag, but I grill a damn good steak. And the corn and roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta aren't so bad, either!

Memorial Day Shenanigans

   Madeline hosted a Memorial Day BBQ for her parents, Kelly, Erica & her daughter, Bob & Ana, and me. And she graciously allowed me to bring the brats with me, who had fun trying to keep Bruce in line, as usual. Wish I had caught more of the "Shiba roars" on video. All three were really wound up... and tired that evening. Yesss!!!

   While the dogs wore themselves out, we indulged on key lime margaritas, grilled steaks and corn on the cob, and no less than 1000 other delicacies. (Seriously, Madeline is going to have to get a bigger dining room table if we keep partying like this.)

Oh, and Diane made pie. Sweet, sweet pie...

Meanwhile, in the back yard:

"We'd like some steak, please."

Planning the jailbreak:

Bruce, in his natural habitat:

   Not surprisingly, Wayne was the dogs' best friend. Taylor wouldn't leave his side, and it made Bruce a lil' jealous:

Cool sign in Madeline's collection:

   I'm pretty sure it says, "Thanks, Tompkins family, for your hospitality and all the yummy goodies."  :)

Steak vs. Octopus

   Just made a big, fabulous dinner. I fired up the grill for the first time this year & grilled KC strip steaks; and I whipped up some broccoli of the gods, sweet potato fries, garlic bread—the works!

   And now I wish I hadn't filled up on sour octopus gummies... Evil! They are delicious-slash-EVIL!!! That'll teach me to eat dessert first.