Tabasco
It’s been a rough few weeks - everyone in the house is missing RocksAnne – including our other Chessie, Tabasco. He’s our 4 year old baby, so hopefully we’ve got a long wait before having to endure this kind of heartbreak again.
I was doing ok until the following Tuesday night when I went to make dinner and RocksAnne’s rug in the kitchen was empty… she loved lying there watching and waiting – watching for me to drop something on the floor, knowing it would be “hers” as soon as I turned my back, and waiting for me to bring her a sample of whatever concoction I was cooking up. My girl was the best mop on the market – she left not a single crumb on my floor tiles!
So the rest of the time has been filled with lots of neighborhood walks with Tabasco – in fact on the Thursday after we were about 15 minutes into the walk, he dug his heels/paws in and just said, “no, mommy – I can’t do this walk again today.” Remember, you only “negotiate” with a Chessie, so we promptly headed back home. I gave him a few days off before starting “occasional” walks after.
In addition to the walking, I’ve been cooking, testing recipes to add to my personal chef client menus. I’ve had some great inspirations from my fellow chefs at the USPCA (United States Personal Chef Association) as well as looking for recipes to use up the goodies brought in this weeks basket from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Delvin Farms.
Amongst the goodies I cooked and stocked in our freezer this week is my first attempt at “raw” cooking. Sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? A raw food diet (or living foods diet) is a dietary regimen consisting of uncooked and unprocessed organic foods. I made a “raw” Key Lime Pie. This dessert concoction was made from a host of ingredient, some seemed common, some not so common. The crust was a mixture of coconut, macadamia nuts, lime zest and agave nectar… the filling ingredients included lime juice and zest, cold-pressed coconut oil, more agave nectar and avocados! At this point I’m thinking the calorie and fat content must far exceed it’s “processed” counterpart, yet reports are that eating a raw diet is healthy and often results in weight loss. Healthy — yes, weight loss — I’m not convinced. However – I’m basing that on this one recipe experience.
The tasting: I thought it was a great substitute, but obviously not the real thing. Middle daughter (who is totally interested in this kind of thing) wants no one else to eat any of it. In fact she scooped up 3/4 of the pie and took it to her vegan friends. A few days later we went to a gathering at her space, Little Hamilton, and at the door when I said, “I’m Laura’s mom,” three people immediately said, “OH! You’re the one that made the key lime pie! It was amazing!” I can’t tell you how good it makes me feel to be known for my food!
I did the hardest thing I have ever done today. I took my beloved 12 year old Chesapeake Bay Retriever, RocksAnne, to the vet to be put to sleep. I won’t go into all of the issues she was having that zapped away her doggie joys, but let it suffice to say that my sweet baby girl is resting peacefully with all her doggie-ness restored.
