Yuki's Breed Gets No Respect

I saw this Purina dog food advertisement featuring a dog that looks a lot like Yuki. For a moment, I thought Yuki's designer mix (Border Collie + Blue Heeler) was beginning to gain some credibility in the snooty world of dog breeding purists. Then, I read the ad. Nearest I can tell, this Yuki-dog is being portrayed as an unwanted shelter mutt in need of a a charity handout. Bah! I'll take Yuki over any prancing pure-breed any day!

Barbeque Ribs Underway - Dad's Recipe

It's another good day for some barbeque ribs so I'm using Dad's recipe which is a fail-safe method for a good rack of ribs.



Ribs have been dry rubbed and put into the oven at 250 degrees where they'll cook slowly for ~5 hours. In the pan is a ramekin filled with worcestershire sauce, honey, chile sauce, garlic salt and a little teriyaki sauce. The theory is the steam off this sauce will infuse the ribs a bit.

Here's a 1/2 way picture (they've been in about 3 hours). I pulled the ribs out and spooned a little of the compote over the top of the ribs. Next I sprinkled a little brown sugar over the ribs - it melted almost immediately. Afterwards, I put covered them back up with foil and put them back in the oven. The house is smelling good!



And the final product. They spent the last hour or so on the grill so Steph could use the oven. When I put them on the grill the racks broke in half and 2 clean bones actually fell off! Low heat - maintained that ~250 degree temperature - I actually turned the grill off for the last 15 minutes and let the ribs rest a bit.



They ate well!

Good Brownies

Prepare a package of Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate Brownie mix as directed, adding the following ingredients to the batter:

One and one-half cups pecan pieces
One and one-half teaspoons ground chipotle chile
One teaspoon bourbon whiskey

Bake as usual. Cool and serve.

Crazy Sit Dog & Crazy Smile Dog

Don't be put off by the Japanese. Just watch these two dogs! The first dog sits crazy and the second dog only smiles when his master comes up to him.

Hungry Jack!

Jack's been eating like a horse over the course of the last two weeks.

A typical dinner for him might include:
Pasta with a side of green beans - he eats it all and then declares "more food"
12 mini carrots (cooked) - "more food"
a jar of pudding

Maybe he's in some sort of growth spurt... he's definitely getting taller as he now hits his head on the counter overhang - fortunately he's learned to be careful around it.

Heritage Dr. Pepper

2009/2010 has seen a fad of "retro" beverages containing real sugar get released. One recent one that I tried with the Heritage Dr. Pepper.



This is another good drink though my favorite of the "retros" remains Pepsi Throwback. Mexican Coke, it should be noted, still contains can sugar and competes well with this genre of emerging drinks though I haven't seen any Coke specific retro drinks.

Segway Gaining Acceptance

While walking around the University of Arizona campus in Tucson this weekend, I saw the biggest gang of Segway riders I'd ever seen (previously the largest I'd seen was a gang on one). I captured the sighting with my cell phone camera.

Jack's Winter School Pictures

They recently did dress up pictures at school and we liked the way all of Jack's came out. He dressed as a cowboy, a naval officer and a BMX racer.

Which is your favorite?



Photo 1 - The Cowboy



Photo 2 - The Naval Officer



Photo 3 - The BMX Racer

Jack (aka The Joker!) Makes Dad a Valentines Cake

Jack and Mom did some cooking yesterday! A red velvet, heart-shaped cake for Dad.

2010 Super Bowl Menu

This year, we went with a fifteen course, portion controlled menu. This super bowl feast is meant to be consumed over the entire day.





Cinnamon Rolls (2 rolls) 220 Calories

Citrus Burst Nut Clusters (5 pieces) 170 c

Wheat Crisp & Laughing Cow (12 Crisps, 2 cows) 210 c

Bagel Bites (3 bagels) 150 c

Strawberry Whoppers (9 pieces) 85 c

Pico & Scoops (14 scoops) 170 c

Quesadillas (1 dilla) 250 c

Ice Cream (one burly tub) 270 c

Almonds (16 nuts) 120 c

Pita chip & Humus (6 chips) 190 c

M&M’s Candies (10 candies) 50 c

Pierogies (3 pieces) 170 c

Guacamole & Scoops (14 scoops) 225 c

Margherita Pizza (1 strip) 140 c

Starbucks Saint’s Victory Cupcake 325 c

iTunes Playcount Update

The playcount will be reset as I shift to the new computer. iTunes really sucks bad when it comes to moving things around.



The list remains dominated by Stephie's workouts so there are lots of similarities to last year's list.

Hot Tamales Gum

Mike & Ike and Hot Tamales candies have been movie theater favorites for years. Now they've been transformed into gum. Interestingly, the Mike & Ike gum has sugar in it while the Hot Tamales gum is sugar free. Both gums are pretty much true to the flavor of their respective candy. I personally prefer the Hot Tamales flavor having already chewed my way through a full bag.