Thursday, November 12, 2009

A Thorsday Appetizer

You know my boy Ryan has been sick. So we haven't been doing much school work. And I feel my skills becoming a little rusty.

We have not been romping in the yard. And I need more romping.

This is what I've been doing. A lot.

Queen Bitty recently contacted me, and demanded that my human get that salad dressing recipe for her human. Really, for a 4 pound dog, she can be quite demanding. I prefer to get my way by charm. Now, over to my human for....

Marinated Artichoke Hearts

Thank you, Thor.


My dearly beloved loves artichokes. Steamed with drawn butter or marinated, the man adores artichokes. so, rather than pay the excess price for marinated artichokes, I long ago learned to simply buy cans of artichoke hearts, drain them well, quarter them and plop them into Italian salad dressing. My own dressing, of course.
And, for Duckie, here's a recipe for a great Italian dressing; feed it to Ben to your heart's content!

ITALIAN DRESSING

1/4 cup wine vinegar
2 tbsp water
2 tsp finely minced onion
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder (more, if desired)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup salad oil (not olive oil)

Mix the onion and spices into the vinegar, shake well, and let it sit for at least an hour. Add the water and oil, shake and serve. Great on salads, it's also wonderful as a marinade, or poured over steak or chicken before grilling. You really need to let the spices soften up and mix with the vinegar to get the full effect, and the water will keep the vinegar fro
m making your eyeballs spin inside your head. Olive oil becomes rather viscous and unpourable in the refrigerator, thus I caution you against using it. This is another "Learn from my mistake!" moment. You can use white vinegar instead of wine vinegar, but look how pretty this is!

Happy Thorsday, everyone. Thor is hoping for healthy boys and no rain next week!

16 comments:

Pam said...

Oh Thor. I have two kids you could come play with - they would be thrilled (so would I)!

What a great idea to make your own marinated artichokes! The dressing sounds great.

SissySees said...

Poor Thor! Dogs are creatures of routines, aren't they? Gretchen was trying to make a point this morning, and I think I might have figured it out, but I need to go home to confirm...

Anonymous said...

I'm glad Queen Bitty wheedled this recipe out of you!!

Lapdog Creations said...

Poor Thor... you look sooooo sleepy!

mmm... the dressing sounds delish!

Katherine Roberts Aucoin said...

Sounds like Queen Bitty is keeping Thor occupied while Ryan recourperates.

I'm copying down that salad dressing recipe!

Sue said...

Oh Thor, you can come play with us. We love to run up and down the hill and sometimes Mom throws the ball for us to chase.

You can even bring your boy to play, too.

Jhonny walker said...

Poor Thor..he looks so sad :(

Your artichoke marinades are super good. Too bad that cannot perk up Thor :)

would perk me up :)

The Blonde Duck said...

Queen Bitty says thanks, and sniffs that you took long enough. I apologize for her rudeness, and the river of drool that will wind your way when I fix this for next week with some toralinni I've been saving...

Anonymous said...

Thor, Thor you are such a sweet pooch! I hope your Ryan is feeling better soon ♥ I think you are the sweetest dog we know ♥

Thor and Jack said...

Hi Thor!
I hope your boy Ryan gets better soon!
That food looks delicious!
xoxo
Thor

i said...

Oh poor Thor. You can come over and join Happy for her walkies. That sounds like a great recipe.

Mickle in NZ said...

Oh Thor, thank goodness Patrick is there to romp inside with. Do remind him that it is your lobster.

Another great recipe, Marjie!

Dexter said...

Thor! Dude! How much romping can you take anyway? I get tired just watching my stupid PeeWee run around the yard.

Slobbers,
Mango

buffalodick said...

My 10 year old Airedale got a hair cut..for a few days she romps like she was a puppy again!
Hope kids get better soon!

tavolini said...

I love the pink color of the dressing! Italian is one of my favorites--do you think it would keep well if I use fresh herbs?

(still hasn't froze--I'm hoping for a mild winter. A couple years ago it was so mild my begonias survived it!)

Paula said...

Okay, you gotta love a dog that sleeps with just the tip of his tongue sticking out! Those artichokes look great, especially with your homemade dressing. I usually buy the canned ones, but recently bought a bag of frozen plain ones. Thanks for the recipe to try out!