Still Life, With Cats

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Warming

Posted on 2 February, 2020 8:30 pm by Jennifer Comment

Today has been a day to breathe a little easier. I did not think to bring his medicines when I dropped the little foster kitten off at the emergency vet so late last night, so that was first thing on my list this morning – at least, first thing after the usual slew of cat-related chores (fill the food and water bowls, scoop the litter boxes, snuggle the other foster kittens, check on the very tiny babies currently residing under our bathroom cabinet, etc.) We also took a little time to sit outside on the newly renovated back deck, drinking our coffee and watching a few of the cats explore the nearly-completed catio (yes, pictures will come, but later, once everything is complete).

Otherwise we’ve just been trying to catch up on everything that’s been left to the side this past week. And for dinner tonight, since the pie from yesterday was such a (taste) fail, I decided to make a different form of comfort food – soup and rolls, because it’s very hard to go wrong with those.

The soup was the lemon orzo soup we’ve made many, many times before. Turns out we didn’t actually have enough orzo, but we did have risotto rice, so I used that instead, and while it ended up thicker than normal, it was still creamy and warm and absolutely delicious.

I also made these Lemon Rosemary Potato rolls to go with the soup. Conveniently, the rolls used up all the zest from the lemon I juiced for the soup, so that was a win. They smell a bit lemony, but the flavor is very subtle – you know there’s lemon and you know there’s rosemary, but mainly they’re just soft and delicious, and the perfect accompaniment to dinner.

Total citrus used so far: 4 lemons

Making a thing a day for Thingadailies.



The dark of night

Posted on 1 February, 2020 11:52 pm by Jennifer Comment

This has been one hell of a week. There have been multiple visits to hospitals (both people and animal variety) for various emergencies, several expensive repairs (plumbing, electrical, and automotive), and the discovery that our credit card had been hacked so a lengthy process of figuring out which charges were / were not fraud. The house is a disaster zone – there are dust bunnies large enough to gain sentience gathering in corners and suspicious spots on the floors, and every surface is cluttered with stuff that needs to be sorted, or thrown out, or put away, but with everything else going on, tidying has been last on the priority list. It has been the sort of week that culminated in standing in front of the freezer, eating ice cream directly out of the carton at nearly midnight, because that’s the best I could do.

Today is the first day of February, which means it’s also the first day of Thingadailies. Last year I did lemon related things every day, due to our extremely prolific Meyer lemon tree in the backyard. This year I decided to expand that a bit, to just encompass anything citrus, since we still have a pile of tangelos in the fridge, and there are a bazillion mandarins on the tree in the front yard, still waiting to be picked.

I have been looking forward to this, because things have been pretty dark around here lately (politically), and citrus is the sort of flavor that makes you think of spring and hope and new beginnings. So today, in between trips to the emergency vet, and nervous monitoring of a very sick little kitten, and a power outage (where I grimly knit by literal candlelight because my phone was nearly dead and there was nothing else I *could* do) and trying to keep on top of the suspicious hairball stains on the floors, I decided that the best way to kick off the month would be with pie – Lemon Chess Pie, to be exact. I’ve seen recipes for Chess Pie over the years but have never made one (or even tasted one, for that matter), and the concept sounded intriguing. It’s supposed to be a thick, sweet concoction, sort of (I assumed) like a custard or a cheesecake. The filling includes cornmeal, which seems odd to me, but all the recipes I found have it, so sure, why not. Cornmeal it is.

Pie is supposed to comfort food, tucked into a tasty shell, and I desperately needed some of that this evening, coming home at nearly midnight from the second trip today to the emergency vet, where I dropped the sick kitten off to spend the night. But this wasn’t. The cornmeal in the filling gave it an unexpected (not in a good way) gritty texture. The lemon was too sharp, and not bright and soothing at all. The crust was perfectly done but I have no idea if the middle was set to where it was supposed to be, since it seemed a bit looser than I was anticipating, or even if it tasted like a chess pie should. I took a few bites of my piece and then pushed it away, disappointed, and with an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

Sometimes ice cream straight from the carton is the only suitable option, if only to clear the palate of an extremely unpleasant experience. Here’s hoping next week brings healthier family, healthier foster kittens, zero nasty financial surprises, and much better news.

Making a thing a day for Thingadailies.



Color splash

Posted on 18 January, 2020 3:01 pm by Jennifer Comment

Flush from the success of last year’s Year of Cheese for the #BakingSisters projects (which…I realize I have been sadly lax about blogging, but hey, why should that be any different from anything else I keep forgetting to blog about), we decided to pick a theme for 2020. And thus, 2020 was designated the Year of Rainbows (or color gradients, as the case may be). I foresee the purchase of a lot of food color gel in my immediate future.

We kicked things off today with three brightly colored items: Rainbow Swirl Bread, Rainbow Challah, and Rainbow Marshmallows.

The rainbow swirl bread is basically just a regular white bread recipe, with added colors. I used the recipe linked above, but you could easily use your own favorite light-colored bread recipe in its place. You mix up the dough, then divide it into equal size balls (I did five), and mix a color into each of the balls. Note: mixing the color into the dough balls takes far longer than you might expect. Far, farrrrr longer.

RainbowSwirl1

Those are left to rise for about an hour. Then you roll (or carefully press them) into 8″ x 4″ rectangles, and stack them in rainbow order.

Roll that up into a tight spiral

and plop it into a greased bread pan for its second rise.

Once baked and cooled, when you slice it, you get this gorgeous rainbow swirl effect.

I think it’s safe to say our sandwiches for the next week are going to look pretty wild.

Next up was rainbow challah. For some unknown reason I have never made challah before, so I was excited to give this a go.

It starts the same way as the first bread, in that you mix up the dough, then divide it into equal parts (six this time) and work in some food coloring.

Once that’s had its first rise, then you roll each color into a log and line them up, in rainbow order.

Then comes the fun part – braiding. The recipe link above includes a useful video for how to do this part, and all those bright colors turn into something really gorgeous once it’s all braided up.

After a second rise, it bakes. I was worried about the fact that it didn’t rise very much during either set, but once in the oven, it grew quite a bit.

And here’s an interior shot.

Finally, after all the bread, it was time to do the marshmallows. I’ve made marshmallows before (in fact during one #BakingSisters morning, we made chocolate marshmallow fluff, which was absolutely delightful), but that was always done with egg whites. The recipe I linked above didn’t use egg whites at all, and instead is made solely from gelatin and sugar syrup, whipped until smooth. Then you divide it into one bowl per color used (I did five) and add the food coloring, then stir until well mixed.

I admit by this point I was a little tired of kneading and mixing colors into things, so I went with a lighter, pastel palette.

Those get layered into a pan that’s been lined with a very thin layer of powdered sugar, and then are set aside to firm up. Did I remember to take a picture of them before I covered the top with powdered sugar? No, no I did not. Ah well. But I did carefully cut out a chunk before they completely set, so you can get an idea of what they look like.

Verdict: Well. They’re marshmallows, with rainbow blotches, and they taste like….marshmallows. Nothing much more to say than that.



Uninterrupted

Posted on 8 December, 2019 9:36 pm by Jennifer 3 Comments

We put up the tree today.

In years past, it’s been quite the production, with us having to remove cats from the box and from the tree as it’s being assembled. But Rupert is now ten years old, and more interested in sleeping than in wreaking havoc (most of the time), and Sherman, at seven, has also gotten a little less interested in the Christmas decor. So we had no help at all, and in a way it was kind of sad, to accept that last year might have been the final year of having a cat in the tree.

But then, this evening, while hanging out in the living room, watching a holiday baking competition show on TV, I heard rustling from the branches, and I turned around to see this.

This is our tenth year of having cats in the tree. The poor thing is looking a bit lopsided by now, since the branches weren’t meant to support that kind of weight. But somehow it just wouldn’t be the Christmas season without at least one self-decorating ornament, so we were both quite happy to see that Timmie has taken on the mantle and was willing to continue the tradition.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



Channeling my inner Katy Perry

Posted on 6 December, 2019 6:02 pm by Jennifer 1 Comment

This morning I eyed the remains of the first batch of Black Friday Bread I had made. It was starting to get a little stale, plus there are two more loaves waiting to be eaten, so I needed to use it up some how. So in a move that will shock every single member of my immediate family, I decided I would try making something I have actively avoided my entire life: french toast.

In theory I should like french toast because it is made of a collection of lovely things – bread, cinnamon, eggs, milk. But the problem with french toast is that it takes all those lovely ingredients and then goes horribly wrong. It wants to be toast, which should be crisp, except that french toast invariably is disgustingly soggy in the middle. Combine that with the usual eggy overtone, and no. Just….no. Shudder.

But as I am wont to do (with varying success, because I am constantly trying to challenge my own innate picky-eaterness,), I decided to see if I could find a way to make it so that I would actually *like* it. And when it comes to french toast, this means using a sturdy bread so it won’t go mushy, thinning the batter to keep it from being overly eggy, dipping it lightly enough so that the inside remains the lovely toast it was always meant to be, and the gross soggy middle is avoided.

I found a promising recipe and mixed up half a batch, and sliced the remains of the bread into thick slices, and then dipped it and plunked them onto the pan. A few minutes later, we sat down to plates of french toast. I took a tentative bite, and hey, what do you know, I ate french toast and I liked it.

I suspect I’m always going to continue to be extremely picky about french toast in general because the rest of the world fully embraces the soggy middle thing that has put me off it for so long, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. But at least I’ve found a way to make it palatable for *me*.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



Cat tales

Posted on 5 December, 2019 7:37 am by Jennifer 4 Comments

A little math problem for you:

You have a room that contains eight VERY busy foster kittens. You open the door.

Two kittens run out. You put one kitten back. Two more kittens run out. You put three back. Three more kittens run out. You put two back. One more kitten runs out. You put one back. Two more kitten runs out.

Please answer the following:

  • How many kittens are still out?
  • How many of the escapees were the same kittens?
  • How long did you have to search for the final kitten before realizing that she discovered she could go down the stairs and was exploring under the bed?

Don’t forget to show your work.

*****

I have a cautionary tale for you.

Rupert occasionally goes through periods of extreme horking. The last few days he’s been in epic form (in other words, watch where you step!). So when he was sitting on the island, right beside my laptop, and I heard him make his distinctive little ‘I’m going to hork’ cry, I decided that instead of just pushing him off the island so he’d hork on the floor (and not on my laptop), I would instead grab him and dash him over to the sink where he could then hork directly into something that would be easy to clean.

I know, I know, but in my defense I hadn’t had any coffee yet, so I wasn’t thinking clearly.

Let’s just say that we didn’t make it to the sink. Let’s also just say that (because the splatter range of a cat horking from five feet in the air is *impressive*) the kitchen floor and all the cabinet doors and baseboards needed to be thoroughly cleaned anyway. Sigh.

Please learn from my fail. You’re welcome.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



Comfortable

Posted on 4 December, 2019 8:23 pm by Jennifer Comment

Last night we looked in the fridge and pondered what remained of the Thanksgiving leftovers. Mostly, with the exception of one lone turkey leg, it was veggies – garlic thyme sweet potatoes, garlic butter green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, and a little stuffing.

I’d already turned a bunch of the mashed potatoes and stuffing into a batch of Black Friday Bread which, by the way, is excellent for making grilled cheese. Another bunch of potatoes and stuffing were turned into potato pancakes, which we’ve been eating for breakfast, along side scrambled eggs and the cheese of the day. But there was still quite a bit left, and I was determined to use up every bit of the leftovers, one way or the other.

So this evening we made shepherds pie. I diced up an onion and tossed that in a deep skillet along with some mushrooms and leftover celery from the fridge. Then when those were just soft, I tossed in the remaining sweet potatoes and green beans. Normally I’d add some garlic and thyme to the mix, but there was plenty in the leftovers so I figured I didn’t need it.

I stirred in a little flour, and then some chicken stock, and poured in the leftover gravy. Once that was bubbling on the stove, I stirred the remaining potatoes and stuffing with a handful of Parmesan and cheddar, then spread that on top of the whole thing. The skillet went into the oven to bake, just long enough for the top to warm up and brown, and then it was done.

Verdict – delicious, and there was just enough potatoes and stuffing left to whip up another batch of the bread. Granted, I did find a little container of cranberry sauce left in the fridge when stashing the remains of the shepherd’s pie, but I’m pretty pleased that we managed to use up nearly every single bit of Thanksgiving, without having to just eat it straight from the containers for days on end. Yay!

*****

Today’s cheese is a Jarlsburg, which is some kind of swiss.

I am not a fan of swiss, unless it’s buried inside of something else and had other cheeses to mask it, so Richard got this one entirely to himself.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



But wait, there’s more!

Posted on 3 December, 2019 4:01 pm by Jennifer 4 Comments

So how’s that Cheese Advent calendar going? Why, thank you for asking! It’s great so far!

Yesterday’s cheese was a lovely Applewood with a smokey undertone.

and today’s is a Red Leicester, with a nice sharp flavor.

I know there’s some kind of swiss coming, which I’m not looking forward to, but the first three have been quite tasty.

But wait, you say. The title suggests something else!

Why yes! Yes it does! I didn’t notice when opening the first two doors, but I finally caught sight of it opening today’s. Each little compartment comes not only with a tasty little round of cheese, but printed on the back of the little door is a joke about cheese.

Yes, folks, that’s right. It’s cheese, with a side of cheese!

Here’s the first three days, just so you can share in the joy. Put your best guess for the punchlines in the comments.

Day 1: What cheese would you use to coax a bear from the woods?
Day 2: What do you call cheese that doesn’t belong to you?
Day 3: Where can you buy second-hand cheese?

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



This is why I need coffee

Posted on 2 December, 2019 7:28 am by Jennifer 1 Comment

2 AM
Cat: Hey. I want under the covers.

Me: Tries to ignore cat, knowing full well that this never works, but holding out hope anyway.

Cat: Hey. Hey! Covers! Lift the covers!

Me: You manage to get under the covers just fine without any help during the day. Go ahead.

Cat: Covers. Now. I can do this all night, human.

Me: Gives up, lifts covers.

Cat: But do I really *want* under the covers?

Me: Yes you do. Now go to sleep.

2-2:06 AM: Cat settles herself.

2:12 AM
Second Cat: Hey! How come she gets to be under the covers?

Me: Tries to ignore cat, hoping he will think I’m sleeping and go away.

Second Cat: Paws at my face, claws barely out, just to make his point. I said lift the covers, human!

Me: Fine. Here. Get under the goddamn covers.

Second Cat: But do I want under *those* covers, or do I want to just sit here?

Me: Why are cats?

2:12-2:18 AM: Second cat accepts head scritches and eventually settles under the covers.

2:22-2:31 AM
Brain: Hey, while you’re awake, remember when you did that really stupid thing ten years ago? Let’s revisit that in excruciating detail, over and over.

3:45 AM
Second Cat: Hey! Hey! I need back under the covers.

Third Cat: Horks wetly, somewhere nearby, thus setting up the daily minefield for bare feet.

Second Cat: Deliberately steps on the First Cat-shaped lump under the covers.

First Cat: OMG, someone stepped on me! Grr! Hiss! Whine!

Brain: Hey, while we’re awake, let’s plan out a schedule for the day.

4:08 AM
Fourth Cat: Remembers how much she loves the track toy that is in the room directly overhead, and begins to play with great and loud enthusiasm.

4:15-4:25 AM
Brain: Hey, have you ever thought about what would happen if –

Me: OMG, seriously? Gets up, goes upstairs.

Fifth and sixth cats: Yay! You’re awake! Pet us! Play with us! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Foster kittens: We hear you out there! We are starving! We are lonely! We have not been fed in twenty seven years and no one has ever given us any snuggles EVER in all our tiny little lives! Hey! Hey! HEY!

Me: Sigh.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.



Daily cheese

Posted on 1 December, 2019 9:15 pm by Jennifer 3 Comments

Yesterday morning my friend texted. Could she swing by on the way home? She had something that needed to be stashed in my fridge.

Sure, I replied, a little confused. It wasn’t until an hour or so later that it finally dawned on me what her cryptic words meant. She had found the Cheese Advent Calendar!

We heard about this magical thing a few years ago, but it was only available in the UK. It did eventually make its way over to the US last year, but only in a very few locations, none of which were anywhere near us. This year it was going to be sold at Super Targets in the US, which was a problem because there’s no Super Target anywhere around…except that then she remembered there’s one in the town where some of her extended family lives, and she was going to be seeing them for Thanksgiving.

There were only 3 left on the shelves when they checked. We got two of them.

So this morning I ceremoniously opened the first little flap and pulled out the first cheese of the season.

It was a lot more neatly packaged but I forgot to take the picture before I opened it.

Verdict – not bad for a tiny little wheel of cheese. Richard and I split it and had it with potato pancakes (made from Thanksgiving leftovers) for breakfast. Yum!

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.




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