Bunshine… On my Shoulder…

…Makes me HAP-PY! For those who did not know, I threw in my furkids’ names into the Secret Paws Summer 2007 edition. Jessi with Zy counted as one entry and Caesar with Julius counted as another. Early on, Ceaze and Jules received a very fun package from Briseis, Dandi, and Simon. I had posted the goodies on the Secret Paws site and am finally getting to share the link. Meanwhile, the second package for Jessi and Zy arrived from the Big Apple of NYC on Tuesday, the 3rd.

Who is the gifter of this fabulous package? The very sweet and demure Mrs. Sniffles! This cute little Mini-Rex could pass as Newton’s cousine (French for girl cousin). The willow-made goodies and wooden rolls were surrounded by timothy hay which acted as padding. Jessi and Zy did not care about the padding and greedily ate up both hay and the willow. The wooden rolls are being joyfully tossed and thrown about their play areas. Of course I kind of gave them an incentive by putting some miniature yogurt chips inside the balls. I wish I recorded the two of them because both were “arguing” over the balls and would end up exchanging them after the “steals” between the bunnies.

Besides this fabulous package, I have been a mite busy. Sunday was the Loudon race, and as soon as we were seated, I cast on for Uncle Pauly’s Socks. I used 2 cakes of Classic Elite’s Inca Alpaca in the Nightingale colorway. They are now awaiting his arrival next week when he comes to visit his Mother for her birthday. I do hope he likes them!

Our 4th of July was relatively quiet. The main reason I have been busy is because I started reorganizing my stash wall and did most of the moving and packing that day. For those not familiar with the boxes the unwound hanks are in, they are 14 inches by 14 inches by 12 inches. That is a lot of unwound yarn! Hence, my need to use up my skeins/balls/cakes is pretty important. Plus, destashing would be good too, so please let me know if anything strikes up interest.

Saturday was Cathy and Dave’s annual barbecue. I brought an artichoke dip that I received from Karen when she made us dinner at Saint Louis the week before. I had tweaked the recipe by lessening the garlic (the sun-dried tomatoes were already soaked in it), added crabmeat, substituted sharp white cheddar, and replaced the parmesan with asiago. The dip was an absolute hit and I now present my version of this recipe. The best part is that all the mixing can be done in the dish that the dip will be baked in and served. Also like I do with patterns, I am planning on trying out substitutions of Gruyere and Gouda as the main cheese. Enjoy! =:8

Sun-dried Tomato and Artichoke Dip
• Ingredients and hardware
  1/2 cup of sun-dried tomatoes that was contained in oil
  (1) 14-oz can of artichoke hearts, drained
  1 teaspoon of minced garlic
  1/2 cup of sour cream
  1/2 cup of heavy cream (original: milk 1/4 cup mayo)
  1-1/2 cups grated sharp white cheddar (original: 8-oz grated swiss)
  1/4 cup grated asiago (original: 1/4 cup grated parmesan)
  1 round casserole or souffle dish
  optional: (1) 6-oz can each of crab and lumb crab meat
• Directions
  After removing the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes by patting them with a towel, coarsely chop them up with the artichoke hearts. (I used kitchen shears.) Mix in the garlic. Add the sour cream and heavy cream. Blend in the cheddar (or main cheese of choice). Fold in the crab. When all the mixing, blending, and folding is all set, smooth out the top and sprinkle the asiago. Bake the dip for 20 minutes at 325 degrees F, rotate 180 degrees, then broil for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F. Serve immediately with sliced bits of bread.