Runs with Spatula

***The part of “Corky” is now being played by Chet J. Jorgensen, Jr.***

2011 brought about a few changes for the Spatula household.  Here is a nutshell recap.  April marked the ten year anniversary of my sister, Therese’s death.  It is hard to believe that it had been ten years, it still feels like yesterday.  My sister, Clare and I traveled to Columbus, Ohio and met her daughter there for the weekend.  We celebrated her life that weekend with wine, shopping and eating at her favorite Columbus area restaurants.  We miss you T!  I didn’t take a lot of pictures that weekend, but did take this picture of a picture that my niece had with her.

I finished the graduate certificate I was working on from UNC in the first half of the year!  That was a relief.  I worked a LOT over the summer.  Between my summer responsibilities in Jackson and another part time job in Ann Arbor, I often didn’t know where I was going each day until I checked my calendar! It was a great summer though.

My friend David moved back to Michigan from the other side of Lake Michigan.  It is great to have him and his dog Gus back!  Hobart and Gus get along well.  We took them for a walk around Ann Arbor together and they hung out on the side walk outside Arbor Brewing during dinner.

Of course we went to several shows.  I can’t even think of all of them.  Two of the most memorable ones were Elvis Costello in Royal Oak and U2 at Spartan Stadium.  Chet was sick and couldn’t go to Elvis at the last minute, so I took my friend Sheryl.  It was a great show.  Seeing U2 was unbelievable.  Here is a picture of the stage from my seat.

Chet and I took a vacation and visited friends in upstate New York in August.  It was wonderful to hang out with Tia and Ben. Hobart got along well with a dog 1/10 of his body weight!  Of course this was after he hip checked him when we first arrived and accidentally sent him flying off the porch!  We came home with Taylor Pork Roll and lots of Yuengling Beer.

The school year started and at first it felt like part time work since I was only working in one place! That quickly changed, as my schedule became as crazy as ever.

We celebrated my birthday in Traverse City, extending my trip there for a conference.  We were a little scared about Northern Michigan in the first week of November.  The weather was unseasonably warm and I got to show Chet how beautiful Northern Michigan is!  It was his first trip.

On 11/11/11 we met a very nice female springer pup who needed a new home.  We agreed to take her for a “trial” to see how she got along with Hobart.  I am sure you can guess how this story ends.  By Thanksgiving she was a permanent part of the household.  She is a sweet dog and after a “touch and go” start with housebreaking, she is doing great!  She is good for Hobart and for us.  We have gotten a lot more exercise since she has been around!

We traveled to the Chicago area for Chet’s 50th Birthday and attended the NU/MSU Football game Thanksgiving weekend.  I wore purple.  If you don’t know, I am a Wildcat Football Fan.  Go Cats!  It was a very wet game, but dinner out with the family afterwards was great!

My friend Beth gave my blog a little overhaul.  Isn’t it pretty?  Thanks Beth! We got to meet her adorable daughter Ada.

Hobart was a little freaked out with a baby around.  He barked every time she cried or made sound.  Sunday was actually much better with the baby.  Here is a picture of her guarding Ada during a nap.  She also liked to sniff her head.  Who doesn’t like to sniff a baby’s head?  What a smart dog.

We stayed home for the Christmas Holiday and had a relaxing break.  I can’t believe that it is time to go back to work tomorrow!  Chet and I are both looking forward to a happy and healthy 2012!  We have some mutual health and fitness goals.  I will refrain from a laundry list of resolutions and just live.

Yes, I am still around.  Yes, I still cook on occasion and I even go out to eat on occasion.  I still obsessively take pictures of it all.  Obviously, I have not been obsessive about blogging!  I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged since August!  I have tried to a couple times and just haven’t had motivation.  I feared that I lost my “blogging mojo.”  Now I am off for two weeks for Christmas Break and am hoping to find that mojo and start blogging again.  I have a bunch of pictures, some are even edited and organized on flickr!  All I need is to find the words and post them.  I will be sharing some pictures and stories over the next week or two, including our trip to Philly for Labor Day weekend.  There is a story there about a “life changing sandwich” that needs to be told! 

So, why have I been the absent blogger of late?  The school year has been pretty crazy and kicking my butt.  On top of that, I am taking classes online through UNC-Chapel Hill and that program is also kicking me in the butt!  With all this butt-kicking, I have not had the time, energy or motivation to get on here!  I just completed semester four (of five) semesters in the UNC program and was happy to hear from a friend in a previous cohort that the fifth semester is a “little slower paced” than the fourth was. 

Corky and I were planning on traveling to Phoenix for the holidays, but at the last minute we changed our plans.  We are here in good old Lansing, Michigan for the holidays and have a list of things to get done over my break.  Some are not fun, such as cleaning out closets and “simplifying” our possessions.  Others are very fun, such as spending some quality time together, getting out of the house for exercise for both us and the furry four-legged member of our family and heading to Detroit for the Christmas Market at the Eastern Market on Thursday.  I also added several items to the list last night which all involve cooking and blogging. 

Yes, I really did this to my dog.  Can’t you just hear him say “Oh no, you di’int.”  One more thing I can check off the list:  humiliate Hobart, check!

I started off the cooking adventure yesterday and am happy to say that so far, I am batting a thousand!  As many of you know, Corky and I do not always agree on what to fix for dinner!  “Why do you have to try all these new things?”  “Can’t you just make something simple.”  The man could live on Chicken Parmesan, Chicken Fajitas and an occasional Burger or Cheese steak.  I made cheese lasagna last night which got the “thumbs up” from him AND I recreated the red pepper walnut spread we had at Jolly Pumpkin in Ann Arbor and he loved that too.  Of course now I am feeling a little cocky and think I can do no wrong!

The last time we were at Jolly Pumpkin, we had an appetizer at the bar and ordered the Grilled Flatbread with Three Spreads:  hummus, edamame and red pepper walnut.  They were all delicious, but our favorite (yes, we agreed) was the red pepper walnut.  I even tried to get some information out of their Executive Chef, Maggie and the only hint she offered was that it “had cinnamon” in it.  I found this recipe online from Gourmet and decided I would start there and tweak the seasoning a little it to try to come up with something close to the delicious spread we had in Ann Arbor.  I haven’t been to Jolly Pumpkin in several months (maybe that needs to be added to the Holiday Break TO DO list?) so I don’t know if it is really that close to their dip, but it was really good and I will continue to make it.  I have to say it is “inspired” by the red pepper walnut spread I had there that day!

print recipe

Adapted from Gourmet and inspired by Jolly Pumpkin Café & Brewery

· 8 ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained

· ½ cup fresh bread crumbs

· ½ cup toasted walnuts

· 1 ½ teaspoons red wine vinegar

· ¼ teaspoon cumin

· ¼ teaspoon cinnamon

· 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used Penzey’s Black & Red Spice)

· Salt to taste (I used Vulcan’s Fire Salt from The Spice House, since I used mixture of cayenne and tellicherry black pepper)

· 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Place all ingredients except olive oil and salt in food processor. Process until nearly pureed. With motor running, add olive oil in a slow, steady stream and process until smooth. Taste and add salt if needed. Adjust seasoning with additional cayenne if desired.

Makes ~1 ½ cups. Serve at room temperature with grilled flatbread, crackers or vegetables.