Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! We don't have time to chat because we are busy cooking away! So here are some great shots of Hef enjoying his treats! Oh yeah, what are we cooking? That's a big surprise, any guesses?

Little B Update

So change of schedule, Little B will be going in for her spay tomorrow, Monday morning. Good thoughts need, I am a nervous Mama! Our other pups were spayed before they came home, before we got attached, and I've never cared for a pup straight out of surgery so I am nervous!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Alright we are back in the kitchen! I daren't type out an honored recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, besides you should all have a copy yourself! I will go through my experience and share some photos. Unfortunately it wasn't specified which mushrooms to use and I don't have a lot of mushroom experience so I stuck with basic white button mushrooms. I have to say I was dying to share this with Hef's dad, since he is a great love of Campbell's version.

 Of course we start off with a lot of chopped mushrooms, stems and caps separated!

 Here is the first soup base, onions and mushroom stems with chicken stock, and already it smells delicious! Just thinking about it made me stop and go to heat up a bowl.

My kitchen helpers, Little B actually alerted me to stop taking pictures and check the butter because it is foaming and its time to add the caps.

 Now when I moved in with Hef's dad oh those 3 years ago, I never thought I could separate an egg! It's so easy now, but it still amazes me!

 Here is where I got nervous, so much mushroom and very little butter in the pan but it cooked down and of course Julia & Simone & Louisette are right as always.

 I've said it before and I'll say it again, French Cooking uses every pot in your kitchen. At this point the soup stock and the mushrooms had to be combined with the heavy cream and afore mentioned egg yolks. Instructions call for a mixing bowl but I don't have one large enough and I knew I'd have to reheat this when Hef's dad got home so out came the Le Creuset and whisking/combining began.

 And in the end we have a delightful bowl of soup! I don't like black pepper but when Hef's dad makes Campbell's he usually puts it right in the pot so I couldn't have a bowl of Cream of Mushroom without a tiny bit of it. For my vegetarian friends I'm sure you could vegetable stock but I don't know what you would do about the egg yolks and cream. Isn't that ok for vegetarians? Is it just vegans that won't use any animal products?

Perfect for this kinda sorta winter we are having!

Little B at the vet!

Unfortunately I realized in the car I had called the wrong vet, but I really wanted to get Little B spayed and started with her shots, so we went anyway. I was nervous because I had bad experiences with this vet, muzzling Shadow, giving me a lecture that Big Bandit should never be around children, etc. but things went pretty well. The vet told me that Little B has all her adult teeth, so she has to be at least 7 months old so it's finally confirmed she is 8 months old as I was told. Little B was very well behaved, she listened to my commands, and just sat and watched as two other dogs nearly got in a dog fight. She made me very proud.

So Little B got her rabies and distemper, and she is scheduled to get spayed a week from today, Valentine's Day, the poor thing! She got a puppy package, which included her shots, and some starter flea medicine, heart medicine, id tag and spaying. 

The first thing the vet said was that her ears were standing up nice, boy are they!

 Now we are going to take on the task of Mastering the Art of French Cooking this afternoon. We are going to attempt Cream of Mushroom soup as a surprise for Hef's Dad since he is obsessed with the Campbell's version!

Puppy Hugs

Let's all give Little Bandit a big hug today, she is going to the vet for the first time! She is getting puppy shots and probably staying overnight to get spayed! I'm a bit of a nervous mama, what with all the horror stories of animals going under!

Have I talked about the dog park before? I don't remember! About 20 minutes from The Bunny Lounge is a little island park that has gone to the dogs. It's not an official dog park but I have been to official dog parks and they stink! This place is great and the pups have a lot of fun. They are always worn out and it has really helped Little Bandit come out of her shell. So we are going there today to have a good romp before all this vet business!

Polska Bean Stew

Ok, so we're back in the kitchen! I have to say it was a successful and delicious return. Now BL already sneaked a peek on my facebook page but for the rest of you here it is! To get the formal stuff out of the way here is the recipe, http://www.hillshirefarm.com/recipes/polska-bean-stew.aspx, the only substitution I made was beef broth instead of chicken broth. Ok, now for the Hef's Mom review:

With this much Bacon I think we are off to a good start!
 

Looking good, I think this could easily be a vegan recipe. This is before the tomatoes and polish sausage are added. What I really like about this dish is that the carrots did not turn to mush but were soft and sweet. Have to simmer 20 minutes at this point.

Look how big Little B is getting!

Back to the stew! This picture is upside down, but you can see how yummy  it is! It is hearty and perfect  for this weirdo winter we are having!

Here you go, a bowl for you!