Time for secondary fermentation!

Basically, that just means that fermentation had begun to slow in the primary fermenter, so we switch it to the smaller one to get some of the gunk out and then let it finish up any thing else it wants to do. The beer will stay in the secondary fermenter until Sunday. And then.... it's bottling day! Here are some pics, they don't really need any comments, but I'll give them to you
I'm in charge of holding the siphoning doohickey in place above the sediment.This is the secondary fermenter. It's smaller. The containers next to it are what Kevin pours any leftover beer into if it won't fit into the secondary fermenter. He then drinks that flat, warm beer. I'll stick to my glass of wine.
This is the sediment. Gross stuff. I'm glad Kevin cleans out the fermenter and not me.
Finished product and a very happy looking Kevin. Join us Sunday night for pictures of the bottling process!

California State Fair

Kevin and I took the afternoon off of work to go to the State Fair. We meant to go last year but then we purchased a certain puppy instead. But anyway, it was a really great time. The hot sun penetrated my sunscreen almost instantly (ow, my arms) and shade was very scarce. We wandered through most of the exhibits, though. We especially liked the goats.

We got to see baby calves that were born an hour before. They were HUGE, it was amazing. There were also little piglets and lambs.

For our fair food we had lemonade, a pulled pork sammich (splitzies) and a deep fried Snickers bar. I remembered the snickers bar being tastier. Kevin had never had one before, and said it was "meh". No elephant ear or kettle corn... which makes me a sad Kara.
It was difficult to pick a ride to go on. For starters, tickets are waaaay expensive and each ride takes at least 7. When I was a young'un it was like 2 tickets per ride, 3 if it was new and went upside down. We also had the issue of not wanting to trust a carnie with my backpack (which held my wallet and our nalgene), so that meant no crazy rides. Finally we decided on the little ski lift sort of thing, which took us over the fair. It was really cool to be up above the rides. Here's some cool pictures of our journey in the sky.
To end, here are some pictures of a happy Kevin and a happy Kara. The only thing that I'm slightly disappointed about is that Kevin wouldn't let me play the game to win a goldfish. He's kinda lame. :)

Giants v. Padres in San Francisco

So yesterday we woke up really early and dropped off Spartacus at Doggy DayCamp, then began the drive to San Francisco for the Giants game. After a couple minor problems (forgetting the tickets and having to turn around, then going to Monster Park instead of AT &T) we finally made it. We were super smart and parked a couple miles away and walked rather than spending 30 bucks on parking. We met our friends Dan and Anna at our great seats. It was also Dog Days of Summer at AT &T field, so there was a parade of doggies before the game. Super cute stuff.
Along with a pretty decent game of baseball were some good eats, hot links and garlic fries. Yum!

So, it was a pretty fun time! I had never been to a major league game before, and I'm usually of the opinion that baseball is boring because it's not a contact sport. However, when you're out there with some major fans around you and the crowd goes crazy and stands up when a run is scored it's pretty intoxicating. So, I got into it. Go Giants!
Dan and Anna were cheering on the Padres. They lost. Haha. This is him making a sad face. I was also making a sad face at the time, but that was because it was freezing cold (somehow it was breezy but we weren't even out in the open) and hot chocolate was like 34 dollars a cup. You don't even want to know how expensive a beer was.
So after we won our plan was to go grab dinner at Colibri, a Mexican bistro Kevin and I have eaten at before. After snagging another great parking spot (with another mile or so walk) we managed to get our table a bit early. Oh, that guacamole. Delicious. Splitting it between four people was torture. Our entrees were very tasty. I got the catch of the day in a garlic cream sauce with green beans and chorizo. Yum!
It was a really great day, but it didn't end when we got back to our apartment. We ended the day with drinks at Dan and Anna's, since we thought we should enjoy being "kid-free" (Dexter was at Doggy DayCamp, too!). We also played Catch Phrase (think Password) and Kevin and I DOMINATED.
No, we're not competitive. Not at all.
Ugh, what a horrid picture. This is why I stay behind the camera.
I hope everyone had a great Saturday like we did!

Spartacus and Dexter sharing a treat!

This one is for Anna (Dex's human-mom):
Finally! All of our efforts of capturing the two Bostons sharing a rawhide or pulling on opposite ends of a rope toy have fallen short. Usually the pictures turn out as black and white blurs or one of them lets go to check out what I'm doing on the floor in front of them with a camera.
But here it is, the long awaited picture! Sweat, blood, and tears have been shed to attain this adorable shot.... drum roll please!

*drum roll.....*


Ta-Da!
Spartacus and Dexter... BFFs!

Brew Day!

We're running out of home brew, thus it was time to visit our local brew shop. So, our (meaning mine, Kevin chose the type of beer last time) beer of choice this time is a Belgian Saison, which the guy at BrewMeister says is different from anything he had ever tasted before. The description is this: "This has a creamy white, dense head" and is lightly hazy and golden. "There is floral and spice aroma mingled with delicate fruitiness that leads you to the light, refreshing soft malt and hop flavor". Sounds good, right?
I thought since very few people knew how the process of beer brewing works I would post a little "how-to" thing.
Let's start by introducing all of the players: the grains, the extracts/malts, the saphir hops, and the Irish moss. The bottling sugar is also in the picture, but that guy is in Act II.

And let us not forget the star of our show.... the YEAST! (Clapping, cheers, etc)

Now, first we load all the grains into the old man sock and tie it into a knot. Then that boils for about 30 minutes. Here's the sock.

Then we add more water, and dump in the bucket of extracts (the sugars and stuff). It's pretty goopy stuff. You'd think it would taste good, but it doesn't. We tried the first time we brewed.

So, with the sugars added we let it boil, then add the Saphir hops, and boil 45 minutes. Then we add the Irish moss and let that boil an additional 15 minutes. Meanwhile, we have to sanitize EVERYTHING we use, which is what is happening in the picture on the right.

Then we have to cold break the wort to below 100 degrees in a sink of icy water. Did I mention the concoction is called a "wort"? Sick, right? Wort becomes beer, though, just remember that!

And then we dump the beer into the fermenter while straining all the goop (which is the hops and moss and any stuff that snuck out of the old man sock). Moving the spoon around to allow the good stuff to go through is normally my job, but Kev is much more photogenic. Oh, and on the right is the goop. Yucky looking stuff.

And after we fill the rest of the primary fermenter (the glass thing) with some filtered water to make 5.5 gallons we pitch the yeast! Yay!

And finally, the finished product, ready to go in our closet for fermentation. After fermentation ceases we will rack it into our secondary fermentor. And then.... bottling and aging!

Thanks for joining us for this little brewing "how-to"! If you thought this was exciting, wait until we start trying our own recipes! Stop by our place in a month or so for a delicious bottle of Belgian Saison!

Oh, and behold my nice clean kitchen after brewing. Yikes!

FIDO Field Grand Opening

After months (or I'm sure years) of hard work and planning, Folsom's dog park is finally open. It is a beautiful facility with nice grass and a little doggy drinking fountain. There is a part of me thinks that they tried making it a little too fancy. Other dog parks (like the C-Bar_C park we usually go to in Citrus Heights) provide plenty of plastic chairs to sit on, as well as buckets for the pups to drink out of and little blue swimming pools to cool off in. This park has a few benches and picnic tables (but food isn't allowed) and does not allow those wading pools. The only water supply (the doggy drinking fountain) requires a human to push a button at the top. Is Folsom trying to be too high class for a dog park? Perhaps.
We've also though about looking at houses around the park once we get to the stage of buying. It would be so great to walk to the dog park on a Saturday morning with travel mugs full of coffee.
So, on to our day at FIDO field. To begin, it was packed. Check out all the people (and dogs!).

It was opening day so they had the ribbon cutting ceremony and there were vendors there advertising pet grooming, pet sitting, and pet couture services. We didn't buy anything, but we picked up a couple fliers. Hindsight, I wish we had gotten a raffle ticket, they were giving away a ton of good stuff!

Sparty making friends...



Dexter also came, and he was allowed in to the dog park before us. Due to the enormous amount of dogs we were all given little tickets on arrival that told us what time we could go into the off-leash area. Dexter got to go in first and Sparty was sad. Isn't the picture sad?
The funny thing is, once we FINALLY got into the off-leash area Spartacus was so hot that he found a bit of shade on the grass and laid down. He eventually did get up and check out the doggy water fountain and sniffed another Boston.
All in all, great day. We're thinking about buying a little carrier thing to go behind Kevin's bike so we can bike there (it's too far and Sparty is too dumb to run beside the bikes). Those carriers are expensive, though. We'll see.
Hope everyone else had a happy Saturday!

Update

Under the About Me section I've added some extra links. Kayla asked that I put all the links in one spot so she can stalk us more easily. The planning bio is just a girlie way of me putting all my ideas for our wedding and reception in one spot. If you have some ideas or think what I'm coming up with is gorgeous you're more than welcome to email me. :) The actual wedding website isn't set up yet, but it will be up soon. It will be password protected as well, so if I don't tell you our password it means to bugger off. Just kidding.
I hope everyone had a swell weekend, I'm off to clean the bathroom!

Oh, and Dexter (Sparty's BFF) and Spartacus got together to play today!

Boston Terrier Day

We had our monthly Boston terrier meet-up today at the Phoenix Dog Park in Fair Oaks. We met Sparty's good friend Dexter there (and owners Dan and Anna). They had a blast. Everyone (meaning all the Bostons) chased each other, sniffed each other's butts, and played keep away with frisbees. Here's a couple of the better shots of him. He's the one in the red harness with the spikey collar.

































There's a great action shot of Spartacus and one of him making friends with a younger Boston.
















Then Sparty was covered in slobber and dirt, so we promptly stuck him in the shower and gave him a good brushing.

It was a really great day.

Cuban Thursday Night!

After a long day of jury duty, I was not looking forward to cooking. It was a lot of sitting around, waiting for my name to be called, then explaining to the judge that I couldn't afford to sit in on a month-long trial. By the end of the day I had blisters (never wear heels to court) and a huge headache (I spent about 6 hours of the day reading). After I finally got home and changed my shoes I glanced at our weekly menu to see what was on the schedule for tonight.
We had bought this pork tenderloin at the store (yay for coupons!) and I decided a couple days ago to do this recipe. It seemed like a bit of work, but since it was a grilling recipe, it didn't look like I had to do much. It was awesome. So, I thought I would share with you our exciting Cuban meal.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze and Orange-Habanero Mojo
For the glaze:
1 cup guava jelly (which I found at Safeway, amazingly enough!) or apricot
1/4 c. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. Orange juice (I used tropicana, no concentrate stuff)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whisk all these things together. Set a small amount aside to brush on after cooking.
For the Mojo:
1 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 and 1/2 cups orange juice
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (great when your client's mom gives you like 10 limes!)
1/2 a habanero chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. cumin
S &P
Heat oil in a saucepan over med. high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook 5 minutes until soft (don't brown). Add OJ, lime juice, and habanero. Bring to a boil and reduce by half. Whisk in cilantro and cumin, season with S & P.
For the pork
Rub a 1 and a half pound pork tenderloin with some veggie oil, season with S&P. Grill on high, brushing with glaze often, 5 or so minutes per side.
Remove from heat, let sit 10 minutes, brushing with reserved glaze. Slice thinly, and pour mojo sauce over it.

And that's it! I know it sounds complicated, but it was pretty easy. I made the glaze and mojo and Kev worked his grilling magic. That's teamwork! It also seems like less work when served with one of these:

Cuban Punch
2 ounces white rum
Splash of 7up (or Sprite, or whatever)
Splash of grenadine
Fill with half pineapple juice-half orange juice.
Garnish with whatever, we didn't. ;-)

And that, my friends and family, is our beautiful Cuban dinner. Try it, it's delish!

Friday!

We've survived another week. Here's to Fridays, cheers! (This is a picture of Kevin drinking one of our home brews, a trappist ale)

And, here's some good news: I'm finished with my online English course! If I receive a grade lower than an A I'll have to assume that someone hacked into the system and changed my grade. It was an interesting experience to take an actual English course, but it was definitely less of a challenge than I'd hoped.
Kevin's deadline at work for his project is on Tuesday, so only a couple more stressful days for him. Then there will be no more of this working late/working on weekends foolishness. I'm exaggerating a bit, he hasn't had to do too much overtime, but I'll be glad when the count is back to zero.
And now some bad news: I'm still sick! I woke up with a cold a week ago today. So unless I feel better by tomorrow it looks like another weekend moping around in front of the TV. We are going to go see the Dark Knight again, but that might be the extent of our plans, unfortunately. Unless, of course, grocery shopping and laundry counts.
To conclude, here is a picture of Sparty-Pants. I woke him up from his nap to take this picture. Francie requested a new picture though, so a new picture is what she will get!