The Horror. . . .The Horror. . . .

for those of you who have seen this movie you can understand the significance of that line.  It has been pretty eventful around here and I have photo'd much of the action.  So I will wade through the photos and post them as I get the time.  Here is the first installment.

The other day as I was working on the Truck. .  . .yep that will will be another post.  Anyway, as I was working on the truck I noticed that Jed was not interacting with the other dogs.  He was just sitting over by the picnic table minding his own business.  This isn't really that unusual as he often needs his space from the tards.  When I was finished working on the truck I called him in for dinner.  At this point I noticed that he had encountered a Porcupine.

Jed is ridiculously strong and kind of hard to handle, also he is unbelievable tolerant and tough.  I called Doug and Judy to come up and help me de-quill him and Billie's sister was also here so the resulting drama took about 2 hours.  Here is just a sample.  The following video is graphic and I have not stripped the sound.  the voices you hear are Niki, Doug, Judy and Myself.Also note that we were not aware we were being recorded and thought only photos were being taken.

Video Removed Billie didn't like it

Yes, I will find the porcupine 

Happy National Finals Day !!

Those of you who know me . . .know that Sunday is Meet the Press day .  It's nerdy but I like it.  However, Today was also National Sheepdog Finals Day.  Today us little hats were able to watch the finals Via live Webcast.  They were spectacular, with some amazing displays of dog and Stock-man alike.  I had planned to have people over to enjoy the trial, eat semi-tasty food and generally enjoy the trial as a group.  For a multitude of reasons this was not to be.  I still Made Breakfast tho . . .and here it is.

Turns out !!! Not only do Real Men EAT QUICHE  the also Make it !!

Pretty Straightforward Cheddar, Red Bell Pepper, Asparagus, Shrimp, and Smoked Salmon

I like to Blind Bake the Crust. . .Yep that's Tenderflake I Do make my own Crust but not for stuff like this. 

Then spread the ingredients in the bottom and pour enough beaten egg with just a bit of cream over the works and enjoy.  I think I baked for about 40 minutes. Sorry to those who made my Salmon dish and used my typically innacurate time instructions.   

The stampede. . . . . no not that one

This was going to be a video of Jace showing all, how fantastic he is. . . .Careful attention was taken to remove audio:

There Faye, and Chris,  . . . .now get back to work ;)

Not your Usual Fare. . .

So anyway, I am going to be at a wedding today so there will not be a Dinner recipe for Saturday, and likely not for Sunday either.  So since I was late last week  I decided to be proactive and prep a recipe in advance.  So, without further preamble, here it is:

Spinach Chorizo Frittata:

Okay, so there are a few more ingredients, here we have some feta, an onion, mushrooms,spinach and of course, some chorizo.  I like to start by parboiling the potatoes, this helps them cook a little faster and gives them a better crunch makes them crisp up a little nicer.

Did I mention this recipe is a little type "A" of me.  Whilst the potatoes are being parboiled you can start chopping the rest of the ingredients up and getting them ready.  I pretty much chop everything up to about a quarter inch dice, that's me and you certainly don't need to go that far.  

the smaller you chop everything the nicer it will mix together for the filling but that is totally you choice.  Once the potatoes have finished remove them to a cutting aboard and slice them about a 1/4 inch thick.

be careful, they should be a little mealy, and of course they will be a tad hot

I just like this picture it doesn't have anything to do with the recipe.  Next you are going to place the pottoes in a single layer and line the bottom of a cast iron skillet.  Now, you're going to be tempted to futz about with them, DON'T  !! Leave them to form a crispy coating because when you flip them over that's the last time you are going to touch them.  

These are sort of what you are looking for nice and crispy they will hold up nicely when you add the egg.  Now about the egg, I like to use about 6 eggs for the filling and when I say you need to beat the hell out of them I really mean beat the hell out of them.  

The more you beat them the more more light and fluffy your frittata will be.  Also, some people add cream or milk to their eggs that is completely a choice at this point, I don't like to but I will add any sore of spices at this point that I feel like.  I don't add salt but I will add pepper and the cheese to the egg mixture.  Once you have the eggs ready we are ready to put it all together.  

Here is the filling ready to be added spread this over the potatoes and then add the egg. Now put the whole shebang in the oven for 15 minutes at 375.  AND . . . . . .

Voila !!

Slice and enjoy.

Here it is. . .

One Fillet of SOCKEYE Salmon

Some Fresh Veggies 

Combine the Veggies with some olive oil and some spices

Diced Tomato, also thrown in with the veggies

some fresh Basil mixed into some butter

Combine the Butter Basil mix with some Panko Bread Crumbs this is the topping for the Salmon.

Next start to sauté the veggies in a large enough pan to accommodate everything, oh yeah it needs to oven proof as well. While the veggies are getting there thing done coat the top of the salmon with the panko and basil butter mixture to make a crust.  After 3-4 minutes you can carefully place the crusted Salmon on-top of the veggies and place in a 375 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Depending on how thick the Salmon is, it shouldn't take any longer than that.  If, you like, you can also fire up the broiler for a minute or two just to really give the crust a crunch.  

Serve with you Brown Rice and enjoy.  You can add some cold butter to the juice in the veggies pan and make a bit of a sauce dress over the rice .

Yeah . . . .Yeah . . it's Saturday??

Ok so I know there should be a recipe Saturday but it turns out I have company coming for dinner tomorrow night so what  I was making myself for dinner tonight is going to made tomorrow for guests. So until tomorrow when I publish the whole recipe you'll just have to survive on this teaser. . ..

Happy Birthday !!

For many of the stock dog folk that read this blog they will no doubt be shaking their heads for the remainder of this post.  It is the "Do Do's " Birthday short for "Dumb and Dumber",  "Retard" and " The Baby".  Actually thats not true there birthday was on the second, but they're dogs and as yet show no signs of reading.  We decided to celebrate it this morning - though I believe every day out here at the NCR is a celebration for them.

Ok. . . . .  What are we doing??? 

Jed wasn't exactly sure what all the hullabalo was about but he was happy to sit with the boys because, something, smelt good, really good. 

This is the Do Do's Birthday cake it comes from Bona-pet-Treat, Emily has fashioned more than one birthday cake for us and I think she does a really fantastic job.

  

For a cake made out of peanut butter, Bacon, and Cheese . . . . Yep it Stunk to high holy heaven.

Now. . .it's not Jed's birthday his is in November, and I would never think to denigrate him with singing and a cake; he's more of a steak kinda guy however I couldn't leave him out totally, so...

He was more than happy with this cookie and frankly he finished it slower than the other two took to finish half a cake each.

As a Side note there will be a recipe tonight for the blog as it is Saturday.