Should We Get Them?

These pups await me in Hattiesburg, MS. A friend of Ari's posted their need for a home on facebook, and I have been wondering about them. Ari took these pics for me this evening, and while I never thought I'd be a lab person, I think I very well could be. Aren't they cute? Don't worry; I'm not so blind to see my personal belongings being destroyed and the nightmares in potty training. Oh yes, there would be some intense training upon their arrival. Still. Aren't they cute? Should we get one? None? The pair? I kinda like the idea of them having each other when we're not home. I LIKE DOGGIES.

The pups aside, today was a good day. I chatted it up with a few of my peeps, got some crap put away, and made dinner out of nothing. We're almost out of food, and I need to go grocery shopping but didn't get the chance today. Instead, Ma and I chatted, bounced some dinner ideas off each other, and I scouted around on the internet for some inspiration What Joe and I ended up eating was this: Goat-cheesed stuffed chicken breasts over a bed of noodles, topped with sauteed mushrooms cooked until nearly crunchy (yum), with a brown sauce over all and steamed broccoli on the side. How did I do it? Like this: I minced (yes, I do mince it myself a lot) a clove of garlic, a scallion, and some fresh parsley. I put this all together in a bowl and added butter and goat cheese. S&P too. I then mashed and mixed it all together. Delicious flavor. Set that aside. Then washed and sliced some regular white (what are they?) mushrooms and began browning them in a pan with butter and olive oil. At some point I cooked some spaghetti noodles - a mix of enriched and whole wheat and steamed the broccoli. The beautiful part was the massive chicken breast. I cut a pocket into it and stuffed it with the goat cheese mixture. Then I dredged it a bit in flour and dipped it in a beaten egg/water mixture. I seared it briefly on both sides, and then cooked it the rest of the way in the oven. After it finished, I made a sauce with the leftovers in the pan, adding some chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, and thyme, and then divided the breast and plated everything. Joe and I ate voraciously. Even though he said he really liked it and that this style of cooking is one of his favorites that I do, it was confirmed when I saw him scraping the remnants off of his fork and knife and eating the bits of food. It was great. And thanks for the help Ma - you really are the best cook I know. I wouldn't be able to do half this shit if it wasn't for you.

And while I'm on the subject of what is the underlying creativity of my mother, let me give a few shout outs to the family. My mother's side of the family is wildly talented in their artistic abilities. My oma went to Pratt Institute for dress making/design way back in the day. I've heard she had an excellent eye for it, but got married and had kids before she did a lot with it. Where I saw her ability shine through the most was in her oil/acrylic paintings. My god, she could paint. I can buy shit for hundreds of dollars, and it will never compare to the dancer painting I have of hers. As for my mom's dad, well, he can paint too and was a furniture designer for many years. I don't know a whole lot about him, except that he worked for RCA at some point and eventually painted a water color bird that my dad has hung on to. I think he also designed and built one of his houses. And then there's my mother. Mom, you can paint water colors that look like photographs. It's really amazing. Also, you're perfecting your hand at cartooning. ;-) You have an eye for most things 'design,' and I will always trust the modern version of your judgment - be it your santas and angels you make or your suggestions on where I should place my furniture. It's good stuff. I have always been proud of my family for their artistic abilities. I remember looking through Mom's portfolio a lot when I was little and thinking it was so cool that she could draw. Even though I can't draw or even begin to paint, I'm glad I got a little of the creativity in my cooking. My sister turned out to be a helluva cook as well, and I think both our respective fellas are pretty pleased with us. Yay for that damn Jaeger gene!!

Now. What about those dogs??