Rejoining the World

A quick correction before I get started.  In one of my recent posts, I recommended a video my friend Jenny put together of her horse, Molson, and his kitty friend, Stripey.  I checked it the other day and realized I copied the wrong link, so here is the correct one:  Moo and Stripey .  Sorry for the mistake!

So things are starting to look up here in Sussex County!

• As of Monday, I am officially employed.  I interviewed at a nearby vet hospital last week, and was offered a position there as a full time tech. It is a HUGE relief to know that I will have a regular paycheck again! Time to put down the giant weight I was carrying on my shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief. 
• I found a horse to lease!  Haven't been on a horse since January 31st, and I am definitely in major withdrawal (just ask BearFace. I am much nicer when I am riding regularly). I did some googling and found a horse up for lease in nearby NY. I will be meeting Chase and his owner in a week or so, and hopefully we will hit it off!  He is boarded at a 100 acre farm with access to miles of trails and fields (we all know how much I love a good gallop). And yes, Murphy is allowed there, too!  Kind of sounds like my all-time favorite place in CT, Ayer Mountain Farm.  You can be sure we will be back on the trails in no time. 
• Murphy has made some new friends. We recently discovered our town's local dog park, located a convenient 5 minutes from our house.  He has been playing with a few Great Danes, a Rottweiler, and a couple of labs every evening when the weather is good!  
• I'M GOING TO FLORIDA!!!  That's right, be jealous.  I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and flying down to St. Petersburg to visit one of my long lost school friends, Justine!  We first became friends in 8th grade, and have remained close through high school and college.  A lot has changed since the days of sleepovers, summers by her pool, and working together at my neighbor's store. I am beyond excited to catch up with her...we've only been able to see each other briefly in the past 3 years (HOPEFULLY this storm will not cause my flight to be cancelled, or Mother Nature and I will have a serious issue on our hands).

Back field of AMF, looking towards the barn.  

Million dollar view, and oh so much galloping space.

Now that we're all caught up on my life, I'm hoping to be blogging a bit more regularly once I start my new job and can have a normal schedule.  I tend to get a little lost with too much free time (as in, I forget what day of the week it is...). 

I do have one recipe to share!  BearFace and I took a quick trip to CT this weekend, where we both caught up with friends and family. I made this delicious and dairy-free appetizer to bring to Sarah Towle's housewarming party on Saturday night. I was a little worried that it wouldn't go over well being a cheesehead pizza, but it got great reviews and was devoured within 15 minutes! 

Mushroom Pesto Pizza  (I originally got this idea here, then did some modifications of my own)

1 15 ounce refrigerated pizza dough

2 cups crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/2 cup canned artichoke hearts, roughly chopped

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced in thin strips

1 jar basil pesto 

Olive oil

Salt and pepper 

1 tsp garlic, minced

1. Place pan in oven and preheat to 500 degrees. 
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat, then add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Add salt and pepper to taste, and continue to sauté for about 10 minutes. Mushrooms should be tender, not mushy. 
3. Roll out pizza dough on floured surface to fit pan, then spread pesto on a thin layer to cover pizza. Poke dough liberally with a fork.
4. Spread mushrooms over pesto. They should completely cover pesto. 
5. Top with tomatoes and artichoke hearts. 
6. Bake for 12 minutes. 

Since I wanted it to be hot at the party, I put the pizza together at my parents house and then baked it at Sarah's. Unfortunately her oven is from the 60's and might potentially be the first oven ever made. Needless to say, the temperature was a little off and ended up burning my tomatoes.  I just picked them off and no one knew any better!

This thing was a work of ART before the oven ate it!

 Aside from getting to see Sarah and some other UConn barn friends, I also got to meet up with Rachel, Jen, and Caitlin!  I haven't seen any of them in a while, so I was really glad we got to catch up.  Of course Murphy and I made sure to spend time with my parents and their dog Ruby, too. Murphy definitely misses her, but was happy to catch up on his napping when he got home. 

And now I'm off to finish laundry and packing for my trip!  Crossing my fingers that winter storm Saturn won't get in my way...

My Dog is a Creep

Murphy and I have been spending a lot of time together.  A lot.  Of time.  Other than the fact that he is extremely lazy, I have also noticed that he is a creep.  Some might call him a stalker.  

He creeps on me while I'm brushing my teeth...

And while I'm blowdrying my hair.

While I'm eating lunch...

And while I'm blogging!

He creeps on me when I'm in my car...

And when I'm watching TV.

When I'm in the kitchen cooking dinner...

He EVEN creeps on other dogs in our yard!

Sometimes I have to leave the house just to get away from his unwavering stare. 

In other news, last night I almost burned the house down.  Well, not really.  But it did get pretty smoky while I was cooking dinner!  Oops.

Grilled Sausages and Polenta

1 pound sweet Italian sausage

1 tube prepared polenta sliced into 1/2 inch rounds, or 1/2 cup quick-cooking polenta (recipe follows)

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 garlic clove, minced

Salt and pepper

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 bag baby arugula

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

1. Whisk oil, vinegar, rosemary, and garlic together in small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  
2. Place polenta rounds in another small bowl and cover with 3 tbsp dressing.  
3. Grill sausages over medium-high heat, turning frequently, until brown on all sides and cooked through, about 7-9 minutes.  
4. Grill polenta until charred and heated through, about 3 minutes on each side.  
5. When polenta is done grilling, transfer to plate or serving platter and drizzle with 2 tbsp dressing.  
6. Combine arugula, tomatoes, red onions, and remaining dressing in a large bowl.  

Ok, so the dressing, sausage, and polenta all tasted amazing.  However, the polenta did not quite grill the way I hoped.  They kind of fell apart on my grill pan, I think due to the grease leftover from the cooking the sausages.  Sometimes, the grill pan just doesn't do the job of a real grill.  Still, it was a delicious meal!

I could not find a tube of precooked polenta in the grocery store, nor have I ever been able to find one, so I had to resort to making my own (if anyone has ever seen these in the grocery store, let me know!  I'm starting to doubt their existence...).  

1. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to boil in a small saucepan.
2. Season with 1 tsp salt.
3. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup polenta.  Continue stirring about 3 minutes or until it reaches a smooth consistency and all water is absorbed.
4. Stir in about 1/2 tsp black pepper and 1 tsp olive oil.
5. Transfer to 8x8 glass baking pan and spread in a thin, even layer.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes, then refrigerate for 1-2 hours. 
6. Using a glass, cut out circles from polenta sheet.  

This sounds like a lot of work, but polenta is pretty much the easiest thing to make (Besides maybe oatmeal).  And it's awesome!  I love the taste alone, but there are so many different ways to make polenta that I never get bored with it.  Nom Nom Nom.  

Umm yah.  I need to work on my grill marks.  Or get a real grill...