The Case of the Missing Lemon Curd (Continued) and Other Musings

Joe’s recovery: We’re eating up a storm! Went to Lotus Thai on Friday night (sorry, Fluffy, we decided to go at the last minute). Joe made roast chicken last night. Mmmm. Check Joe’s 1/24 “Health Topic”s entry (see my “Welcome to DogMa Musings” on the right for address).

The Missing Lemon Curd: The Bakehouse sales and service rep basically said that “they meant to do that”, that the Lemon Clouds weren’t supposed to be filled with lemon curd like the web description said, that he was grateful I contacted him, that he had, in fact, heard this complaint before. He was very apologetic about the pain and suffering caused by the incident and offered me a selection of baked goods of my choice to help remove the sour taste in my mouth from unmet expectations. I selected 6 pastries, including another Lemon Cloud. I went to the Bakehouse on Saturday morning, said my name was Linda and I was here to pick up an assortment of pastries. The first woman looked bemused, but the eyes of the two women behind her got very large and one of them said she’d be right back with the pastries. Don’t know how they were referring to me (I imagined “that Lemon Cloud Witch” or something like that but, of course, I will never know). Joe and I did a pastry tasting and found, among other things, that the Lemon Cloud tasted lemony! Did they lace mine with a little more lemon curd? The day after I contacted the Bakehouse by email, they had changed the description of the pastry on their website from “filled with our own fresh lemon curd” to “with a thin layer of our own fresh lemon curd”. The description now says, “These babies have taken the world of breakfast pastries by storm! This airy butter pastry is kissed with a touch of our fresh lemon curd to create a danish that will lift you up in to the clouds.” There we have it. I’d actually buy them again. I’ve promised the rep a review of the pastries and I’m going to suggest that, for Mardi Gras, they FILL those Lemon Clouds with lemon curd, call ‘em Lemon paczki, issue a Surgeon General’s Warning about dying and going to heaven, and watch the customers swoon.

DogMa Musings: This was such a hit with several of my friends, I thought I’d post it here. It’s a video of the ultimate snow dog, forwarded to me by friend, who says this guy puts her Norwegian Elkhounds to shame:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sUL0KCIc48&feature=related

And, watch this! From Joe’s boss who has a talented Corgi:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDLBgz3Lxw

The Case of the Missing Lemon Curd

Joe’s still “ahead of the curve” recovery-wise and, as an added bonus, he’s actually feeling better! We had take-out Thai food last night, went grocery shopping today despite the single digit temps, and now Chef is making dinner. Remarkable Medicine. Remarkable Care. Remarkable Endurance.

Let me tell you the story of The Missing Lemon Curd. I bought some pastries at the Bakehouse yesterday, including a Lemon Cloud. I brought it home and, with great anticipation, sliced it in half while J and C looked on. There was no lemon curd. The pastry was divine and there was a hint that it may have had a brief conversation with something lemony, but the pastry was empty. I called the Bakehouse and asked the apologetic woman to hold 2 Lemon Clouds for me for later pickup (I thought an extra one would be in order for pain and suffering, gas expenditure, and the disappointment of my brunch guests). I picked up my pastries in the afternoon and tore one open in the car before leaving. No lemon curd. I went back inside. I opened up the other one. No lemon curd. The two friendly women behind the counter said that the Lemon Cloud wasn’t completely “filled” with lemon curd. This was beginning to feel a little like the Cheese Sketch. “Do you, in fact, have Lemon Clouds with any lemon curd at all!?” They asked if I wanted something else and I selected a muffin, which I know has muffin inside. One of the women said they were going to bring this to the attention of the Bakers Investigative Unit (Scotland Bakehouse Yard). The description of the pastry is as follows: “These babies have taken the world of breakfast pastries by storm! They look like a paczki, but they taste like heaven. Fluffy rounds of buttery danish dough filled with our own fresh lemon curd.” A bit of hyperbole, perhaps? Rodomontade even? I’ll report on the results of the investigation of the The Missing Lemon Curd at a later date.

I understand why our friend Sarah (of “Sarah and the Elkhounds”) has a closet full of boots. You need ‘em to be a DogMa in S.E. Michigan. You need completely water-proof (as in rubber) boots for icy-water/mud conditions during the periodic winter thaws, boots rated to -25 degrees F. (the F is for Farenheit, although this weather might cause you to think of another F word. Perhaps I should say -25 degrees FF for friggin’ Farenheit), water-proof summer shoes, fair weather jogging shoes, and, probably, a few others for weather conditions I’ve forgotten about since last year (Tsunami shoes?). My Sorel waterproof, thinsulate-lined Timberwolf (or would that be Timberwoof?) boots are nearly perfect for the -17 degree wind chill we had today. They’re a little too tall, making it difficult to jog, so while I’m grateful to have them, I’m looking for a similar, but lower height boot. The search for the Holy Grail of boots continues.

View Haloo!

Unlike Joe, who was blogging before Al Gore invented the Internet, I am a new and infrequent contributor to blogs (last posting Aug. 19, 2007!), but here goes. Some news from Lake Melange de Berger.

Our St. Joe’s oncologist said Joe was “ahead of the curve” recovery-wise. That was good news, but cold comfort considering how dreadful Joe is feeling. They’ve got to figure out a better way to deal with those pesky cancer cells.

I actually got out the skillet and cooked something last night. Scrambled Eggs with Berkshire Ham Bits. Made a dinner theatre meal of this by adding Zingerman’s “Flat Bread” and a shot of orange juice while I watched the animated movie “Ratatouille” (charming). Not familiar with Zingerman’s “Flat Bread”? Here’s how you do it. Take a nice fresh loaf of Z’s Rustic Italian. Instead of eating it right away, decide to preserve it by vacuum sealing and freezing it. It flattens rather dramatically to its pre-levened state. None of those pesky air holes. Not a recommended technique unless you’re interested in a science experiment akin to those done with Peeps.

I had such a bad cold/sore throat last week that it seemed best to rest up. This was the first time since Coney Dog came to live with us seven years ago that I’d been unable to go on our walks twice a day. I was sad. Fortunately, we’d engaged Liz’s dog walking service in December to give Coney an additional walk each day. Liz stopped by morning and afternoon last week and she and Coney went on their tour of the neighborhood, a very good workout. I was happy to “get back in the saddle” this weekend with our daily walks. Feeling much better. Speaking of walks, time for another one. View Haloo! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4jM6OdbW9g&feature=related