What Did You Eat?

Risotto With Bolognese Meat Sauce

Quite a depressing day, with the news from Virginia Tech.  I felt numb, as I listened to the news unfold: This insanity, happening yet again.  I had planned making an involved meal that required making Bolognese meat sauce, and then using it to make risotto.  At first, I didn't want to make anything for dinner.  Food seemed very unimportant.  But I went ahead and actually found some comfort in the simple tasks of chopping and repetitive stirring.  This meal took all day to make, and I appreciated that.  Busy hands help at times like this. 

Unfortunately, the CF card in my new camera suddenly died after I took pictures of the sauce, the pictures vanishing forever.  I then used my old camera to take pictures of the risotto, realizing later that I could have used its CF card in my new camera.

Is this recipe worth all the work? Yes, a thousand times over. The Bolognese sauce is wonderful and I have some left for other meals.  Even if you don't make the risotto, make the sauce. 

How A Sprained Ankle Helped Clean Out My Crisper

I don't know why a sprained ankle would cause me to crave stir-fried food, but it has. For the past few days, I've been limping around thinking about using up the odds and ends in my fridge by tossing them in the wok with soy and oyster sauce, chopped ginger root, chili sauce, and sesame oil.  And so, the napa cabbage, celery, carrots, and snow peas that needed to be used before they ended up in the withered state that always makes me feel so wasteful, found their way into a few nice meals.  I didn't spend much time on them, cursory chopping sufficed.

I served the dish pictured above yesterday. I call it my Cobb Salad pork, because I chopped carrots, onions, celery and snow peas in small cubes, then stir-fried it with ground pork left from when I made Wonton Soup. 

WCB: Here's What We Are Doing.

First off, under my coat, I'm losing weight. Seriously. But, you'd never know that, right?  Well, I am.  Anyway, it's Weekend Cat Blogging time. And this week it's being hosted by Puddy at A Byootaful Life, with help from her personal assistant, Kate.  So head over there and see how it's going for him. 

  I  spend a lot of time outdoors, collecting twigs and sticks in my hair.  Sundance's harness disappeared and we don't know where it went. He says he didn't hide it, but we have our suspicions.  So, he stays in and plays with everything!
 

Presto Pasta Night: My Comfort Food, Wonton Soup

It's beautiful outside.  My roses are blooming, the birds are singing, my nose is stuffy and I sneeze constantly. It's the price to pay for the majesty of spring.   I decided my nasal congestion entitled me to make one of my favorite comfort foods, Wonton soup.   I''ve been in love with it since we met.  I was 19 years old and it was my first visit to the Peking Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana.   I looked at the soup and saw perfection.  The broth was crystal clear, but full of rich chicken flavor.   The wontons looked like plump little pillows, cooked just before they served me the soup.  Resting on top of were a few slivers of Chinese roasted pork.  I lived in West Lafayette for several years and ate many bowls of that marvelous soup.   Imagine my surprise when we moved away and I began to encounter the soggy, overcooked wonton soup so often served in other restaurants. It's a shame.  And it doesn't have to be that way people!!  Buy yourself a package of wonton wrappers and make some soup the way it was intended.

By the way, wonton wrappers are pasta, so that means it's just perfect for Presto Pasta Nights, created by Ruth at  Once Upon A Feast.  The Roundup should be this Thursday, so stop by and see all the different pasta dishes.

Green Blog Project: Mixed Green Salad With Chopped Egg And Flowers

I love my garden. It's not very big, but I'm able to grow some of the vegetables and herbs near and dear to my heart.   So, when I saw that the lovely Mandira at Ahaar was hosting the Green Blog Project, I knew it would coincide with harvesting my first spring vegetables.  My fava beans are almost ready to pick, but the tomatoes were only recently planted, and that splendid moment when I pick my first juicy red fruit is months away.  But some weeks ago, I planted a variety of lettuce seedlings and now they're ready for a salad.  I didn't want to do anything that would overwhelm the fresh picked flavor, so I made a simple garden salad.  Just the lettuce leaves, dressed with a simple vinaigrette, and sprinkled with a little finely chopped hard boiled egg and chives.  I also tossed in some organic flowers.  They look pretty, taste good, and help celebrate the first spring harvest.  If you want to see what other bloggers have in their garden, head over to Mandira's blog. 

WCB Roundup!

I hope everyone had a very happy holiday.  Since it's earlier here, we haven't had our meal yet.  This is the Roundup and I will keep adding new submissions until the The Sopranos tonight. Marone!  I'm happy Tony and the gang are back!   

Fluff Puff, is posing like a celebrity, but secretly dreaming of being a tomboy at Masak-Masak.  And she wonders where the heck her brother goes at night?

Over at Kate In The Kitchen it's cold outside and Bustopher has cabin fever, which is annoying Harmon. Go see the smack down.

Since Upsie is trying to champion plus-size cats, go over and see the gorgeous Boots at The Hidden Paw.  And info is needed about cats and Miniature Schnauzer's being a good mix.

Taboo has a wonderful time with a special Easter visitor at Jelly Pizza.  Will Taboo share her jelly beans and chocolate eggs? 
 

Over at Xenogere, see the amazing Kazon show his amazing flexibility.   You try doing it!  I bet you can't!

Another glamorous kitty, posing for all it's worth is Sergei at Music and the Cats.  He has that model pose down pat and Tyra Banks would say it's "fierce".

If you're feeling grumpy head over to Beeshive to see a hilarious picture of Tatts in slumber. And you'll also be amazed at what his mom Begered has been up to lately.  Very impressive!

At CatSynth.Com. the lovely Luna is focused on something outside her window. What could it be?   And what will she do with that bubble wrap?  Questions, questions.

Rosa and Maruschka at Rosa's Yummy Yums have overcome their computer woes and are back with us!  And Maruschka has some very funny footage of her eating capabilities.   

Actually, this is an old pic of Puddy. To see her amazing soccer skills, go to A Byootaful Life and see her in action. Why are they spending so much money on David Beckham when they could have Puddy?

In St. Louis at Sammawow, the cold weather has returned and Willow and China Cat are using the buddy system to keep warm. Little do they know a harness lurks in their future. 

Nina's Books 4 Israel Project reminds us that cats can provide comfort when the world gets you down. And that is so true.  But, alas poor Conner takes little comfort in the fact that Tobias and Molly are still living in his house!

You must go to I Got Two Shoes  and see the amazing Kamibunny, sitting on a carrot no less.  Be prepared to giggle--a lot!!!

At Paulchen's Food Blog, Kashim and Othello are off on a holiday with mom. No word if the workmen are done torturing the adorable twosome.  Will a harness will part of the holiday?

Giggle warning!  At Kross-Eyed Kitty the dapper Mr. Mao demonstates enormous self restraint and manners for his holiday meal!  He certainly looks healthy and happy.

WCB: Ugh! Who Invented The Harness?

Here's the good news, Upsie and I are hosting this week's Weekend Cat Blogging. If you want to take part, Upsie says for you to send us the link (whatever that is) to your blog at Rdfern(AT)sbcglobal(DOT)net. Or you can just leave the link in the comments here.   Oh, and mention our blog and WCB in your post, cause it makes us feel important. Mom will have the Roundup posted on Sunday. OK, now the obvious bad news--mom bought me a harness, which looks like some of the instruments of torture that I saw on a History Channel show.  Then she took me outside, which was awful!

I was very scared of the green stuff on the ground. I was so upset, Upsie licked the top of my head to calm me down.  Anyway, I can't see the purpose of a harness. 

WHB: Pork-and-Ricotta Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (Fennel Seed)

Several months ago while reading Food & Wine magazine,  I saw a recipe for Pork and Ricotta Meatballs, served at A16, a San Francisco restaurant.  I remembered how a friend raved about the meatballs after visiting the restaurant. So, my interest was stoked and I made a mental note to make the meatballs and see if they were really as good as people claimed.  Just the thought of making them was compelling, because I have a fatal weakness for meatball.  I don't know why a clump of meat tastes better rolled into a little ball, but it does. As for these particular meaty orbs, I wound up eating 6 meatballs for dinner. Nothing else, just the meatballs. (The tomato sauce counts as a vegetable, and a fruit.)   Later, while putting the leftovers away, I jammed two more meatballs into my mouth.  I will make these again, and feel deliriously happy that there are now several containers of them stashed in the freezer. 

Presto Pasta Night: Pan Roasted Salmon With Tomato Jam And Rice Noodles

Yes, it's salmon...again.  I dearly love fish, particularly salmon, which is obvious from the number of times I cook it.  When I tried being a vegetarian, it was the fish that I missed the most.  This is a great recipe, to me at least. If you like Asian flavors of fish sauce, ginger, and lime, this will appeal to you. If you would like to try these flavors for the first time, this might be the dish for you to sample them.  It uses rice pasta, which has a wonderful texture and flavor.  The type of noodle for this recipe is rice vermicelli. Or you could also use rice stick noodles. Many grocery stores now carry these dry noodles in the Asian food section. They are very thin and stiff, with a white, slightly translucent color.  Delicious and fun to cook, you simply drop them into boiling water, set them aside for about 10 minutes, then drain them.  If you can't find them at your grocery store, try using regular wheat vermicelli instead.  By the way, the tomato jam is fabulous. I was tempted to eat it alone with a big spoon. But, I didn't.

Since this recipe features these fabulous noodles, I think it's perfect for Presto Pasta Night, which was started by Ruth at Once Upon A Feast.  More and more pasta lovers are joining in the fun by making great pasta dishes, so stop by her site on Friday and see the big Roundup.

Asian Cobb Salad

Last year, I made real Cobb Salad according to Julia Child's specifications. It was one of the best salads I've ever eaten, but took a mind numbing amount of time to prepare all the ingredients. In contrast, this Asian Cobb Salad is much easier to make, taking less than 30 minutes to assemble.  And while it won't supplant Julia's recipe as my favorite, this was quite good and I would be more likely to make this version in the future, due to the ease in preparation.  The salad has shredded Napa and red cabbage, spinach, snow peas, and chicken, along with chopped scallions and cucumbers. But, you can substitute vegetables of your choice, as well as using cubed tofu in place of the chicken.  The dressing is full of flavor and goes a long way.  You can use less of it, if you like, and still get a nice flavor.