Fairy Rings

Have you ever seen a fairy ring? I didn't know what they were until my pa pointed them out, because I was too busy chasing squirrels. However, they are all over my neighborhood.

In England, where my pa is from, they say that fairy rings are the result of fairies or elves dancing. In Germany, fairy rings were said to mark the site of witches. The Dutch claim that the circles are where the Devil set his milk churn. Other countries say fairy rings are the result of flying dragons and are guarded by giant bug-eyed toads that curse anyone who step into the fairy ring!

I think I'll stick to squirrels, thank you very much.

Doggy Happy Hour

Every night, the folks in my neighborhood get out and walk their dogs. The other night, we all met up in McCauley Park. I got to see my buddies Lancaster and Etta, and I met some new friends, too.

Sorry the picture is so blurry, but I was so happy, I was wagging my tail at lightning speed. This doggy happy hour is almost as exciting as a basset hound party.

Springtime for Sadie

Man, what a weekend! It's FINALLY nice enough weather where I can stay outside and snooze in sun puddles and my ma can start to think about her spring garden. Of course, I am a big help when it comes to cleaning out the garden boxes and putting new soil down. By the way, mushroom compost is NOT made of mushrooms.

We're growing a lot of plants from seeds this year (thanks for advising my mom, Gopal!) but we did put some plants in the ground outside today, including strawberries:

Texas sweet onions (in honor of my sweet Texas relatives, Hyacinth & Onslo):

Ranunculus:

Primrose:

And of course, the ever-present lime tree. She got a trimming and some new soil. Can you spot the lonely lime and yours truly?

Sadie's New Sun Puddle

It's a lovely sunshine-y day here today in Savannah, and luckily my ma is working from home, so I get to spend a lot of time outdoors. And speaking of luck - I found the perfect place to sun myself, and it looks like it was built just for me.

Uh oh. Here comes my ma and she's hollerin' about a vegetable garden, whatever that is. Gotta go.

Sadie and the Super Bowl

The other day was something called the Super Bowl, so that means F-U-D. I helped my ma make a recipe she found on foodnetwork.com for a six layer dip. First, you mix mashed garlic, salt, olive oil, water, pinto beans and black beans in a food processor until smooth. Then you spread it in the bottom of a dish and add some cheese on top of it.

Then smoosh up some avocado and chopped jalapenos and throw that on top:

Chop up some lettuce, scallions and tomatoes:

And then mix some non-fat Greek yogurt with chopped cilantro:

And voila! A layered dip that is delicious with tortilla chips - and no baking required!

Ingredients

• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1(15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups lowfat shredded Cheddar
• 2 ripe avocados, preferably Hass
• 1 jalapeno, stemmed, finely chopped, (with seeds for more heat)
• 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups nonfat yogurt, preferably Greek
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and some stems, roughly chopped, plus more for garnish
• 3 ripe medium tomatoes, diced
• 5 scallions (white and green), thinly sliced
• Baked tortilla chips, for dipping

On a cutting board, smash the garlic cloves, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Put the garlic, beans, chili powder, water, and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread in the bottom of a 2 quart casserole or gratin dish, or in individual sized dishes, as desired.

Scatter the cheese over the beans. Halve and seed the avocados, then mash with the jalapeno and another teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Spread a layer of the avocado over the cheese, and then scatter the lettuce on top.

Mix the yogurt with the cilantro and then spread over the lettuce. Add a layer of tomatoes and finally scatter the scallions on top. Chill until ready to serve. Garnish with a few cilantro sprigs and serve with baked chips.

Spinach Harvest

If spinach was good enough for Popeye, it should be good enough for me. Here's some of my ma's harvest from yesterday morning.

It made a delicious and nutritious lunch for ma. She's already planning her spring and summer garden and will soon start radish and swiss chard seedlings. Stay tuned, dear readers!

Sadie and the Uprooted Magnolia

It's cross-promotion day here at Six Inches High and Rising. My mom wants me to share with you one of her favorite blogs, Uprooted Magnolia. The Uprooted Magnolia, aka Miss Leah, used to work with my ma at Mercer and even took photos of my ma and pa when my pa put a ring on it AND when they made it official. We think Miss Leah is awfully talented. Here she is taking a picture of yours truly:

Well, Miss Leah uprooted her life in Macon, Georgia, to move all the way across the country to some place called Wyoming. I heard there's a cute cowboy involved, so giddyup, Miss Leah. We've really been thinking about her this week with all this crazy weather. Yesterday, my ma checked the weather for Wheatland, and it was -20 degrees. I would definitely need a fireplace and my favorite snuggly bed. Maybe a blankie, too.

Fortunately, Miss Leah took her camera with her to Wyoming, and has been documenting her new, western life in her award-winning blog, Uprooted Magnolia. We highly recommend it. And if you live in Georgia, you'll be really thankful for 40 degree temps after reading it.

Kisses, Miss Leah!