Beauty and the Beast - A Study of Matt

First of all, please ignore the grinning idiot on the right of both photos. Now, take a look at Matt. Doesn't he look so GQ in the bottom photo (you know, the sideways aloof stare, the pout)? And doesn't he look so sinister in the first? Behold -- the many faces of Matt!

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

This is adapted from a recipe I found in Real Simple magazine. Now, it calls for cream. Use the gosh darn cream! (The beauty of this dish is that it's rich and creamy and wonderful - don't fall into the "Well, I'll add more veggies and substitute with half and half" trap. Blasphemy, I say!)

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

-- 1 yellow onion, diced

-- 3 - 4 Tb. curry powder (adjust as you see fit)

-- 1/2 cup plain yogurt

-- 3/4 cup cream

-- 3 fresh tomatoes, chopped (or you can use a can - drain before adding)

-- Either: 3 chicken breasts, cooked and seasoned, OR, 1 rotisserie chicken (shredded or sliced)

-- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro

-- salt and pepper

Saute the onion in olive oil, stirring occasionally, until soft. Sprinkle with the curry powder and cook for an additional minute. Add the yogurt and cream and simmer gently for 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add tomatoes. Remove from heat.

Add the pre-cooked chicken to the mixture. Divide over rice in individual bowls, spooning the sauce over top, and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Makes about 3 servings.

First Photo: Matt gives the "thumb's up" to Chicken Curry in a Hurry (as he eyes it crazily)!

Second Photo: A close-up of the beauty that is Chicken Curry in a Hurry.

Let them eat dirt!

I never understood why mothers made you put antibacterial stuff on your hands before handling their baby. Maybe I shouldn't comment -- I obviously don't have a baby. But I always thought it was counter-productive and sort of foolish- germs are good for kids! You have to build up the immune system while they're young! Again, maybe I should shut my mouth; my immune is totally out of whack since I have an autoimmune disorder, but I swear I was an incredibly gross and dirty child.

Check this out:

NYT

Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
********************************************
The hygiene hypothesis suggests that organisms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system.

We poisoned our dog...again.

I think Matt and I have set the world record for dog poisoning. We have poisoned our dog (our adorable, innocent, ever-trusting dog), Penny, two times in the past two years. It's true: We are unfit doggie parents.

I know every dog owner thinks their dog is the cutest, the smartest, the most endearing. But I have never purported that Penny is the "best" at anything – examples: she will only play "fetch" for a total of, say, 40 seconds and then tires of it and (I swear) rolls her eyes. She is a lab but is terrified of swimming (nevermind my father insisted we try one day on a swiftly moving river – the poor thing doggie-paddled for her life and couldn't keep up with the current). I've arranged doggie play dates and she has ignored the other dog (or cowered in terror), as she jumped (and jumped and jumped) on the other dog's owner. She can be a terror on walks – she loves greeting other patrons of the trail and catapults her fifty pounds of muscle at them. It always plays the same way: she lurches, we pull back, the other person sidesteps, we smile sheepishly and then they frown.

You see, we adopted Penny when she was just turning four (she will be six in April), and you simply cannot teach an old dog (er, an adolescent dog) new tricks. Or so we say. But Penny is no Marley – she is a quiet dog, and after her hectic greeting (which never lasts more than a couple minutes) she returns to the sidelines and grins at you with her brown eyes. She has beautiful eyes – wide, muddy pools that just seem to say, "I am here for you. What's next?"

Matt and I moved into our house from an apartment on April 15, 2007. On April 21, before we had curtains on the windows or books unpacked, we adopted Penny. Penny came pre-named and already had an arsenal of tricks (she could sit, stay, shake, lay down). We adopted her from the Women's Humane Society (www.whspets.org) in Bensalem after I saw a dog (a different dog) on the internet. (That dog turned out to be a terror and we never looked back.) Then we saw Penny. Matt saw her first. She was one of the few dogs not barking in her kennel as we walked past. She sat, peering at us, seemingly smiling. She tilted her head, her ears perked up, and I saw those amazing eyes. We read her tag "Penny – 4 years, Black Lab". I promptly told Matt I didn't like the name Penny.

The lady who worked at the shelter brought Penny to us and, unlike the other dogs we met who licked and jumped, she immediately went on her back in a sad display of submissiveness. We rubbed her underbelly and Matt whispered, "She kind of smells." I smelled my hand – god, it stank – and then she grinned at us, and we saw her rotting black and brown teeth. But she was quiet and docile and housebroken. We wanted quiet and docile and housebroken. We were told she was a product of divorce; her previous owners had split and neither could care for her. She was brought to the shelter a month and a half ago. We said we'd take her.

We couldn't bring her home that day. They had to do a yard check. That Saturday I picked her up (Matt was at a paintball game or some such questionable activity). I laid out a towel so her doggie stench wouldn't permeate the Corolla and then I was off – heading down 276 with a panting, stinky black lab in my passenger seat.

I wonder what Penny was thinking as she balanced in that front seat. Look, I know she's a dog. But, really, does that make this situation any less profound for her? Here she was, being taken away for the second time in two months, driving to god-knows-where with this stranger, this silly stranger, talking to her like an adopted child. "Penny, you'll love it where we live. We have a nice yard and live by Valley Forge Park and we'll go on long walks and you'll meet the other dogs in the neighborhood and, oooo, I picked up some yummy treats at PetSmart!" I yammered on for a bit more. She continued to look out the window.

I took her home and bathed her and brushed her teeth (it did no good – we have since learned her tooth enamel has eroded and it must be genetic – like a vain parent, I still encourage her to keep her mouth shut when we meet new people). Then she sat quietly in our living room, alert but weary. She slept a lot those first two weeks, and ate little. I learned if I sat next to her bowl and fed her the kibble, one by one, she would gingerly take it from my hand. Each day she ate more as she became more comfortable with us.

Which brings us to yesterday, where I almost (for the second time) killed our dog. [Some background: A year ago Penny got into a one-pound bag of Nestle semi-sweet chocolate chips. I cried, Matt called an emergency hotline, we poured hydrogen peroxide down her throat, she grimaced, she threw up a bit, we took her on a walk to try to get her to vomit further, I sprained my ankle on said walk, I cried some more, Penny whined and then Matt took her the University of Pennsylvania Vet Hospital at 3 am, then came home and took me to the hospital, and, well, it goes on from there.] Basically, both the dog and I were in sorry shape and Matt was just exhausted from our whining.

So this Saturday I left a bag of grapes on the couch (yes, couch). It was late (2 am), I have no excuses, I was just being lazy probably. I was eating them watching late-night TV. The next morning we discovered an empty bag with three grape bunch vines strewn around the living room. This is my favorite part: each grape vine was in impeccable shape. She must of plucked each single grape off the vine ever so carefully. She is such a lady. Then, the usual events unfolded (see above, you know, the crying, the hydrogen peroxide, and so on and so forth).

Grapes are toxic to dogs; they cause renal failure. So, like dorky drug pushers, we kept offering food and water, trying to get the grapes to pass from her system. I also took it upon myself to monitor her urine output. I'd go out with her when she relieved herself, following her to the corner of the yard and shining a light on her butt, saying "Good girl, good girl!" when she urinated. She looked annoyed.

Now it's Monday and Penny is alive. I think she's still confused about all the attention Matt and I are lavishing upon her. What she doesn't know is how much we love her. Penny - with Matt - has been my constant companion through my recent bout with Crohn's. When I cry, she's there. She quietly comes up to me and puts her chin on my knee, peering up, with those glorious brown eyes.

In his memoir "Dog Years" author Mark Doty said something along the lines of this (although he phrased it more beautifully than I ever could): In part, it's incredibly painful to love a dog. You are accepting loss when you a love a dog because they will leave you in 10, 12, 14, 16 years. But - conversely - there isn't much that's more simple, and beautiful, than that love. They love you for you - expect nothing from you - and you love them just the same.

So, I'm a dopey "dog person". I have a dog print in my kitchen. A dog pillow on my chair (in my defense, that was a gift from my equally dog-crazy parents). Now that I think about it, another dog print in the bathroom. I don't care. I've never felt better than when I come home, and Penny runs down the stairs (from sleeping on our bed all day), excited, smiling, and asking, "So -- what's next?".

And thank god that dog has a tough stomach.

(Photos -- Top: Penny and Matt having a tiff. Bottom : Penny enjoying the long ride to Chincoteague, VA.)

Just tell me to shut-up, but...

I have a 20-minute commute - it's beautiful. It's seven miles (three of which are through a gorgeous National Historical Park). Today, it started snowing. Now, I generally think two things when it begins snowing: 1) ah, isn't that nice, and 2) EARLY DISMISSAL! (See, I am still a child.)

Around 3 p.m. at work today I started inching up to co-workers' desks, whispering "Are you leaving early?" and saying, "Well, I was thinking of leaving early. I think you should leave early, too." I am an instigator. Then, I fret loudly about my "little Corolla" with the "worn tires" and how it's even slippery "in the rain" (all of which are true, but I really milk it).

So today I rounded up some other co-workers who decided to leave early (this is ESSENTIAL) if you are to leave work early on good terms - you must not be the lone abandon-er. So after egging on my fellow deserters, I left around 3:50 p.m.

I got home at 6:15 p.m. (I put that in bold type because I figure bold is more frightening.) Friggin' 6:15!! I left before 4!!

It was a pathetic display of my car's weaknesses (or, perhaps more accurately, my driving ineptitude: I slid into snow banks, my wheels spun whenever I had to pump the gas). It was also a stunning display of my own weak will. I cried. I know, pathetic, right?: YES, I cried in my car out of crazy exasperation.

You see, I tried to go home my normal route. I sat for 45 minutes then turned around (in a snow bank, but whatever) and called Matt - who was smartly still at work - and demanded an alternative route. He gave me one (poor thing is probably scared of me). Again, I sat for 45 minutes and then turned around (zigzagging down a hill as the motorists on the other side of the road looked in horror - I swear, I saw one woman drop her cigarette in sheer terror as she rolled up her window, preparing for a collision). There I was: mascara-streaking down my face, cursing the weather gods, and zigzagging in my little Corolla down a steep hill. I was terrifying. If I was a model type wearing a fabulous black dress, I would of certainly looked like the woman in the photo above.

Then the NPR traffic guy came on, and had the AUDACITY to say, "Well, folks, I don't know where to begin - there are too many accidents to mention and traffic is backed-up everywhere." I think he may have also chuckled. I still hate him.

Finally I got on the highway, and although I maintained a steady 2 mph, I got home. Of course, I had to call two co-workers and make them aware of my plight (poor me, woe is me, and all of that). Like I told you, I really like to milk it.

White Chili

My mother gave me this recipe (but I think Betty Crocker gave it to her). Try it on football Sundays, cold weekday nights, and as a nice alternative to tired old red bean and beef chili.





White Chili à la Kathryn

Ingredients:
-- 1 large onion, chopped
-- 2 cloves garlic, minced
-- 1 heaping T. chili powder
-- 1 T. cumin
-- 1 T. Italian seasoning (or, a mixture of basil and oregano - this is not needed if you are using well-seasoned chicken breasts)
-- 4 cups chicken broth
-- 4 cups cooked chicken, diced (I cook 2 large chicken breasts and heavily season them with my favorite poultry seasoning from Trader Joe's. You can also use a rotisserie chicken.)
-- 2 16 oz. cans Great Northern Beans (or the large 40 oz. can)
-- 1 can hominy (you can find this in the canned corn section in the grocery store and it's PICTURED!, so you'll be able to find it - visuals are good)
-- 1 can (any size) diced tomatoes of your choice
--1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Cook chicken; set aside. Saute onion and garlic in oil until soft. Add spices and stir until fragrant. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Then add chicken, beans, hominy, and tomatoes and simmer for 45 minutes. Add cilantro and correct seasoning, if needed. I add a bit of salt and pepper. If you like it hot (like Matt), doctor it up as you see fit.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, additional cilantro, a dollop of sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Makes about six servings.

I've got Sully Fever!

Like the rest of the nation I am totally and completely in awe and enamored with Captain Sully. It's amazing how much power the media has - it's amazing how I've been suckered into watching each and every news story, eyewitness account, survivor account, gawked at every interactive graph and timeline (thank you NYT) and stopped dead in my tracks when Sully's wife faced the reporters on her driveway (wasn't she so gracious and articulate? - I am only ever that articulate in my own mind). I even GOOGLED Sully and found his profile on LinkedIN (I didn't go so far as to send an invite). An individual created a Facebook page for Sully and as I type this, the guy has about 85,000 "fans". I know this entry has nothing to do with anything (but really, will most?), but I MUST eat, breathe, and (apparently) type SULLY!

Because it's cold - and this warms my heart (and all that mushy stuff)

She was always a thinker.

A love letter to my intestines

I'm not sure what I ever did to my intestines for them to hate me so much - for them to fight back, rebel and want to break all ties with their clueless owner. Perhaps they were tired of all the greasy digestion. Maybe the years of late night leftovers did it (who doesn't love cold lo mein in the glow of a 2 am television?) , or the third piece of ice cream cake I snuck straight out of the freezer, my fork puncturing the dark chocolate ganache with so much relish.

See, I love food. I will never be a thin girl (stretch marks be damned!) - but I don't care. I love the anticipation of preparing a meal that requires a slow day of cooking. I love the artistry of the presentation. I love the cook's spoils - the small bites I'd savor while idling by the stove.

My mother - bless her - instilled a love of food in me. This six foot woman would drag my sister and me into our small town's Vietnamese grocery store after violin lessons. To this day that image humors me - our big family overtaking this small store, and its equally smallish proprietors. We'd bitch and moan: "Mom! God! Why can't we have hamburgers!!!?!" or "You never let us eat anything normal!!!" And the woman loved her fish sauce (so ubiquitous in Asian cooking) and the groans would grow even more strained: "Mom, that smells like something Molly rolled in! Gross - I am not eating that!!" Molly was our dog (and yes, she rolled in her fair share of gross things that made us girls run shrieking from the room).

Food hasn't always loved me back. I wish it shared the same adoring passion I have with it. I've always had a sensitive stomach - rarely was a dinner out that I didn't excuse myself for the bathroom. And then a bit over three years ago I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease. Crohn's is an autoimmune disorder that affects the digestive system - the immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract causing rampant inflammation, pain, and all-over yuckiness (I added the last part).

I intend this blog to be, in part, a love letter to my intestines. When you get down to it, it's really not their fault, is it? They're victims, too, of my bullying immune system. So when I say this is a love letter - it's me, accepting my body as a whole - and working toward remission.

Crohn's isn't a glamorous disease - there are no freshly-botoxed celebrities championing the cause - and, well, it's just sort of...icky. It has to do with those bits and pieces that are societal no-no's in public: so yeah, I may mention my anus (in only strictly clinical terms, I assure you...well, mostly).

So....I'm sorry, intestines. We'll kick this shitty disease together (pun intended).