Dog Paws

Dakota and Lenny have had so many 'irritated paws' that I don't even need to go to the vet anymore. Love the savings.

In my arsenal of remedies you'll find Epson salt, canine prescription antibiotic cream, dog socks and if things get really bad - a dog cone. Can you hear them screaming noooooooo, not the cone?

This week Dakota is the recipient of Epson salt soaks, antibiotic cream and dog booties. Oddly enough he hasn't chewed off the booties yet. Oh my...why did I say that?

Should have gone to the beach

We talked about going to the beach this weekend. We decided yes. Then we decided no. Our bad. Should have gone to the beach on this gorgeous October weekend.

Stove-top Pot Roast

Stove-top Pot Roast with Mushroom, Rosemary and Sage Gravy. Mmmmm good. I had to share. Nothing in this recipe is set in stone. You can substitute your favorite herbs, liquids and veggies to customize it to your taste buds. I love a recipe like that!

You need a heavy Dutch Oven (or similar type pot) to make this on top of the stove. I created it by adapting a recipe I found at KalynsKitchen.com.

This is a comfort meal that is perfect for the chilly nights of fall that are coming our way. It is easy to make ahead and sure to please even the picky pallets in your household. Add mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable side-dish to the menu and you'll have a meal fit for a king (or at least the king of your household :))

INGREDIENTS

• 3 lb bone-in blade roast (or any roast of choice)
• Low sodium Montreal Steak Seasoning (or steak seasoning of choice)
• Olive oil for browning
• 2 or 3 large carrots
• 2 onions, peeled and cut in fourths
• 2 T chopped fresh sage
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary cut into large pieces
• 2 T Better than Bouillon Base - beef, vegetable or mushroom flavor
• 1/2 - 1 C water, canned broth or homemade stock
• 1.5  lb mushrooms cleaned and cut in half (more if serving on the side; see note below)
• 1 C dry red wine (can substitute water, broth or stock)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 T white whole wheat flour and 2 T water (if needed)

DIRECTIONS

• Trim all visible fat from the roast including inside pockets. This may leave the roast in multiple pieces but that is okay. If you would prefer to cook the roast whole with the fat you will need to separate the fat before making gravy.
• Generously rub all sides of the roast with steak rub of your choice.
• Heat olive oil in a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat. Brown all sides of roast until well seared. If using a non-stick pan, you may need to add a little butter to achieve desired searing. Do not let oil or butter smoke or burn.
• Create a single layer of carrots on bottom of Dutch Oven by cutting the carrots in 1/2 or 1/3; whichever will fit best.
• Place browned meat on top of carrots.
• Add quartered onions, chopped sage and cut sprigs of rosemary to Dutch Oven.
• Mix Better Than Bouillon Base into water. Use mixture to de-glaze skillet then add all liquid and tasty bits from the skillet to the Dutch Oven.
• Add additional water, broth or homemade stock to Dutch Oven if needed. There should be enough liquid so the carrots are covered and meat is just barely sitting in the liquid.
• Let roast cook at the lowest possible simmer for 3-6 hours (stay closer to 3 hours if you like your roast slightly chewy  and closer to 6 hours if you like it fall-apart stringy).
• Add mushrooms and cook for at least 1 hour. If your meat still needs more time you can continue cooking everything in the pot for up to 3 more hours.
• At this point you can let the food cool slightly and put the Dutch Oven into the refrigerator to process at a later time. When removing from the refrigerator skim fat from surface as needed.
• If continuing: remove roast, carrots, mushrooms and onions from pot. Discard onions and set aside mushrooms, carrots and meat.
• If you cooked your roast with the fat left on, use a fat separater on the liquid in the Dutch Oven. If you thoroughly trimmed the fat from the roast you can skip this step.
• In a blender puree liquid from Dutch Oven, carrots, mushrooms and 1 C red wine (or substitute) until smooth. Depending on amount of liquid and size of blender you may need to do this in batches. 
• Return pureed liquid to Dutch Oven. Taste for flavor. If flavor is too heavy add up to 1 C water. If flavor is too light add up to 1 C beef stock. Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Simmer on low with the lid ajar for about 1 hour. Taste for flavor and adjust as needed.
• If gravy is too thin you can thicken with 1 part flour to 2 parts water. Whisk slowly into gravy and simmer for 10 more minutes or until gravy thickens.
• To serve, cut roast into serving-sized pieces and spoon gravy over meat.

Note: If you would like to serve mushrooms on the side increase amount of mushrooms added to Dutch Oven. When pureeing gravy, set this desired amount of mushrooms aside with the beef.

It's was an OooLaLa kind of Weekend

Last weekend we decided to attack the problem of Lake Kathleen by digging a French drain.

Were you expecting a more exciting topic? Shame on you with your mind in the gutter :)

When it rains really hard - or when it rains for hours at a time without a break - the back patio fills with water. I'm not talking a little water. I'm talking about a few inches of water covering the concrete slab all the way to the porch steps. Enough water that little kids can run around splashing and have a ton of fun (I know that first hand). Enough water that little fish could consider it their personal pond (I don't know that first hand but I can see it being true).

Papa was going to have James do this job a couple of years ago but James had other plans for his hands so the job sat on hold.

Phase 1 is complete. Now we will let everything settle and then go back in with a final layer of pea gravel, dirt and grass. Jeesh that pea gravel is expensive - had I known how much it cost I would have grabbed a bucketful every time I went to the beach this summer!

BTW...don't know why Papa named it Lake Kathleen - maybe it was because I had fun splashing in it with the kids :) but nearly 10 rainy winters ago that is what Papa named it and we've called it that ever since.

He makes cutting the concrete with his diamond blade saw look easy but trust me, it wasn't.

 

After using a sledge hammer to separate the concrete along the saw line, he broke it up into manageable pieces with  a long crow bar. This was an enormously difficult job that required a few breaks along the way to give the arms and back a rest.

Ditch is dug end to end.

As it turned out, there actually was drainage in place when the house was built  nearly 30 years ago. It had stopped functioning long ago as it was packed 'tighter than a new memory foam bed-topper in a shrink wrap plastic bag' with dirt.

Oh bother. They installed the water lines for the automatic sprinkler ABOVE the drain. What a pain :/

Of course nothing got done without Supervisor Dakota getting all close-up and personal. 

The new drain is laid. Is it long enough? Does it have enough of a slope? Does it need tweaking in any way before I bury it? Measure twice, cut once is Contractor John's motto!

Trying to find the right fitting for the downspout proved problematic. 

No

Yes!

Time to fill in the French drain.

Bring on the rain...well, no rush really...but you know what I mean :)
All that's left is finish work on the rockery, grass seed, plantings and more pea gravel as it settles over the winter. 

Wednesday is Important

No. I'm not talking about the presidential debates on Wednesday night. We all know how they will sound. "I'm blah, blah, blah, blah. I will blah, blah, blah, blah. He did blah, blah, blah, blah. But I will do blah, blah, blah, blah.Vote for me!"

A bit cynical? Yes, I suppose so. I've been well trained by many years of listening to politicians...that said, I will of course listen again and eagerly hope for something different than blah, blah, blah, blah.

Wednesday is important because Mr. Keurig is back in the house! 

He's new. He's improved. He's making coffee for me after I wake up Wednesday morning. All is right in the universe.

Dief Flashback

Look at those faces from 26 years ago. Twenty-six years! Can you see who they are today in where they came from yesterday?

Gosh, I absolutely love this photo I stumbled upon.