asheville, north carolina

i've always wanted to visit asheville, north carolina. i'd heard so many things about both the city and the biltmore estate, that i had high expectations when the geek and i visited for a weekend.

geek grub: pigs in a blanket

the geek is a picky eater. he's not picky because he's a food snob or a gourmet; he's picky because he likes what he likes and in many cases, these are things that he's liked for years. when i'm out of town, he will happily exist on pizza, hotdogs, burritos, chicken fingers and sandwiches.

when we were planning our wedding, we decided to each pick two appetizers to offer during the cocktail hour. i chose sushi and vegetarian spring rolls with plum and peanut sauces. the geek selected crackers and cheese with fruit and pigs in a blanket with ketchup and mustard. he was very excited about the pigs in a blanket (in fact, he just declared that they are the only appetizer he can remember from our wedding).

they are a cinch to make, so we'll have them as a snack when we have folks over to watch football. the geek will also eat them as a meal. right out of the oven, they're tasty and satisfying.

not your typical doggie snacks

in the past few months, the dog has eaten our...

• books (she does not discriminate...so far she's eaten bits and pieces of a mystery novel, a cookbook, a couple Marian Keyes novels, the Holy Bible, a sudoku book, a baseball book, an entertainment guide with discounts and coupons, and an spss guide)
• post-it notes (some still in the shrink-wrap)
• magnets (well, it was more like gnawing them into little pieces than actually eating them)
• coasters
• tissue paper
• kleenex
• receipts
• the registration for my car
• greeting cards
• candy wrappers
• wedding favor boxes
• a presentation i made for my boss' retirement

now, you may be thinking we sound like irresponsible pet people...you're probably right. we try not to leave things on the coffee table, we put trash cans up on stools, we barricade things we don't want eaten, but she still finds things to eat. she's been known to nose her way into the geek's backpack to pull out kleenex. i keep finding half-eaten receipts on the floor. occasionally, there'll be a blast from the past like a receipt from a trip i took a few years ago or a ticket stub from a past event. yes, i realize that also means i need to to purge my stuff. for years, things on shelves were safe. but lately, even those are potential snacks. 

she knows she shouldn't do it; if you catch her in the act, she runs away. if you show her evidence of her mischief, she hangs her head and goes to her bed. we're not quite sure what to do about this, so we just make sure to keep all the important documents out of her reach. we don't always succeed, as evidence by the fact that she ate my car registration.

i googled this behavior and found that it's called pica. it's sometimes a result of boredom. so we tried taking her for extra walks and getting her to chase her toys more, hoping that an active dog was a non-pica dog. at the same time, she's 14 years old so we didn't want to over-exert her. that hasn't stopped her occasional paper capers.  she has a pile of toys to chew on and lick, a rawhide bone to gnaw on, but i bet she'd trade all of that for some tasty post-it notes or greeting cards.

despite all of this, it's hard to be mad at this face...

...even if it's covered with flour from going through a trash bag of pantry items being tossed out during spring cleaning.

white bean & kale soup

a few weeks ago, the geek and i visited the biltmore estate in asheville, north carolina. mid-january is not a busy time there, so it wasn't too crowded and lines were almost non-existent. by lunch time, we had toured the house and parts of the frozen garden. we were starving and freezing, so we headed over to the stable cafe to eat and defrost. when i ordered their white bean and kale soup, i wasn't sure what to expect. i was cold, it sounded warm, and i just hoped it would taste good too. 

it did taste good.

it also tasted very familiar. i had expected to try something new, something i hoped i would like. i did indeed like it; it tasted just like a soup my mom makes, a soup a lot of moms, dads, hungry people and restaurants in hawaii make. we call it portuguese bean soup. instead of white beans and kale it has kidney beans and cabbage. it also has portuguese sausage and elbow macaroni, but the shreds of pork and slightly salty, super delicious tomato broth are the same. 

somen salad

it's january. we're in the midst of winter. the average high for this time of year is 49 degrees F/9.5 degrees C. it's the least likely time to crave the cool deliciousness that is a somen salad.

i blame the recent emergence of spring-like weather for my somen salad craving. it's been sunny and warm, the perfect weather for a cool noodley salad. surely the cold weather will return, but for now, i think i'll put away my winter coat and enjoy me some somen salad.

if you're not familiar with somen salad, let me take a moment to introduce you. somen salad is made up of cold somen noodles, a variety of vegetables, usually one or more types of protein, and a sweet-soy-sesame dressing. in hawaii, it's popular as a side dish (especially at potlucks) or light meal but it can easily be elevated to entree status with the addition of more protein or vegetables.

ginger molasses cookies

the geek loves molasses cookies. he also loves the triple gingersnaps we get from trader joes. these ginger molasses cookies are a little bit of both. the recipe is a mish-mash of molasses cookie recipes from around the web (with the primary influence being the pioneer woman's recipe for spicy molasses cookies).

banana bread with personality: banana bread with chocolate and ginger

banana bread...comforting.

chocolate...bliss.
crystallized ginger...zingy.
bake them together...mmmm...genius!
 
the house smells amazing while it bakes, and the bread itself tastes even better. it's moist but not mushy, sweet but not too sweet and just when you're about to be lulled into calm contentment, the crystallized ginger adds a snappy twist; it's delicious.

meet the dog

we are lucky to have a part-time pet. she's actually the geek's family's dog, but she lives with us most of the time. she's around 14 years old and may be some mix of chow and schipperke, but we're not sure. 

you see, she's a rescued dog, so there's a lot we don't know about her. for example, why does she bark like an aggressive maniac at the doorbell/mailman/other dogs when she's normally so sweet? [maybe she's part dingo?] why does she whine when she sees young children and elderly folks? [maybe she thinks they're hiding snacks?] and when no one is looking, why does she eat random things and then look remorseful when we find them? [maybe it's a dingo trait and she's part dingo?] the geek does not really support my dingo theory, but i googled "dingo puppies" and i think i may be on to something. dingo or not, she's entertaining (to us at least, but then again, we don't get out much) and we are happy to have her as our part-time pet.

this year

instead of making my typical new year resolutions to exercise more and eat healthier, i've decided to make a list of things i hope to accomplish this year. this is actually the geek's idea. i think he knows that the exercise-eat healthy thing never lasts very long. resolutions just aren't as motivating for me as, say, needing to fit into a bridesmaid dress or a bathing suit. since i have neither a wedding or a trip to the beach in my near future, there's nothing compelling me to change my habits. the geek's exact recommendation was, "how about stuff you want to eat or cook this year?" i figured i could broaden the list beyond food; afterall, there is more to life than just eating...or so i'm told.