st. paul weekend

we spent a great weekend in st. paul with our friends jeff and amy. on saturday morning jeff made us a pancakes and sausage breakfast, which provided a good base for a little browsing at some cool twin cities shops, including crafty planet (the boys were bored to tears, but check out the fabrics on their website!), kilroy's (a self-described "classic malt shop supply" purveyor--we wondered if will knows about this place?) and jeff's local comic and gaming shop (the girls were bored to tears and i have nothing else to say about it).J. and A. live mere blocks from the minnesota state fairgrounds, which was hosting a big classic car show. we considered checking it out up close, but there were so many cool cars on the street that we didn't even need to.
that evening, we had a fabulous dinner--grilled steak and portabellos, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and a chopped salad. here's jeff readying some tomatoes for the salad in their renovated kitchen.
hilarity ensues at the dinner table...


after dinner, we took a walk with oscar over to como park zoo. the zoo was closed for the day, but we were able to walk alongside the wolf enclosure fence. all of the animals were either hanging out in their dens or patrolling other parts of their territory when we arrived, but not a minute later, a wolf undoubtedly sensed the presence of another canine and came bounding out of the greenery. i think all of us forgot for a second that we were separated by two fences as this creature came toward us. approaching the fence, he (male? female? didn't try to check) and oscar sized each other up--no barking, snarling or aggression at all, just curiosity.


after hurrying back to the house in the rain we decided to kick it old school for dessert--baker's square for coffee and pie. later, we played the very fun time's up! which might just replace catchphrase as my favorite party game. on sunday morning we had a delicious late breakfast at jay's cafe in st. paul, said godbye to our gracious hosts and hit the road.

what's blooming

we've been getting a crazy amount of rain here over the past few weeks. it's my understanding that there are parts of iowa facing near-drought conditions, but i've spotted mushrooms growing in our woodchips, so it's safe to say that we're a little waterlogged in iowa city.
this spring we converted the aluminum buckets used for kegs and ice at our wedding into planters by drilling some holes in the bottom and snagging some topsoil from one of rob's road expansion projects. the brandywine tomato, green bell and "carmen" sweet peppers are flowering right now and my little herb garden (the bucket in front--basil, oregano, thyme, terragon, rosemary and peppermint) has been going crazy. here's our healthy red corn poppy. joyce gave us fair warning that these don't transplant very well, and our other plant has been looking pretty pathetic, but i was really happy to see these delicate, papery little blooms emerge.

close-up of the impatiens that are overflowing the half barrel in front of the house. last summer, i stubbornly planted sun-loving annuals (on sale, at least) in the barrel and after a few weeks in the shade they got droopy and i felt guilty and vowed to be more realistic this year. here's my reward...


i have to say that i don't love this rose bush. i like flowers with big, vibrant color and the pale pink of these blooms doesn't really do it for me. still, i have to admire its pluck. a few months ago we cut it down to the ground, mistaking its brittle brown-ness for certain death (admittedly, we don't know a lot about roses), but lo and behold, it fooled us and came back with lots of healthy growth. our tigerlilies are also blooming and the lazy stargazers have just started to show themselves above ground.

finally, the bright bee balm. we visited our friends jeff and amy in st. paul this weekend (more in a later post) and their lovely yard has an abundance of established perennial flowers. unlike our well-spaced clumps of recent transplants, their tall and hearty plants overlap and really look like a garden. right now they have lots of shoulder-high purple bee balm beginning to bloom. maybe that's what our plantings will become over time, but i guess it's likely that the next owner of this house will have to take that on and we'll start over at our next home. i hope that we'll find a sunny yard with some coneflowers, black-eyed susans, and flowering flax when we get there!

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!