Life with Lark: Day Four

Just in case you think it is all cuddles and cute?; last night was a mess!

Despite two humans going to three pet stores in two days, we failed to see how low the adult dog kibble was in the tub.  Mid afternoon Monday I hit Meijer's for people food and also went to the pet store. I procured 25 pounds of Big Girl chow. As I was checking out, I impulse purchased three tiny lil .99 chew things. I did check the ingredients, potato starch. Shouldn't be a problem. Came home and gave each doggo a treat. Luna, sniffed and was unimpressed. Keiki chomped hers down in about five seconds. Lark immediately ran to her crate and started happily gnawing. Head and chewie in the corner, butt towards Keiki who was all, "Hey, if you don't. want that..."  After about two minutes Lark was over it and went to investigate something else. Keiki helped herself. Keiki also stole Luna's untouched chewie. Within about ten minutes Keiki had inhaled all three.

After dinner (6ish) Keiki a.) did NOT want dinner and b.) got really sleepy, odd but it has been an exciting few days. But then, c.) she was shivering. Pete and I are both now on high alert watching Keiki and wondering if she ate a dead thing that was disagreeing with her or if something horrible had happened. About 7:30pm she comes over to me, nudging with a big drool string. Her face was very "I don't feel good. Do I have to go to school?" I sat up and started to pet her face when she vomited all the yuck. Big chunks of stupid chewies and a lot of puppy kibble prominent in the slop. Well. That answered that. As we are busy cleaning that up, (#romance) Lark decides it is time for a poo. IN THE LIBRARY.  ADORABLE. #sigh. This is exactly what I signed up for! I got what I asked for!

well actually....Pack Integration is going remarkably well. Keiki is very protective/maternal of the puppy. Luna could care less. Lark is hilarious and supercute, even if she likes to poo in warm dark corners. She has asked to go out a couple times. YAY! It is wet and cold out there and she hadn't ever been out of a shelter before moving in.

In fact, in the last week she has moved from TN, lost her mom, lost her sibs, got spayed, met Luna and Keiki. Met a cat. (Which has since disappeared now that Izzy & Peppercorn are back in the D. Explain that to a puppy!) Learned how to handle stairs and couches (did I mention adorable?) and her kibble is the most delicious kibble in the house, except to her. She wants the aforementioned Big Girl kibble.  Oi.   PS-- Z has some nasty virus and it would be cruel to leave them all alone so no swimming today.

Meet Lark!

We have been watching the HVHS web page for some time. It is pretty obvious that Keiki needs a playmate. I posted on FB about how close we got with Gunther (10 month GSD male). But he was not a good match, especially for poor old Luna. He was a handsome and horny young man. Yes, ten months is technically a pup, but there is a big diff between 2 month old baby and 10 month old teenager. SHEESH. My bad. It has been a hot minute since we had a REAL baby type pup. We realized what we need is YOUNG female.  So, we watched and waited. Patience would reward us. The LoveTrain (tm) came up from TN on Weds the 22nd and we popped in to see if any of the six or seven little females listed on that Friday would be nice to meet. Keiki met "Gumdrop". Little pupper did not roll over and wet herself in fear. Little Pupper did not act like an aggressive asshole. Keiki was very tail waggy and kindly curious. I suspect she thought Lark was a cat. Lark is the same size as Izzy's cat Peppercorn who is a welcome guest. We asked to bring Little Pupper home. I was sore tempted to bring her two litter mates with her but that seemed a bit crazy.

Now we have three dogs. My darling BFF, Luna who is a 12 year old GSD. Luna has bad hips and is selectively deaf. Vet says her numbers are those of a younger dog but she really can't keep up with Keiki. Keiki is our two year old Lab/Pibble mix. She is a doll. Smart, and very sweet and VERY ENERGETIC. Even on the days she and Pete run 3-5 miles in the morning she often wants to go to the dog park in the afternoon and/or have a good game of whip it/fetch. Surprisingly, (insert sarcasm here) Keiki doesn't want to sit and write for hours. If she and Pete do NOT run in the a.m. there needs to be multiple long walks during the day. Good thing I am not teaching anymore. :P She needed a pal. We matched with "Gumdrop".  "Gumdrop" came home. Her litter mates were named Fudge and Toffee. The themes the shelter volunteers get going when they process in all these critters is amusing but really? I am not gonna get caught calling a dog "Gumdrop". This month's Love Train theme was all candy. We looked at Reese's and MilkyWay too... but remember this same group of humans named Keiki "Crostini"? Whatever! LOL. Need a REAL name.

After a hilarious hours long group chat brain storming monikers with the entire family, I settled on Lark. Which may or may not be based on Dylan Larkin.  Lark is the nickname for this 23 year old gentleman. He is smart. He plays fiercely but isn't a goon. He is an excellent role model. Even if he is a boy and our Lark is a girl, the bird lark is a funny color and so is our puppy. She isn't quite inky shadow black like Keiki, nor is she legit chocolate (ie dark warm brown). Her coat is kind of a cast iron. Not silver steel gray, but shimmery opal smoky gray. Weird.  I mean Keiki is like a black hole. She absorbs light. Lark's coat is a powdered velvety storm cloud gray.

Doesn't matter because in less than 48 hours Keiki has assumed the doting big sister role for her lil MiniMe. Keiki a.) LISTENS when Lark barks a NO THANKYOU I AM NAPPING fierce little babyYoda bark. (lol) and b.) shared some big girl kibble! c.) comes to wake Lark up if she and Luna are going outside. d.) occasionally and very gently checks the incision site on Lark's tummy (spay surgery) e.) snuggles all together in a puppy pile.
Luna could care less. Just a couple sharp barks of "NO. I am NOT sharing MY kibble!" and general aloof disregard. I am pleased.

New Fiestaware (tm)!

Hmmm, a correction already. The Fiestaware(tm) is only new to ME. I scored a "range top shaker" in Paprika. I am going to fill it with special popcorn sprinkle. I was inspired by Bon Appétit's Brad Leone. In episode 57 of his youtube show “It's Alive!”  he made fermented popcorn seasoning. It sounded delicious. Brad shows us how to dehydrate and then he blended sauerkraut, kimchi, and miso into his own custom fermented spice blend. I started the dehydrator this morning! Kimchi seems to be moving along a bit quicker than   the miso. I am hoping to have it done for hockey tonight.

National Popcorn Day

I just read that Americans, on average, eat 51 quarts of popcorn per year. ROFLMAO. Well friend, I eat about that much PER MONTH!  

My standard base recipe is yellow/golden popcorn. (Organic and local if possible.) Olive or canola oil in a heavy bottom pan. Said pan should have a tight fitting lid. Cover one layer of kernels in oil. Med to Med High Heat.  The standard butter and sea salt gets a little monotonous so here are some fun riffs and a suggestion for a lovely beverage.

Rosemary-Parmesan Toss hot popcorn with 1/2 cup grated parmesan, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary (or powdered rosemary) and 2 teaspoons kosher salt. I would choose a fizzy grapefruit drink here.

Cinnamon Sugar Drizzle Mix 6 tablespoons melted butter w/2 tablespoons cinnamon and two tablespoons gran sugar. Drizzle over 12 cups hot popcorn, sprinkle with salt. Maybe with hot cocoa? Or a chocolate martini.

Buffalo Make Buffalo Wings sauce:  1/4 c Franks red Hot sauce 1/2 c melted butter. Celery salt & Blue Cheese Powder (Spice House dot com).

Strawberry Pulse 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries and 6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar in a food processor until powdery. Drizzle 4 tablespoons melted butter over 16 cups hot popcorn and sprinkle with the strawberry sugar. Toss with 1 cup freeze-dried strawberries. Drink a Faygo Redpop!

Cajun Melt 4 tablespoons butter with 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne and finely chopped scallions; drizzle over 16 cups hot popcorn and toss. Season with salt. Have a Sazerac!

Sesame Heat 6 tablespoons butter with 2/3 cup sesame seeds in a small skillet over medium heat until the seeds are toasted, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon each sesame oil, and sea salt.  I would go with green iced tea.

Three-Cheese Toss hot popcorn with 2 cups of dehydrated cheddar, 1 cup grated parmesan and 1/2 cup grated pecorino; spread on baking sheets.   Classic very malleable flavor palette, how about a nice vodka tonic?

Brown Butter Sage   fry a large bunch fresh sage leaves in butter till crispy. Reserving butter, remove leaves. Let cool, then crumble on top. OJ & vodka 

Furikake   Toss 16 cups hot popcorn with store bought sprinkles. Serve with sake!

Sriracha-Lime  Whisk 5 tablespoons melted butter with 1/4 cup Sriracha, 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime zest and 1 tablespoon lime juice; drizzle over 16 cups hot popcorn and toss. Season with salt. Have a Michelada!

Chipotle Melt 4 tablespoons butter with 2 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce and 1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder; drizzle over 16 cups hot popcorn. Cold Coke.

Peanutbutter Cup Heat 1 cup honey and 3/4 cup sugar over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup peanut butter and 1 teaspoon each vanilla extract and kosher salt until smooth; pour over 16 cups hot popcorn and 2 cups peanuts 2 cups of mini dark choc chips and toss. Spread on baking sheets and let cool. Pair with a Giant glass of milk.

the yogurt

I like playing with my food. I have made Farmer's cheese. I have made Skiir/Skyr several times. I made yogurt once before and decided to do it again. My crockpot is my best friend.  Yesterday's science started with a half gallon of whole milk and we got about two pints of 'gurt and a little over three quarts of whey. 

2020. A real week.

Got through the holidays OK. Nice normal week this week. Becky yesterday. Goddess bless her. Swam for 25 minutes today. I am seeing way too much sugar still going in my face. Had two margaritas to celebrate J's bDay last night. Xmas chocolates still drifting about.

Getting a better handle on GF carbs. Generally they taste like ass. I mean things that are SUPPOSED TO BE GF (corn chips, almond crackers, rice chips etc) are fine, but when you want a god damn cupcake that measure for measure guar gum swap out flour is pretty lame. Pasta and bagels are still a struggle.

Got Snowshoes from Santa. Some snow would be nice.