i'm not exaggerating when i say he's the best dog in the world

Hello, frenemies. It's been a tough day here at GFD HQ. I rolled out of bed at 7:15 a.m. (which is a full hour earlier than I usually rise, and two full hours earlier than I like to get up) to get started on the redonkulous amount of work I have to do (still!). I'd made a tight little schedule (7:15: wake up; 7:16: pee; 7:17: drink a glass of water), but the best laid plans of mice and men and little dogs go oft awry.

At 7:18 our little dog sneezed; at 9:30 we were still sopping up the blood from his hemorrhaging nose. When the vet used the word "euthanasia" on the phone at 9:44 a.m., I laid on the recently mopped floor and sobbed for two hours. Which was not on the schedule. Then I euthanized the vet, and around noon got down to work.

All of which is to say, I don't have much energy for bl*gging. So I offer you Mojie's ace-in-the-hole, which she served to me this past Saturday night. It was a farm-to-table dinner, the farm being Mojie's front-yard garden, the table being one I eat at as regularly as I can invite myself over, and the dinner being delicious.


Linguine With Tomatoes and Basil

4 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 pound Brie cheese, rind removed, torn into irregular pieces [Mojie did not use brie, thank god -- any ripe, soft-ish cheese will do; see Mojie's other recipe notes below.]
1 cup cleaned fresh basil leaves, cut into strips
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
1 cup best quality olive oil
salt to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds linguine
freshly grated imported Parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Combine tomatoes, brie, basil, garlic, 1 cup olive oil, salt and pepper in a large serving bowl. Prepare at least 2 hours before serving and set aside, covered, at room temperature.

2. Bring 6 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Add the linguine and boil until al dente, about 10 minutes.

3. Drain pasta and immediately toss with the tomato sauce. Serve immediately

[Notes from Mojie: "I didn't use brie and I used some big tomatoes and some sun golds and I didn't bother with the parmesan cheese."]

And because we were celebrating the yachtsman's birthday, my stepmother made a blueberry pound cake from an ancient family recipe (speaking of dogs, it seems relevant that I mention here that my stepmother was called Candy growing up, and she had a dog named Bimbo; I'm just sayin'):


And because we were celebrating the yachtsman's birthday, Mojie provided some fancy, local red meat. Here's what the big boys ate:


I'm thinking my little dog deserves a nice steak right about now. He can eat the ribeye while I crawl into that bottle of pink wine.

grump factor 6

When I'm in a bad mood, Chris usually asks if I'm at Grump Factor 6. When I once claimed to be at Grump Factor 10, Chris informed me that the Grump Index only goes up to 6, but I swear to you, I've been at Grump Factor 79 for the past couple of days.

For example, when I realized today that I didn't have one of the ingredients for my planned lunch, I considered lying down on the floor and crying. But there was just too much dog hair.

Usually I like to eat leftovers for lunch (e.g., make a pot of soup one night for dinner and eat it for lunch the next couple of days). When I know leftovers will not be an option, I buy black beans, whole wheat tortillas (as with pasta, I swear that whole wheat is better than white), cheese, lettuce, an avocado, lime, and salsa, and I make a burrito each day for lunch.

Burritos are a great lunch. I love beans, avocado is my favorite food, cheese is an asset to any meal, lettuce gives the illusion of healthfulness... But today my burrito was foiled. It was foiled by mis-shopping, and it was foiled by Grump Factor 6.

First, I accidentally bought black soy beans instead of black beans. What the fuck are black soy beans? Whatever they are, they're not going in my burrito, because grumpiness and trying new things do not mix. And this description from the can wasn't particularly compelling: "Organic Black Soy Beans are the best edible soybean variety." It was quite a competition: Once the inedible poop beans were taken out of the running, the edible black soy beans won.

Without beans, I didn't have a burrito, so I made a quesadilla, which is just not the same. Plus, I didn't have lime for my avocado (which I usually mash with lime juice, salt, and Cholula hot sauce), my salsa was old and watery and a little fizzy, there is nowhere to put lettuce on a quesadilla...

In spite of its deficiencies, I managed to force this plateful of food down my throat, which will hopefully give me the strength I need to vacuum up all that dog hair so that when the next crisis occurs I can just throw myself to the ground and weep.