Today I will tell you the heroic tale of a happy dog who, when life handed him lemons, made a tasty pitcher of lemonade. Dingo McBearnut used to while away his afternoons sitting on Piglet McStanislaus' house. The house, a hybrid between the Pueblo Revival and Richardsonian Romanesque styles, brought happiness to both of the animals. Pig hid in the dark recesses under the Roman Arches when Dingo ripped laps around the living room and Dingo sat on the roof and scanned the parking lot for the looming menace of UPS Drivers and Garbage Trucks.
Everyone was happy.
Then one day, tragedy struck. A callous and untidy student left her school books sitting on Dingo's perch.
This nearly broke his heart. He couldn't reconcile himself to this sudden invasion of cold, relentless academia in his heretofore simple and carefree life and he found standing on his tip-toes to bark at neighbors exhausting. Things looked bleak indeed.
However, they say necessity is the mother of invention. A brilliant resolution presented itself and Dingo leaped at it. He usurped the seat of the usurper.
From this new vantage point, he could still monitor the parking lot and warn his family of approaching mail men and dog walkers.
But Dingo could also, just by turning his head and peering down the hallway, keep an eye on other members of the family, those who might need sudden assistance in hoovering dropped food or going for walks.
Author's Note: This is a true story. Some afternoons, the house grows quiet and I get that creepy feeling like I'm being watched. I turn in my chair and see him staring at me through the narrow slit by the lamp.
Pie (Shepherd's)
After her success at browbeating me into making her Chicken and Dumplings, Ainers wheedled Shepherd's Pie out of me. This dish intimidated. Obviously. Her parents made it often when she was a wee bairn. Not only did the Irish and Scottish construct an entire cuisine around beef and potatoes, they perfected the hallmark dish of rural Britain, Shepherd's Pie.
The sheer weight of tradition made me weak at the knees. One wrong flick of the salt shaker and I could have destroyed a happy four month marriage.
I did what I do best in dire situations. I played it by ear. Like this:
2 lb beef
1 lg onion (chopped)
1 lb mixed frozen veggies (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)
1 can beef broth
4 tbl Worcestershire sauce
2 tbl chopped garlic
dried rosemary/salt/pepper/chili powder to taste
2.5 lb new potatoes
.5 cup milk
6 tbl butter
1. Cook and drain the beef.
2. Add onion, veggies, broth, sauce, garlic, spices and cook until the liquid reduces quite a bit and the onions cook down and look translucent.
3. Boil the new potatoes and mash them (I left the skins). Add the milk and butter and mix thoroughly.
4. Put the beef concoction at the bottom of a pan, cover with the potato mixture, bake for 30 min at 375.
Sorry if that is sort of vague. I made it up as I went, mostly. Aine loved it. Another win, I guess. Aine began eating before I could get a picture, so I took a picture of the food in the pan after dinner. Not as fancy a presentation as we usually provide, but it gives you the general idea:
I drew inspiration from these sources:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/easy_shepherds_pie/
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/shepherds-pie-vi/
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Best-Shepherd-s-Pie
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Shepherds-Pie-240224
http://www.food.com/recipe/traditional-irish-shepherds-pie-302120?oc=linkback
Peacocks
Or one, rather. I finally got a decent picture of the Peacock on Neil.
Up close, so you can get all the bizarre detail:
And the long shot so you can see the Abbot Power Plant and the Illinois Central in the background:
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