Chevre Chaud…..
In French cafes it’s a summer salad tradition: fresh greens with a light vinaigrette and slices of warm goat cheese on toast rounds, garnished with walnuts.
We’ve eaten lots of warm, fragrant goat cheese over the years. I buy it often at the supermarket, and use it whenever I get a chance….
Like with this Lentil Salad.
Lentil Salad with Goat Cheese
Total time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup dried lentils
- 3/4 cup beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup chopped red pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 8 – 10 walnut halves
- 4 slices goat cheese
- 1 tbs dried breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp dried basil
- Vinaigrette:
- 2 tbs good olive oil
- 1 1/2 tbs White Balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs whole grain or Dijon-style mustard
Instructions:
- Briefly inspect the lentils in case someone missed the odd stone. Rinse and drain.
- Cook the lentils in water and/or stock, with the bay leaf, about 30 minutes / according to package directions or until done.
- When done, remove from heat and drain if needed. Remove the bay leaf.
- Mix bread crumbs and basil together on a plate.
- Dip both sides of the cheese in the crumbs and place on a nonstick or lightly oiled baking sheet.
- Bake, 400F (200C) for 2 – 4 minutes, just until you see the tops sink slightly or cheese ooze slightly. If it hasn’t happened after 4 minutes, take them out anyway – they’re ready.
- Vinaigrette:
- In medium bowl whisk olive oil, mustard and vinegar well.
- Add lentils, celery and pepper and mix well.
- Add walnuts and stir gently
- Divide hot goat cheese slices and place on two plates.
- Divide lentil salad and place next to goat cheese and serve.
Can anyone please tell me how to stop running dogs?
I’m talking about two dogs (who shall remain nameless, but happen to be litter-mates, sisters, actually).
And I’m talking about these two dogs in a flat-out, heads and tails down, mad dash across the field topping out in excess of 100 mph (160 kph) or something like that..
We were on our walk, as usual.
The cows were in the pasture across the plowed field, as usual.
It’s a mixed herd with cows and calves and bulls.
Two of the calves decided to play. They were running back and forth along the fence, jumping and playing.
My dogs saw them and decided they should join the fun. Apparently, at that distance, they looked like dogs.
They took off.
I yelled NO, STOP, COME, their names….. They just kept going.
When we’re ‘working’ they come, sit, stay, whatever, perfectly.
When it counts they totally ignore me.
Okay, not totally true. If one starts running, a normal run, and I say NO immediately, she will turn around and when I say COME, she’ll come and sit like a good girl.
But when the two of them take off in a mad dash, shoulder to shoulder, flat out, nothing stops them.
Well, except full-grown cows.
They’re a lot bigger up close…. And they don’t like dogs messing with their babies.
The girls stopped about 10 feet from the fence (barbed wire). Had they crawled under they likely would have been quickly dispatched.
When they stopped they finally heard me. There was a brief discussion, with glances at the cows and bulls and calves who had all gathered at the fence to stare at the intruders, then at me.
A decision was made and they started back across the field.
Apparently, racing across a roughly plowed field is much easier than walking. It took them forever to gingerly pick their way through the ruts and over the clumps.
Guapa arrived a good 2 minutes before prissy Bonnie.
So……
Can anyone help me?
Anyone have the answer?
Is it even possible?
You need a warning: Do not read this while you are having an afternoon scone! (or your computer screen will be a mess when you laugh hysterically!)
Those dogs!
Well hey, they’re dogs, and dogs gotta run.
I don’t think I have ever had a dog that will come when it is called if it doesn’t feel like it and yours are working in tandem !!!
I need to try the salad. I do love lentils. 🙂
As to the dogs, we have a blue rescue dobe and a red one that was a gift from my daughter’s boss on her college graduation. The red came to us as a puppy, listens well, stops at the lot line when she’s chasing something and listens like nobody’s business. The blue one? OMGI’MFREEIGOTTARUNDOESN’TMATTERWHEREIJUSTGOTTARUNRUNRUNRUNRUNRUN!!!!! Unless of course, I have food of some kind in my hand. Then he refuses to leave my side to even do his business because he can’t stand the thought of missing one teeny morsel that might waft down to the ground near him. So he has a 100′ run he’s hooked to when he’s outside and I hate it, but right now, have no choice. We have no fenced yards and the new house doesn’t either.
What we do have is a trainer collar you can get from that big box, sell anything store not to be named that yes, does give a shock, but it only took one time with him. You have a button you press for a beep. If he doesn’t stop with that, then you press the second button which delivers a very light shock. Tried it on us, it’s about the same as a static electricity shock. But! We only had to do it once. Now, when he gets too close to the edge of the propery or starts to run, we hit the beep and he stops dead, then comes back to us. We also call him at the same time as the beep. Eventually, he won’t need the collar. He’ll learn the limits of his freedom.
Do I like using it? Absolutely not. Was it necessary? You betcha. The last thing I want to see is him run over in the street and though we live on a dirt, dead end road, for some reason, the idiot neighbors don’t understand that the 25mph speed limit really doesn’t mean 45!
Sorry, didn’t mean this to be so long. If you want the link to the item, let me know.
I find that when Cora is chasing, it does no good to yell at her to stop. She simply doesn’t hear me in that mode. So, instead, once the squirrel is safely up the tree, I call her back and praise her extravagantly when she comes. Like you, if I see the attraction before she does and can get in a command to “leave it!” She will obey me, but if i am distracted for long enough for her to lock on to the target and start to run, I may as well save my breath. I have also learned to trust her good sense ( except about skunks) as she won’t approach a larger animal than herself close enough to get hurt, although she definitely will bark at them like crazy.
Just put goat cheese on list.
The dogs running … just makes me want one again so I’m no help.
Karen, yeah…. funny after the fact LOL
brassfrog, and they do…. They are SO fast!
Kate, I never have either…. I just keep hoping
nightsmusic, I think that may be the answer. I thought they were past doing it (and not listening) but if they still do it now, at 3 1/2, I need to do something. I have the same kind of neighbor… I found them on Amazon
Zoomie, what worries me is that if they run up the hill there’s a busy road…. and they have no car sense. They don’t know to get out of the way….
Tanna, maybe I should carry goat cheese with me…Hmmmmm.
I have no answer but the story is hilarious, although I can imagine very frustrating and dangerous. But oh, the warm goat cheese with that salad. Going to try this soon.