The best part of dog-ownership is dressing them up in humiliating costumes. Happy Halloween!

I LOVE cherry season.  Every year, my hubster and I hoard cherries in an obsessive, squirrel-like manner.  We know how short the season is, and we really try to make the most of it (much to my tummy’s dismay).

Until recently, our cherries of choice were the deeply hued Bings.  They’re so attractively shiny and gorgeous, and as is the case with many delicious edibles, they stain the crap out of your hands and clothes.  What’s not to like?  I often noticed the pale and sad looking Rainiers at Farmers’ Markets and alongside Bings in fruit platters.  I’d always assumed that they wouldn’t be as sweet or flavourful as a Bing.  How could they?  I mean, they’re YELLOW.  Cherries should not be yellow, thankyouverymuch.

Well, you know what they say about assumptions.  (They make an “ass” out of “u” and “mptions”.)  For my first 28 years of life, I was missing out on the joys of the Rainier cherry.

I think that had I known how f*cking lucky I am to live in a region where these little gems of cherryness grow abundantly from July to mid-August, I may have given them a chance earlier on in my life.  Wiki tells me that Rainiers are seriously coveted elsewhere on the continent, selling at premium prices. In Japan, they can sell for as much as $1 EACH.  Well, this makes me feel like a total asshole.  I recently bought some for $3.99/lb.

In an attempt to maximize Rainier cherry consumption, I’ve started making Rainier cherry pie.  This seems slightly egregious, since they’re generally 20% more expensive than Bing cherries, but WOW is it ever worth it.  If you love cherry pie and you want to try something new, give this recipe a shot.

This recipe is insanely easy.  The hardest part is pitting the cherries.  I strongly suggest investing in a cherry/olive pitter.  It’s one of those gadgets that you think you’ll never use, but about a third of the way through pitting these suckers, you’ll wish you had one.  I learned this the hard way.  They’re $10, just do it.  Also, you’ll notice that there aren’t many ingredients here – not even vanilla!  The flavour of these cherries is so delicate that it’s best not to mess around with them too much.

Rainier Cherry Pie

• 2 frozen pie crusts (yes, I cheat.  I like Tenderflake, but any frozen crust would do. Make your own if you’re so inclined.)
• 5-6 cups of Rainier cherries, washed and pitted
• 3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca
• 3 tablespoons-ish of sugar (plus more for top of pie)
• Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
• 1 egg, beaten (for eggwashing the pie-roof)

Place rack in centre of oven.  Preheat to 375F.

Combine cherries, sugar, cinnamon, and tapioca in a large bowl.  Stir to combine.  If you have time, allow to sit for a few minutes for the flavours to marry and tapioca to swell.

Separate pie crusts.  Dump cherry mixture into one of the crusts.  Cut vents into the other crust which will become the pie-roof.  (I find it much easier to do this while it’s still in the tin, rather than trying to cut out fiddly flower petals over the bumpy filling).

Brush top of pie with egg and sprinkle the whole surface with granulated sugar.

Place pie on a baking sheet to catch drips. Bake for 45 minutes until the top is shiny and golden, and the fruit is bubbly.  Allow to sit for an hour for the juices to set (if you can wait).  Serve with ice cream.

smizing., originally uploaded by uncommon jasmine.

Tess, like most of us, has her issues: paranoia, anxiety, doggie-OCD, uneven bum-fur swirls, etc. For the most part, however, she is a ridiculously happy, friendly dog. She loves people more than anything — even treats! This photo was taken over the weekend, which was spent with four of Tessie’s favourite humans. Lucky dog! July 9th was her fourth birthday, so she thinks we went away to celebrate her 28 dog-years of life. We’ll just let her believe that’s the truth.

This is Tess’ summer look. She often pairs this with sand in her eyes/nose/mouth/jowls, slobber, or eye-goobies.

A few months ago, I joined a Flickr group called Weekly Assignment Wednesdays. The group was founded by my friend, Michelle, after realizing that she has many friends with fancypants cameras. Each week, she posts an assignment designed to challenge our photography skills.

As I mentioned, I joined the group a few months ago (March, to be exact.) This was my first contribution…posted July 2nd.  Whoops. I always meant to post something, but couldn’t really find inspiration. Also, I suck at homework.

The theme for last week was “black and white”. I find it difficult to keep an eye out for black and white specific shots, because I’m generally drawn to vibrant colour. I thought this one was a good candidate because of the sharp edges of the leaf against the blurred backdrop. I like how the photo exhibits what my graphic presentation instructor drilled into my head while in design school – where there’s dark, there is light. You may take that metaphor into other areas of your life, if you want to get all inspirational and deep.

I took this photo while wandering around Gastown with some friends during the Jazz Festival a couple of weekends ago. I’ve never seen ginkgo (or ginkgo-looking) leaves/trees in Vancouver before, and the first place I see them is in a random alley. Strange. (/end second potential deep thought of this post.)

Here are a few other shots I took that day:

Ginkgo in colour:

Mmm, Double Bubble!

You’re Welcome!

Here’s what I’ve been doing over the past couple of years:

- Contract work, mostly for non-profit organizations.  I’m not working much at the moment, which is probably why I’m posting this right now.

- Travel. San Francisco (twice), Oregon Coast (twice), Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Whidbey Island, Portland (several times), Toronto, Niagara, Australia, Fiji.

- Eating.  (Of course I’ve been eating!)  The most note-worthy experience was knocking off a life goal: eating at Chez Panisse.

- Taking pictures.  Since purchasing my DSLR, I’ve been taking more photos than I can edit.  The editing overwhelms me!  As a perfectionist, photo-editing is torture.  This is probably the single biggest reason why I haven’t been blogging – I need photos to blog, and I need to edit the photos first.  Sigh.  I need to get over this.

So, that’s me.  If you’ve been checking up on me over the last couple of years, thanks for coming back.  I’ll try to stick around this time.

Lastly, since I know that those who do follow this blog mostly do so because of Tess, here’s your first Weekly Tess:

Thanks for stopping by!  See you soon.

happy tess, originally uploaded by uncommon jasmine.

Tess is happy because I finally got a new camera.* Its been five long years of pining, but after replacing my 5 year old point-and-shoot’s batteries for the last time, I bit the bullet today and bought a D90. Holy crap, it’s so lovely. I am really looking forward to getting to know it better.

I’m also looking forward to taking more photos and blogging again. Sorry for disappearing.

*actually, I’m pretty sure she’s pissed that I’m back at it. Plus, this new camera is about 1/3 the size she is, which is slightly intimidating for her.

dress for success cupcake, originally uploaded by uncommon jasmine.

After seven long months of joblessness, and just over a month of super-fun/super-low-paying job, I finally got a “real” job. It’s a really awesome contract with a humongous international non-profit, which is basically my dream job. I still can’t believe they hired me, and I’m really excited to start!

In celebration of my new job, my husband bought me cupcakes from my favourite cupcake place. The one in the picture is called “Dress for Success.” Much better than flowers, don’t you think?

For a dog that’s not really into human food, she sure sits pretty for it. This photo is taken at the Beaver Tails stand in Whistler Village.  She sat very patiently on the concrete while we shared a giant portion of poutine at a stand-up table. It didn’t last long, because Greg eats super fast, and I am always paranoid that he’s stealing all of the cheese curds. We did agree to save half of a gravy coated fry for Miss Tess. Unsurprisingly, she LOVED it.

Here’s what the rest of it looked like:

Mmmmmmmmm.  This place has awesome poutine.  Real cheese curds, perfectly balanced and not-too-salty gravy, and extra crispy fries.  Nom nom nom.