Spooning Leads to Forking

At least that's what I learned from Country Girl.  Dunno whether it applies to dogs though KW and Kyra are on their way to finding out. 

Marvelous Meatloaf, Roasted Asparagus and Finglering Potatoes

Being the incredibly kind woman that she is, Country Girl signed us up for another cooking class not too long ago.  While it turned out to be more of a demonstration than a class, it was a fun and educational experience. 

The entree of the four courses was "a modern take on an old classic", meatloaf.  I don't recall the specifics of the modern take.  I do recall we made the dish the following week, paired it with an exciting asparagus and potato recipe we found separately and it turned out very nicely.

Lucia Italian Kitchen + Bar - Greenlake

A recent coupon purchase took us to Lucia Italian Kitchen + Bar in Greenlake.  Despite some uneven service, eats were pretty good.  

Modern, stark interior with minimal decoration may sound off putting, Lucia does it quite well.  A comfortable, almost elegant environment is the result.  

Food was as about as endearing as the setting as it was also very pleasant.  We started with the beet salad with fried goat cheese and the pear gorgonzola crostini. Salad was great and the crostini had potential.  We agreed that the texture was a bit off and toasting the bread likely would help.  The shrimp scampi was light and flavorful, while Country Girl enjoyed her gnocchi with braised short ribs.  Service started rough as we got our complimentary bread after our server took our starters order.  Not very nice.  That aside, service was largely fine.

Chicken Piccata

Courtesy of the Family Circle All Time Favorite Recipes and Country Girl's wicked cooking skilz, another fabulous chicken dish recently showed up on our dinner plates.  This time, chicken piccata.  More smashing success by my fav chef.

Chicken Lasagna Rolls

Adding to her many skills and talents, Country Girl has recently harnessed the power of Pinstabook to find an array of delicious and interesting dishes for us to try.  One such splendid find are these chicken lasagna rolls.  Social media is largely lost on City Boy, so I don't know any of the particulars of the recipe.  What I do know is that these were fantastic. 

Parmesan Chicken Thighs

Courtesy of Country Girl's Family Circle All-Time Favorite Recipes (more than 600 recipes!), I came across an enticing looking recipe for Parmesan chicken fingers.  While fully intending to make it myself (reviewed the recipe carefully ensuring it's not too difficult and procured the ingredients to boot), fate intervened and Country Girl ended up at the wheel for this one.  Definitely worked out better that way, eh?


The most significant departure from the recipe was subbing thighs for breasts (City Boy is much more keen on dark meat) and using Panko instead of crushed saltines.  Long story short, they turned brilliantly.  Crunchy, flavorful exterior and moist delicious interior.  Definitely will make it back on the menu in the future.

Kyra Arrives

In addition to being a union boss sans peer, Kodiak is also a wellspring of energy.  Despite our best efforts to ensure he gets enough daily exercise, we're not able to wear him out day after day. 

Enter his new playmate, Kyra.  She's a 5 month old German Sheppard.

As a playmate, she's working out smashingly.  Her and KW get on famously.  She seems to have a similar level of energy so hours of wrestling and playing are the new norm, leaving  them both very happy campers.  It hasn't been all smiles, though.  She's incredibly skittish and seems to have significant separation anxiety issues.  Hopefully both will pass relatively quickly.