What Did You Eat?

WCB: Major Cuteness Alert

I learned a new word: disgruntled.  That's what I'm feeling lately.  I used to be the cutest thing in the house, but now my status is threatened by a squirrel. Mom got her from a nice young couple a few days ago, and all she does is coo at it and let it sleep in her shirt pocket.  Ugh.

What's the big deal?  Yeah, it's tiny, and doesn't have its eyes open yet.  But, it can't do anything but drink milk. 

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this week by Kate and the beautiful Puddy at A Byootaful Life, (They're having double birthdays there).  Bad boys Othello and Kashim, at The Cat Boys Relm, are hosting The Bad Kitty Cats Festival Of Chaos, and The Friday Ark is, as always, at The Modulator. 

Finally, very sad news. The beautiful Bonnie Underfoot, Attack Tabby has passed away, leaving her loving family.  Poor Victor has lost his good buddy. We will all miss you Bonnie.

PPN: Alphabet Soup

I ate a lot of Campbell's soup when I was a kid.  My favorites were chicken noodle, tomato, and alphabet soup, which I ate on a weekly basis.  My mother once bought Heinz because it was on sale, and I immediately knew it wasn't Campbell's, as soon as I tasted it.  Gradually, I started eating more adventurous fare (at least I thought so at the time), like Knorr and Progresso.  But, I still have a soft spot in my heart for alphabet soup.  When I was at the grocery store, I saw a package of alphabet pasta and decided to make my own version, modeled after Campbell's.  It wasn't hard.  Tomato based broth, chopped vegetables, and pasta.  And I made sure the broth didn't have mystery floaty things in it, like onions or tomato pulp.  I don't object to that now, but hated it when I was a kid.  I enjoyed the soup I made, and thought it wasn't nearly as sweet as Campbell's, which makes me wonder if they're putting sugar into theirs.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

Nigella's Liptauer Cheese

As I was eating slices of the Poilane-Style Miche, it occurred to me that liptauer cheese might taste pretty good slathered on it.  Liptauer is a rich, creamy concoction, spiked with chopped cornichons, caraway seeds, and paprika.  It really comes to life eaten along with a good bottle of cold beer.   I've wanted to try Nigella Lawson's version for some time, so I whipped up a batch from Nigella Cooks.  It was very tasty, although I might add just a smidge more sweet pickles to the mix the next time I make it.

Bread Baking Babes: Poilane-Style Miche

Several months ago I finally bought the Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.  To my delight, every recipe begs to be made, but none more than the enormous loaf that graces the cover of the book, a Poilane-Style Miche.  When my turn came to host a bread for the Bread Baking Babes, I immediately chose it. Then, as I read the recipe, I wondered what I had gotten myself into?  The recipe is huge and detailed. As well, it requires making your own wild starter.  No convenient packages of yeast from the grocery store need apply. This is the way people made bread through out history, by capturing wild yeast, indigenous to their own area, into their own unique self-made starter.  Nursed along, fed, and cherished, many of those starters became family heirlooms and were passed down through generations of bakers who created bread for their families. So, here's your chance to gift your son or daughter with the family sourdough starter at their high school graduation, rather than some mundane choice like a new car.

I was faced with creating my own wild yeast starter.  I would need to make something called a seed culture to go into something else called a barm.  And there was that recipe to wade through!  I was a bit overwhelmed.  I'd never made my own wild yeast starter.  To my relief, it was all quite simple and easy to make. It's broken down into steps, that are done over time.  You make the seed culture, which takes minimal effort over 4 days. Then the seed culture goes into the barm, which again requires little effort. (OK, there's also a thing called a firm starter, but I don't want to scare people off.) Finally, you use the barm to make the bread, which is a standard, flour, water, knead, proof, and bake kind of affair.  The result is a magnificent loaf of whole wheat bread, with a thick, chewy crust and mild sourdough tang.  The bread was not only delicious, it was very filling. While I can inhale a whole loaf of ciabatta, this bread is so substantial, it satisfied me readily.  And it was easy to make, (but I think I said that already). 

WCB: Hot!

Things haven't been happy around here.  Mom has a big frown on her face because we're having a "heat wave".  It was 101 degrees today, and she keeps saying it isn't even (expletive deleted) summer yet . Well, I really don't know what she's talking about, except she's grumpy and worried about her baby snap beans.  Again, don't know what the heck that is, since they're outside and I never get to go there!

She brought Skidget the squirrel inside because it was hot and needed to be cool. And she put that thing in MY cat carrier!  Now it has squirrel cooties.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this weekend by Chey's Place.  The Bad Kitty Cat's Festival Of Chaos is at Bad Kitty Cats Journal, The Cat Carnival is at Artsy-Catsy, and last but not least, The Friday Ark is at Modulator.   Have a great weekend everybody!   

PPN: Scallion-Chicken Noodles

I enjoy this recipe.  It's quick, simple to prepare, and delicious, with a lovely fragrance of scallions and ginger root.  Of course, not everyone likes this recipe as much me.  One friend made it, and objected to chopping an entire cup of scallions.  What?  That's not a lot of prep work.  Try making a real cobb salad someday--that's chopping worth complaining about.    I chop the scallions and grate the ginger root as the water for the pasta boils.  My only problem with this dish is sharing it with others. I want all of it myself.

This is my submission to Presto Pasta Night, which was started by the wonderful Ruth at Once Upon A Feast. Each Friday Ruth has a recap of wonderful pasta recipes from bloggers from all over the world.  So, do stop by and check it out.

WHB: Chickpea Pancakes

I didn't know what I wanted for dinner tonight. I just knew that I was hungry, but didn't want to eat anything with meat, or flesh of any kind.  So, completely perplexed about what to fix, I turned to my old friend, the chickpea.  As long as I have cans of them in my pantry, I know some sort of quick, satisfying meal is possible.  Then it dawned on me that chickpea pancakes would probably taste pretty good, and allow me to use up some odds and ends in my fridge.  I pureed the chickpeas with a dab of leftover tomato-chipotle sauce, garlic, and cumin, shaped them into rough patties and cooked them in a little oil.  And they were very good.  But, I'm biased in favor of bean patties, so others might not like these as much as I did. 

Cupcake Overload

I love cupcakes, but sometimes there is too much of a good thing.  I made 40 cupcakes on Friday, for Lizzie's birthday.  Lizzie, my friend Nancy's daughter, was all about cupcakes for her party this year. Fortunately, a recent article in Food & Wine magazine detailed how to make the perfect cupcake.  Mine weren't perfect, but they were pretty good.  I made a big vat of buttercream, and used it to make strawberry, peanut butter, and Oreo cookies and cream frosting.  And of course, I made chocolate frosting too.   I worried that I'd be gobbling all of Lizzie's cupcakes, but hours of inhaling the buttery, sugary fumes made me sick to my stomach.  I never thought I'd say this, but it will be a long time before I crave another cupcake.

WCB: Round-Up

Two Things. First, Mom spent most of the day making tons of cupcakes. Why?  Who wants to eat those? It's for a birthday party, and she made chocolate, strawberry, peanut butter (Ugh), and buttercream frostings.  Why do people eat that stuff?

Second, we're hosting Weekend Cat Blogging this week. So, leave your link in the comments, if you want Laura to include you in the roundup Sunday night.

Don't forget about The Friday Ark, The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos, and The Carnival Of Cats.

Finally, very sad news. Braum Kitty and Rimbaud have gone on to the Rainbow Bridge.  They are much mised by their family, especially Zed Monster.  But, they will all be together again someday.

PPN: Turkey And Bok Choy Wonton Soup

One of my very favorite comfort foods is wonton soup.  If I see a recipe different from those I've tried, I must make it.  To me, there's nothing so soothing and delectable than a soft wonton full of savory filling. This recipe from Martha Stewart Living included bok choy in the filling.  Hooray!  I've never made wonton soup with bok choy, so I had to correct that oversight.  As it turns out, bok choy gives the dumplings a stronger taste than spinach, which was appreciated. 

To those who think making wontons is laborious, I urge you to plunge in and make them.  It's a simple process, which I detailed here.  Once you do it, you'll get faster and faster, until you can turn them out very quickly.