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Joyeux Quatorze Juillet!

puppy love: oliver: 1, sprinkler: 0

Oliver LOVES the water. We first realized it when our neighbor, who (without any planning or communication between us) also got a puppy who just happens to be a day older than Oliver, filled up a kiddie pool with water for the dogs.  Oliver jumped right in and started "doggy paddling" (he wasn't quite swimming because the pool isn't deep enough) and our neighbor's dog, Tana, refused to join.  It is so amazing to me how dogs have these natural tendencies, this inherent knowledge of what to do.  What would take a human child days/weeks/months to learn, Oliver did immediately upon hitting the water at 8 weeks.  Crazy.

Anyway, we, as of yet, do not have a kiddie pool for the Liver to play in, so sometimes we try to get him to run through the sprinkler.  He doesn't like it nearly as much as the kiddie pool.  I think he doesn't quite get what's going on.  However, he will run up to it and try to bite the water.  You show 'em, Oliver.

And, he's really cute when he's sopping wet.  Well, let's be honest, he's really cute all the time. 

puppy love: oliver and the bottle

I'll admit it; these pictures are from awhile ago.  Like 3 weeks ago probably.  Oliver is MUCH bigger now.  He's growing so quickly! The weeks are flying by, too. It's hard to believe we got him Memorial Day weekend...it sometimes seems like just yesterday that we brought this little rascal into our home and it sometimes feels like we've had him forever.  I do have some more recent pictures to share, but I wanted to get these out there first - lest you think Oliver is shrinking! Ha what a joy that would be.  Some days I feel nervous about his undetermined full-size.  We've been told he'll be anywhere from 40 to 80 lbs.  Right now it's looking like we'll surpass 40 in no time (okay maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, last vet visit he only weighed 16.8).

Either way, he loves to play with that bottle. If Oliver could talk, he would tell you how he loves the way it bounces unpredictably.  And how he loves the rattling noise it makes as it hits the concrete.  He loves to chase it and how difficult it can be to bite the bottle itself (that mini tennis ball makes things much easier).  

puppy love: broken record

If you were a fly on my wall for the past few weeks, you might think there's a broken record around here.  I've been saying a lot of, "Good pee! Good pee! Good pee!" Immediately followed by, "No bite! No bite! No bite!" Sometimes I wonder if I'll forget how to say anything else at all.

Of course, Oliver is so cute and curious that it's hard to really care what my vocabulary becomes. I find myself growling and barking and mimicking dog sounds. I'm learning to speak dog.

He's learning how to talk too. His quiet whimpering has turned into some quite loud yelps in the last couple of days.  If I had to place bets, I wouldn't think it would be long until he can full-on bark.  It's crazy how quickly he's growing.  Tomorrow marks his 2 month birthday! Yay Oliver! Does that mean I get to have cake?

a recipe: easy-peasy apple turnovers

This weekend I pulled together some apple turnovers from kind-of-scratch.  Aka I bought the puff pastry.  I had made apple turnovers before at my restaurant job throughout high school and college, so I figured this couldn't be much different.  Plus, I had a piece of puff pastry in the freezer that was in dire need of immediate use lest it suffer from the ever-dreaded freezer burn.   

I took the puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw.  (This is my least favorite part of baking with puff pastry, because it seems to take for-ev-er.) And I promptly forgot about it.  Fast forward to me, 6 hours later, struggling to force gummy, melted puff pastry into neat little triangles.  As the picture above can attest: puff pastry: 1, Kristen: 0. 

No hydrangeas were harmed in the making of this dessert (or breakfast, if you're cool like me).

Aside from my dough struggles, this recipe is really very simple and should only take about 30 minutes (not including thaw time) from start to finish.  

Easy-Peasy Apple Turnovers

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

flour, for dusting

2 large green apples, peeled (I only peeled one, because I like the peel)

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tbs lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs sugar, divided

1 egg, separated, whites discarded

a baking sheet

parchment paper

mixing bowls

sharp knife

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Peel (if desired) and chop 1-2 large green apples in to 1/4" pieces.  Add to medium mixing bowl.  Add lemon juice (about 1/2 lemon) to bowl.  Grate zest of about 1/4 lemon and add to bowl. Add vanilla, cinnamon, and 1 tbs sugar.  Mix well.*

Once you sheet of puff pastry has thawed, lay it out flat on a lightly floured surface. Use a fork or knife to make lots of little holes in the pastry so it doesn't puff up too much in the oven. Divide pastry into 3 equal rectangles. There should already be three fold lines to guide you.  Then cut each rectangle into 3 equal squares. Add a tablespoon or two of the apple mixture to each square.  

Combine egg yolk with 1 tbs of water.  Brush egg yolk mixture around the edges of each square.  Fold over the edges and press them together to seal.  Brush the top of each pastry with more egg wash and sprinkle with remaining sugar.  Poke holes in the tops of your pastries if the original holes disappeared during the folding process.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.

*The apples will cook down and become quite soft in the oven. However, if you want a denser apple consistency, you could cook the apples in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until they resemble a chunky apple sauce and then add the apple sauce to the squares instead.