Start Where I'm At

There's a lot to share:

We got a puppy! A 12-week old Viszla boy named Count Finnegan's Wake. B and I had a difficult time with the name, I can't imagine what it will be like if we have kids!

The past few years, B wanted a dog. (I'm not including myself because there really hasn't been a moment I didn't want one.) We've been back and forth on the breed, sometimes a Doberman, sometimes a Rotweiler. Each breed we mentioned had at least one characteristic in common, LARGE. We visited the Dog Show at the McCormick Place in late January to check out the breeds and speak with handlers/breeders/owners to get a better sense as to what dog would fit our lifestyle best. Reading and researching online only goes so far.

We met a few breeders/owners of a few of the dogs we thought we were interested in. The Swiss Mountain Dog, the Mastif, Rotweilers, and the Weimeriner. We quickly realized our size limitations due to our apartment. We also realized some of the personality quirks wouldn't fit us very well. I didn't want a dog with a piddle problem for 11 months. B didn't want to clean massive amounts of slobber from everything. The list goes on.

Our last visit was with Jeff Engelsman, owner/breeder of JNEK Viszlas. Forty-five minutes into questioning, I was hooked and wanted to take one home immediately. Viszlas are the pointing Hungarian cousins of the Weimeriner. A little smaller and with a beautiful auburn coat, Jeff described the tempermant in comparison to their German cousins as "they like to sip some wine and listen to the violin." This made perfect sense to us. German's bred their dogs to have a very specific tempermant. Hungarians have almost an altogether different disposition. We went with the wine drinkers...


Work has been very busy and now with home being a "crazy den," I haven't been cooking. I know, right?!?! So sad! I decided to prepare dinner for my in-laws as a HUGE THANK YOU for housing/supporting us getting settled into the area and as a Birthday Dinner for T, B's mother. Of course, I forgot to take pictures of the entree and my dessert pic was too fuzzy, but here's the first course...


Pictured above is a Cucumber Citrus Salad tossed with a light vinegarette. I paired this with Champagne which was supposed to pick up on the Citrus flavors. It was delightful.

The main course was inspired by a French Bistro in Chicago were we had in a drink one Friday evening. Friday's the Bistro features Bouillabaisse. The smell was intoxicating! I wanted to replicate the Fresh Stew in my home while veganizing it. The Voluptuous Vegan happened to have a Provencal Stew served with Roasted Potato Batons, Cous Cous, and Rosemary Aioli. The Potatoes are a new favorite in the house and with the Aioli, they are unbelievable. I also prepared Beef Tenderloin for the carnivores at the table. I encrusted it with a garlic, shallot, and herb paste in the morning and roasted it in a glass dish just before we ate. The trick was to be sure every herb used in the stew made it into the paste for the tenderloin. I think it must have worked out, everyone's plates were clean! Oh yeah, I served dinner with a Rhone, Corzes-Hermitage, it was fantastic! I'm now on a mission to drink more French Wines. Care to join me? :)

For dessert, I picked up a lovely Muscato d'Asti to pair with my Pear Strudel. I screwed up the glaze drizzle thing by letting it boil just a little too long, but it still was pretty tasty. B didn't like it because it looked like apple pie but didn't taste like it at all. It was light and lovely. Also from the VV.

This week I've vowed to B and I will in fact prepare dinner. On deck is:

Sunday-Indian Feast (well, a poor man's feast) 3 kinds of Dahl and 2 kinds of Rice. I figure it makes a easy leftover lunch for B.

Monday-Mixed Greens Salad with Tuna for B and Chickpeas for me. Dessert might be in order on Monday...hot fudge anyone?

Tuesday-Roasted Vegetable Salad. We'll see how this goes over.

Wednesday-Light Hearted Penne. Welcome spring with this cinchy pasta sauce...1 carton grape tomatoes, a couple of scallions, 1 clove of garlic, s & p, and some olive oil in the food processor. Light, zippy, and healthy!

Thursday-Soy Glazed Salmon with Rice and some sort of green vegetable. Can be seen in a previous post on Inner-Geek.

Friday is open for now. By then, I just want a Dirty Martini with extra jumbo olives or a hearty Bloody Mary .

LR-I pinky swear to post pics of the food this week!

I'll leave you with a few pics of puppy and products...