Oof.

Dear god. I forget how rich Newburg sauce is until I make a double batch. Damn. It shouldn't be - it is really nothing more than a standard white sauce, made with cream instead of milk and then with a couple of egg yolks mixed in at the end. You wouldn't think that makes such a difference, but damn. I was so full and so tired last night that I was unable to post.

Oh, quick recipe for Newburg Sauce:
2 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1 cup cream
2 egg yolks, slightly scrambled
pinch cayenne

Melt the butter, stir in the flour and make a roux.
Add the cream and stir until it thickens.
Add the scallops or lobster or whatever you like, pre-cooked, and bring them up to temperature in the sauce.
Add the yolks, stirring to incorporate.
dust in the cayenne.
Serve immediately.

Ours are served in popovers that have been hollowed out, but lots of people use puff pastry shells. Makes no difference.

+++++

The rain let up for a little while yesterday, so we went for a walk to see what we could see. An easy 3-mile loop on the carriage roads sounded easy enough, right? Well, it seems I had forgotten how steep that little cluster of hills was, and we were right pooped by the time we got home. After a day outdoors, I made the scallops Newburg you see above, and all three of us (pup included) quietly slipped into the sleep of the just. Thunder woke me at around two this morning, but I went right back to sleep. I saw no flashes of lightning worth staying up for.

On our walk, I managed to take a few pretty good pictures. This was Quinn's first time on this walk, and she was so excited she could barely contain herself. Here she is being a very small dog in a very big park.



And here is a waterfall we stopped to admire:



And here is a little stepping-stone waterfall that feeds into a culvert that runs under the carriage road. Quinn is very suspicious of it. Note that her ears look a lot like Dobby's. This is her hesitant and on-guard look. It sounded a lot like the shower, and she hates to have her bath.



And finally, here is one of the bridges over Hadlock Brook. The part of Hadlock Brook that you see here - above Upper Hadlock Pond - is closed to fishing. It serves as the hatchery and incubator area for the native brook trout population that wildlife conservation people are trying to encourage to come back. The fishery was greatly depleted for a while and is beginning to come back, in part because of this kind of effort. But it absolutely HURTS that we cannot fish this perfect little stream. Oh, god! How it aches! Anyway, here's the bridge to take the carriage road over the brook.



There was a brief bit of sunshine this morning when I awoke at 7:45, but it lasted approximately 10 minutes and has been replaced by more clouds and drear. This wet stuff has got to stop, or I'm going to lose my mind or go broke, or maybe both. Grr.

Such fun

Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine how much time I would spend looking at a dog's ass.

Puppy ownership is a new thing for me. It has been years since I have owned a dog, and I have never owned anything so small (9 pounds) that still qualifies as a dog (she barks.) Dog ownership means going for walks. Lots of walks. Lots and lots of walks until the pooch is trained to do her toileting activities OUTSIDE the house instead of under the dining room table. Or on the living room carpet. Sigh. Good thing we have ready access to a carpet shampooer. Soon as the weather warms up, everything's gettin' a pretty thorough scrubbin'. Even the dog, if she hasn't straightened out.

But back to dog butts. As a dog owner, I find myself traversing the neighborhood now with my little dog at the end of her zippy leash, vigorously sniffing every inch of earth before her. I cannot read her intentions with all this sniffing. Is she smelling the tender shoots of green grass just ready to poke through to the surface and announce that spring is indeed here? Is she smelling the fading scent of a trespassing squirrel? Has she found a likely spot to do her business so we can go back to the house and get out of the cold rain? Or has she simply found something dead to roll in?

I cannot tell the difference in the sniffing end of the dog, but occasionally, if I look at the end that is not sniffing, I can get a hint that my shivering expedition might soon be over. I won't go into the various characteristics of dog butts that indicate various needs of the animal, but suffice it to say that I am quickly becoming something of an expert. Sigh.

So spring is approaching in the land of oz. I saw crocuses (croci?) on one of our several walks today, and Laura's brother reports that he got several nibbles while fishing today. It has now turned cold and rainy and is expected to stay that way for several days. No fishing for us for a while. Tomorrow we shall go junking again. Our friend H calls it "road shopping." I like that term. There is an auction tomorrow as well. I'd like to pick up an armchair that is not already beat to crap to replace the one the cat has shredded in the living room. Then we can put the old dead chair out for junk day.

Oh man - someone came today and hauled off the furnace that we had dragged out there the other day. That thing had to weigh 500 pounds, easily. Some guy and his wife came in a big GMC pickup truck, dropped the tailgate and rolled that thing right on in. Good for them. I can't imagine what they might do with it, but more power to 'em. We have that much more space to put out crap from the basement. Yay us.

It has been a down week. Perhaps things will look up tomorrow.