The title for this post has been running through my head during this past week. It probably has to do with the fact that we're babysitting Keba, Sean and Gen's German Shepherd mix dog, for the week and the weather around here was really hot -- especially during Labor Day weekend.
Keba is a good dog. She's a big baby who lets herself be bossed around by Fuser and wants to be a lap dog like the little doggies. Even though her head is as big as Fuser's whole self, the first time she came over, she tried to climb into Gen's lap for safety because she was afraid of the little doggies. Since then she's adjusted to the beasts, although Meepee (aka Mythos) -- the big cat -- has decided to go on strike while Keba is here. Mythos sits upstairs, which is blocked off because the dogs think it's a great place to go poopie, and screams for food to be delivered to him. He also yells when his litter is too full. Lily, the other cat, comes downstairs as much as she used to, but Meepee has decided he's making his point.
The end result of all of this, however, is the sense that our house has been overrun by animals. We now have four dogs and two cats hanging around and they're ALL demanding divas. We also had a record-breaking hot spell here in Southern California, which actually affected us here in Ventura during its waning days. Hanging around with panting dogs, sweating, has been miserable, although it does cool down at night.
I'm in my surgery countdown, which is a lot less fun than it seems. I've had to give up ibuprophen, which I live by, to make me less likely to bleed. I tend to bleed a lot anyway, so it's probably a good idea, but it makes me cranky because the aching is so much worse. I had my blood work and now I just wait ... and wait.
The one bright note to all of this has been my garden. I've been picking cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and zucchini. We're just about done with peaches -- I made some turnovers with the last of them -- so that's a relief. And Tony the Nosy Neighbor has already been over to give me his advice on clipping the tree back, telling me to get Sunset's Western Gardens, which I have ... and use regularly. Thanks Tony.
I've been able to make all kinds of food with the veggies, but my favorite so far has been my faux Greek salad with cucumbers, green peppers, tomatoes, feta cheese and Kalamata olives. Have you ever noticed that on TV shows when characters have to be in a scene where they're "cooking" they always chop up pretty, colorful veggies? I've always supposed that handling a pallid, slimy chicken or fatty ground beef is distracting to the scene. Anyway, I've been feeling like a TV character, chopping my veggies, except for the 800 dogs, billion degree heat and broken foot.
Greek-style veggie salad
1 small cucumber
1-2 smallish ripe tomatoes
1/2 green bell pepper
1-2 cups fresh baby lettuce leaves
1/2 to 3/4 cups feta cheese -- I prefer Trader Joe's Mediterranean-seasoned feta cheese
handful kalamata olives
6-8 melba toast rounds, coarsely crushed
Greek or Italian dressing
Cut all the veggies, except the lettuce leaves, coarsely into bite-sized pieces. Arrange lettuce leaves on a plate. Top with veggies, feta cheese, olives and Melba rounds (I prefer melba rounds as croutons because they don't have the extra fat or overwhelming flavoring that most croutons have, including the croutons made by Old London, which use small melba rounds. I'm also a huge fan of using Trader Joe's garlic flavored pita crisps as croutons). Serve with dressing.
Greek salad dressing
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup Star red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
dried oregano, to taste
dried basil, to taste
Whisk together well and let sit for about an hour before serving.
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