With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, what better way to celebrate the “Season of Love” than with a special story about love.

The Greatest Love::A Mother’s Love

Check out what we are talking about here.

Once upon a time, I was alone and scared.  My owners dropped me off at Helen Woodward Animal Center in August 2008 because they could not take care of me.  I was sad and I missed my home and my family.  I did not understand why one day I had a home and the next day I was an orphan living in a cage.  I retreated into my own little world, sleeping at the back of my kennel and never wagging my tail.

Then I started to work with Rob, the trainer at Helen Woodward Animal Center, and I learned to start trusting people.  I made many friends among Helen Woodward’s staff:  everyone knew my name and I started to smile and wag my tail.  Then one day in September a family came to get me.  They took me home with them and everything worked out for awhile but ultimately I did not fit into their family.  So I was returned.

I was sad to be back and everyone at Helen Woodward was sad that I was returned.  My daily interaction with my favorite friends there made the difference.  So many people loved me and I was very lucky, except for one thing-I did not have a family of my own.  Days passed and the Holidays came and went, and I spent all my time in my kennel.  When eager faces peared into my kennel to see me, I retreated.  I refused to get my hopes up that anyone would take me home with them.  Until…..

….one special day in January.  The right person came and looked into my kennel.  He said he knew immediately that I was the right dog for him.  He was right, I knew it too!  He asked to meet me and took me to the field to play fetch.  It was love at first sight for both of us.  Thanks to Helen Woodward, I have a new family that loves me and wants me to be part of their family!

P.S. I left a whole bunch of four-legged friends back at Helen Woodward Animal Center that are looking for their forever families-click here to see them!

~The End~

-Sawyer

As of 12/28/08, which is week 13 of the Home 4 the Holidays campaign, the goal of 1 million adoptions has been SURPASSED !!!!

Conservative estimates project that 1,088,506 orphans have been adopted out by the worldwide participants in the Iams Home 4 the Holidays Adoption Drive (which was started at Helen Woodward Animal Center in 1999) since October 1.

The goal of 1 million lives saved has been met with one week to go!

As a result of our puppy, I have had little time to cook, let alone post about what we have recently been cooking.  Plus, I am sorry to say a lot of what we have been eating has been the same old boring, easy to make staple-including, which I am not proud of, lots of frozen dishes from Trader Joe’s!  Hopefully in the upcoming weeks, we will have more time to try new things.  Awhile back, I found a recipe on a blog for fideos and have been wanting to try it ever since.  The time finally came this week!

Fideos is a traditional Mexican or Spanish dish.  The name comes from the term fideo, which refers to a special type of noodle that is similar to vermicelli.  The method of this dish is very similar to risotto in that the noodles are toasted and then finish cooking in a liquid.  There is no limit to the variations that could be made on this dish.

Fideos (adapted from a recipe found on What Did You Eat?

4 to 5 cups stock, see below
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces thin egg noodles
salt and freshly milled black pepper
1/2-1 cup crumbled queso (if you can’t find Queso use feta cheese)
1/3 - 2/3 cup grated Monterey jack cheese

Stock:

1 onion, chopped (can use red or yellow onion or a combination of the two)
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 T cumin (less if you are not as fond of cumin as I am!)
1.5 jalapeño chiles, seeded, veins removed, chopped
4 cups chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (preferably fire roasted)
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)

Garnish:
Fage Greek Yogurt/sour cream
chopped parsley or cilantro

For the stock, I chose to use the base of my tortilla soup, but you could use any stock you wanted adapting it to your desired degree of spiciness.  To make the stock, saute onion, garlic, and jalapenos for 3-4 minutes in a large pot. Add cumin and mix well. Stir in reserved chicken broth, canned tomatoes, and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Using either a blender, cuisinart, or immersion blender, puree broth.  Set aside.

Meanwhile, add the oil to a wide skillet and heat over medium heat.  Add the noodles and cook, stirring and lifting constantly until the noodles are browned–about 3 to 6 minutes.   Remove to paper towels.

Add 4 cups of the stock to the skillet and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and and simmer until most of the liquid has absorbed, and the noodles are no longer crunchy and cooked through, about 10 minutes.  If they are still crunchy or the liquid boils away before they are cooked, begin adding more of the stock.  Preheat broiler.

Season noodles with salt and pepper and sprinkle cheese on top.  Broil until the cheese has melted.  Garnish with sour cream and Parsley.

We ate it too quickly for a picture-Oops!

Radda….Named after the small town of Radda in Chianti just outside of Siena.

Radda was adopted from the Helen Woodward Animal Center as part of Iams Home 4 the Holidays, a worldwide pet adoption drive that runs from October 1st through January 5th, 2009.  The goal for this year’s adoption drive is to have 1 million animals adopted into loving forever families!

If you are looking to adopt, check out one of the 3,200+ shelters participating in the Iams Home 4 the Holidays program to help an orphaned puppy, kitten, dog, or cat find their forever home.

Inspired by a recipe in Eating Well

I had come across this recipe awhile ago and have been wanting to try it. Since I just recently found a reliable fish market here, this was one of the first recipes that I tried. It came out quite good. You can really taste the mojito flavor in the fish. I happened to use swordfish but I am sure it would be good on any white fish, shrimp, scallops, or even chicken.

2 shallots, minced
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup rum
1 tablespoon freshly grated lime zest
1/2 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. Combine ingredients is a bowl or in a ziplock bad.

2. Add fish (there is enough marinade for 1-2 pounds). Marinate for 1 hour.

3. Cook fish to desired “doneness.”

Nestled amid Palermo’s chaotic traffic and beautiful Baroque/Norman/Arab inspired architecture lies Giardino Garibaldi, famous for it’s unique Banyan Trees.  While we were visiting Palermo, we took Ollie down to the Garden to stretch his legs.  It was a beautiful reprieve from Palermo and all of it’s chaos.  The garden is located at Piazza Marina, where Aragonese weddings and military victories were held during the 16th century.  The garden and piazza also has a more sinister past as well, being a site of executions.

What is most unique about the garden are the banyan trees with their exposed, large, hanging roots.  Neither of us had seen anything like it.

Interested in reading more???  Check out our related posts or the New York Times’ recent article:  36 Hours in Palermo.

Related posts:

Palermo:  Are we really in Italy????

Palermo, Sicily, Kebabs, a horrible hotel, and a really expensive glass of wine

Coffee is a huge part of life in Italy. Cafe’s are on every street corner and everyone starts their day off at their preferred cafe. We quickly got into the routine of a morning caffe and an occasional pasta (pastry). The beauty of the caffe atmosphere is that it is quick and cheap. Forget about spending $10 at Starbucks in one trip! We tried a few different caffes, finally finding our favorite: Caffe Fiorella, right off the Campo. Despite it’s touristy location, Caffe Fiorella was always filled with locals, the prices were great, and they served the best caffe in all of Siena. Next time you are in Siena, check out Caffe Fiorella, you won’t be disappointed!

Types of Coffee:
Caffe (espresso): a small cup of very strong coffee, i.e. espresso
Caffe Americano: American style coffee, but stronger; weaker than espresso and served in a large cup
Caffe corretto: coffee “corrected” with a shot of grappa, cognac, or other spirit
Caffe doppio: double espresso
Caffe freddo: iced coffee
Caffe hag: decaffinated coffee
Caffe latte: hot milk mixed with coffee and served in a glass for breakfast
Caffe macchiato: espresso “stained” with a drop of milk; small version of a cappuccino
Caffe Marocchino: espresso with a dash of hot milk and cacao powder
Caffe stretto: espresso with less water; rocket fuel!
Cappuccino: espresso infused with steamed milk and drunk in the morning, but never at lunch of dinner!
Granita di caffe con panna: frozen, iced beverage topped with whipped cream

During these hot summer days, a nice cold coffee is always a good idea:

Caffe Freddo Recipe (Courtesy of Bleeding Espresso):
Make a large pot of espresso or other coffee of your liking. After the coffee is done, add sugar, stir completely, and let cool. Refrigerate for a few hours or over night. After the espresso has cooled completely, add ice cubes and milk to the cold, sweetened coffee. Yum! Do not drink this before bed time!