a puppy and a party

i spent last weekend in chicagoland, attending my friend erin's bridal shower on friday, shopping with my mom and going to ravinia with kelly and her husband chris on saturday, and spending father's day with my dad and grandpa. an added bonus was getting to meet julie's new golden retriever puppy, boomer. here he is in his crate the day julie brought him home...

and again, last friday, nosing around mr. schweigert's house slippers. he's growing like a weed! we didn't get oscar till he was 5 months old, so we didn't get to experience as many of the overnight changes and growth spurts (we also got to bypass waking up for 3am potty trips). he's an incredibly mellow dog and had no interest in posing for photos or even looking up when i called his name excitedly, repeatedly. not sure if you can see it in this picture, but julie has outfitted him with a cute, plaid collar.


erin's shower was fun. the opportunities for all four of us--erin, julie, kelly and me--to get together are, sadly, a lot fewer than they used to be. family obligations, travel for work, long-distance relationships, and living away from chicago (me, for the last 8 years. erin, starting this fall) have made group plans a challenge, but we still do our best to see each other when we're in the same place at the same time, and keep up to date on what everyone's up to when we're not.

here's erin looking lovely and bridal in her white dress, expediently making her way through the big pile of presents. she got a lot of baking tools/supplies (can't think of a better word there) and breakfast ware (juice glasses, coffee mugs, cereal bowls). she also received a signed copy of ted allen's cookbook (but not this book)!

sauce

reading amber's recent post about soy lasagna (not so great on day one, much better flavor by day two) made me think about the pasta dishes i've snuck boca soy crumbles into as a ground beef substitute. though i think that meatless alternative products have come a long way, it always helps when other flavors and textures can carry the meal. enter cooking light's recipe for marinara magnifica, developed online by a group of readers. i love this sauce--it's hearty and flavorful and makes the house smell wonderful when it's bubbling away on the burner. i've halved the recipe when i don't want to freeze extra sauce, though it's still great when thawed and reheated. here it is:

2 tbsp. olive oil (divided)

6 cups chopped onion (about 3 medium)

1 tbsp. sugar

1/2 cup dry red wine

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

6 garlic cloves, crushed or minced

2 (28oz.) cans crushed tomatoes, undrained

2 (14.5oz.) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

2 (6oz.) cans tomato paste

heat 1 tbsp. oil in a dutch oven over medium heat; add onion and sugar. cook 30 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. stir in wine, cook 1 minute. add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer 3 hours (it still tastes great if you don't have this much time to let it simmer), stirring occasionally. yields 9 cups.

i add a packet or two of boca crumbles when the sauce is almost done and it adds a nice texture and even more substance. it's great over any kind of pasta and in lasagna. enjoy!

blankie

the basket-weave baby blanket i've been working on--my second knitting project-- is finally off the needles. it's around 30"x30" and provided lots of good purling and seed stitching practice. up next are little hats for the preemie project and some kind of shawl (anyone know any good, none-too-difficult patterns?) using the cool yarn i bought in LA.
did you know that saturday is world-wide knit in public day? knitters of the world, unite!

whad'ya know?

this weekend the decker sibs and their spouses (and henry!) came to town to celebrate bill and kathie's retirement and bill's birthday. on friday we met for dinner at the sanctuary. the next morning, we went to the taping of michael feldman's whad'ya know? at hancher and then had the whole crew over for a grill-out lunch afterward. it was great to be able to put the beautiful cedar picnic table and benches bill made for us (as a birthday present for rob) to use. he also brought over the cedar garden bench he made for us in record time (photos of that to come). it was a lovely afternoon in the yard...
on sunday we had brunch at the iowa river power company with jean, joyce and jean's friend beth. we're always bemoaning the fact that there aren't many good breakfast options in IC, but this was an excellent choice. as is the case with any good buffet, it was way too easy to eat too much. thanks for treating, jean! henry got a real kick out of all of the ceiling fans and numerous clocks in the restaurant ("clock" seems to be his new favorite word) as well as the river. afterward, we checked out the bridge and dam, rob's completed project, and spied on the turtles that live in the wetland on the iowa city side of the bridge. good times!