What Did You Eat?

Weekend Herb Blogging: Golden Gazpacho With Lemongrass

It's hot outside, tomatoes are at their best, and I need to drop some weight.  It's also Weekend Herb Blogging created by Kaylin, so I knew this recipe for Golden Gazpacho was a good choice to make. I enjoy this soup very much. It's the kind of dish where each spoonful tastes better and better.  By the time I was through eating my serving, I was totally in love with it.  It not only looks different from the traditional red gazpacho, it has a Vietnamese twist due to the addition of lemongrass, which tastes wonderful along with the cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers.  The recipes uses yellow tomatoes, but you can use the traditional red tomatoes too.  I think orange tomatoes would give the soup a deeper and more pleasing shade of yellow.  The soup is low in calories, but you don't feel like you're eating diet food.  My only reservation is that, once again, the number of servings is grossly overstated.  It says it serves 6 to 8.  On what planet?  The soup is so wonderful, I think that four people would be begging for more, and since it's low in calories, why not eat your fill?  Please go over to Kaylin's site to see all the other Herb Bloggers.  There's always something new and exciting there.

The Paula Deen Diet

I just returned from a two week vacation and I'm EXHAUSTED.  It's not surprising because I have chronic sleep deprivation even when I'm in my own home.  But throw different time zones and sleeping arrangements into the mix and I'm doomed.  Everyone I visited was lovely to me, but I still found it hard to sleep.  I was so happy to come home and sink into a deep sleep last night.  However, my bird Tee had other ideas. She began screaming at the crack of dawn this morning until I woke up.  Sigh. Only 5 hours of sleep.  Of course, another reason I could be tired is the extra poundage I acquired, all due to the Paula Deen Diet of rapid weight gain though Southern eating. It was fun while it lasted, but now I'm back home and I must make amends to my arteries.

She's Back..

And she didn't even bring me a dumb T-shirt.  She just got back from the airport and I was sure there would be a seahorse or a pound of shrimp in her suitcase. But, there's nothing in there.  I managed this house the entire time she was gone and this is the thanks I get?

Just keep this in mind when she writes  about all the exciting things she did on vacation. 

I need a drink.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Abandoned!

I can't possibly tell you how awful my life has been the last few days.  Mom is abandoning me to go visit relatives and  everything has been in an uproar. I can't go outside because it too dangerous. What's the danger?  A weed!  Apparently, foxtails get stuck in my coat and could work their way into my body, piercing vital organs. Have you ever heard such a load of poo?  And look at my coat. I haven't been combed in two days. My food bowl was empty for hours!

Well, I'm going to climb into this backpack mom is taking on the plane. I don't think airport security would mind if I tag along.  Dad is staying home, but he doesn't understand my mood swings.  I know my plight is shocking, but go over to Clare's site.  She created Weekend Cat Blogging and you'll see other cats that aren't mistreated like me. They're happy and get their fur combed every day, no doubt.  Pray for me!!

Pre-Flight Preparations

On Friday I'll be winging my way to the Mississippi and Florida Gulf Coast to spend two weeks with my relatives. That means I'll be leaving Upsie in Bob's care, which should be fine except for the fact that Upsie thinks I'm her personal assistant. So, we'll see what happens when she figures out that I'm not at the store buying her more cans of Pounce. Besides mentally packing my suitcase, I've been trying to stash meals in the freezer for Bob to eat while I'm gone.  He's a very capable person, irons clothes beautifully and cleans the house much better than me. But, he can't cook. Left to his own devices, he'll live off of cereal or frozen ravioli for weeks.  He's an adult and two weeks of ravioli won't kill him.  I have to admit it bothers me that the stuff he buys is so mediocre.   So, I've been making enchiladas and stews and such.  Nothing exciting, but a heck of a lot better than the ravioli from the store.  Most of our meals have been very simple these last few days.  On Saturday I used the balsamic-glazed red onions left over from the pan fried fish and parsnips.  The onions are a great way to dress up an ordinary dish.  I used them on a bratwurst sandwich, perfect with the sweetly acidic onions.

Pan-Fried Snapper with Buttery Parsnip Puree and Balsamic-Glazed Red Onions

I haven't eaten parsnips very often in my life. Based on their rare appearance in the produce section, I'll wager most people haven't either.  At one time, they were highly esteemed, much more popular than carrots or potatoes. But eventually potatoes and carrots supplanted them.   When I saw parsnips at the grocery store, I remembered an interesting recipe in Food & Wine pairing parsnip puree with red snapper and balsamic red onions.  It turned out to be a wonderful dish. The parsnips were slightly sweet, with a slight tang that reminded me of horseradish.  They tasted very good with the mild snapper and sweet balsamic red onions.  An easy recipe, I prepared the parsnips and balsamic onions early in the morning and stored them in the refrigerator until I was ready to cook the fish for dinner.  I've heard people complain that parsnips have a harsh flavor and woody core. I didn't find that to be the case at all.  The parsnips I bought weren't tough and the flavor was mild.  I look forward to eating them again.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Where's My Money?

Hey, check this out man!! It's WCB again!  As you know, this event was created by Clare (actually I bet Kiri thought it up) to feature all the fine feline bloggers. So, go over to her site, Eatstuff, and see all the action.

Now, let me take this opportunity to speak to the other cats. Did you notice that Brangelina got $4 million bucks for the picture of their kid?  I don't know about you, but no one pays me anything for my picture. Yet, every week, I have to pose for this.  Is that right?  No!  Oh well, let me show you what I've been doing.

Here's the tomato plants that I guard each day. So far no tomato worms.

And then I practise being fierce. All cats MUST do that. There are tomato worms to smash, pigeons to kill.  So, I think of Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction and I'm all, "Yo, tomato worm--I'm about to get medieval on yo ass!"

And then I killed this plant label.  Bye everyone!  See you next week!

Weekend Herb Blogging: Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms

I haven't been very enthusiastic about cooking lately.  Maybe it was falling on the tile. Maybe it's the crazy new prescription in my eye glasses, which makes chopping and slicing a brand new, and challenging, experience.  I wanted something that tasted great, but didn't require doing anything that could cause me to cut off a finger.  I saw this recipe for Polenta Gratin with Spinach and Wild Mushrooms in Food & Wine magazine. It seemed easy to prepare and was touted as a "staff favorite," so I assumed it might taste pretty good. And it contains thyme, which qualified it for Weekend Herb Blogging!  WHB, created by Kalyn, now travels to different areas of the world every other weekend. Two weeks ago, it was in Italy and this weekend it's visiting Cate at Sweetnicks.  Please go over to Cate's and see what she and the other herb bloggers have prepared. You'll be glad you did. http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com

Quesadillas!

Except for a bowl of cereal, this is the easiest meal for me to prepare. But, ease of preparation isn't the main reason to make quesadillas. It's the taste. They're so delicious I often find myself craving them.  And if I have cheese and tortillas on hand, I'm always tempted to make them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Basically, all you need is corn or wheat tortillas and some cheese.  Just those three ingredients can produce a fabulous quesadilla, but I like to try different filings. In fact, it's a good way to use leftovers, which is what I did last night. 

Ginger Chicken For The Accident Prone Personality

The last two days I've been nursing a very sore arm caused by a dramatic prat fall onto my tile floor.  And to think I actually wanted a tile floor.  They're evil.  I've already had a nasty experience with the tile floor 6 years ago, when I slipped and fell, tearing the meniscus in my knee.  Basically, the same thing happened on Friday, only this time I fell face down, banging my "bad" shoulder severely.  The bad shoulder is a story in itself, acquired when I injured it years ago playing competitive tennis.  Ever since then, my shoulder will erupt into hideous tendonitis if I so much as lift a pencil the wrong way. Naturally, the bad shoulder is punishing me now, so I haven't felt like cooking this weekend.  But I've been thinking of a dish I made last week called Ginger Chicken. Ginger supposedly has restorative powers, and I could use that now. The dish was also delicious, so that's reason enough to have it again.