Cat Nap Wednesdays

 

Katie says BOO! She was very confused by this gourd I brought inside for her today.

She thought she wanted to touch it, but wasn't quite sure.

Finally she decided it was an "OK" Halloween item! 

As far as her recovery goes, I am very, very, happy to report that she is doing much better. It seems her medication was upsetting her stomach and she would not eat. We know that cats can't not go too long without eating before they develop "Hepatic lipidosis", commonly known as fatty liver. This happens even quicker in an overweight kitty. So this was very scary, as she was turning down food day after day. I hand fed her, small amounts, around the clock. Last week she was tested for Hepatic lipidosis and the test came back negative. Yay!!! About 12 hours after her last dose of medication she started begging for food ... and has not stopped. We can't thank the Vets and staff at the "Suttons Bay Animal Hospital" enough. They always go way beyond the call of duty to help. Thank you, Thank you, to everyone at the clinic!!! 

                        Katie is happy to show off her Halloween card from Aunt Lory!


~Michele

Our thoughts go out to everyone on the east coast as they begin to heal and rebuild. 

Some Fall Pix

While we didn't get out this fall as much as we intended, we did get some shots. (Before fall is completely gone I wanted to share these so Macro Monday will be back next week.)
Andy

Foodie Friday: Goat Cheese Ice Cream w/ Balatons!!

Yes, the goat cheese is for real and it is fabulous. It tastes like cheese cake ice cream and worth effort!
Andy

• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• about 6 ounces fresh goat cheese (chèvre)
• 1/4 teaspoon French Grey Sea Salt
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup finely chopped dried balaton cherries

Thoroughly mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Mix with a softened silicon/rubber spatula the goat cheese and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. 

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, and sugar in a large (4-quart) saucepan. Bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat and boil for 4 minutes--careful not to let it boil over. Remove from the heat and whisk in the cornstarch mix. Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, whisking, until slightly thickened; about 1 minute then remove from the heat.

Slowly whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Cover the bowl and let stand in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours.

Pour the chilled base into the frozen canister (we use a Donvier ice cream maker) and spin until thick and creamy adding a couple of spoonful's of the chopped cherries with each turn. Eat when thick and freeze any leftover sealed with an airtight lid. If you are like us, this won’t last long!

NOTES: Yes, we use Shetler's for all milk! We have not found a local provider of goat cheese yet, but will keep trying. Cream Cheese is made with cow's milk and the goat milk equivalent is chèvre or goat cheese. Balaton cherries are not as sweet as regular dried cherries, but much stronger on flavor. Fortunately, we live in the cherry capital and can get local dried balatons.

Lastly, a big thanks to Jeni's Ice Cream for the inspiration!
http://www.jenis.com/goat-cheese-with-red-cherries-pint/

Andy

Macro Monday

Here are a few close-up shots from this summer. It's just past peak here and despite a couple of weeks of rain it was one of the most striking falls we can recall. Hope you are enjoying fall too.

Andy

Pic 1 of 3...

Pic 2 of 3...

Pic 3 of 3.

Foodie Friday: Chewy, Spicy Molasses Cookies

Main Ingredients

• 1/2 C butter; softened
• 3/4 C sugar
• 1/3 C molasses (I like Wholesome brand ... flavor seems stronger)
• 2 T honey
• 1 egg
• 1 1/3 C white flour
• 1 C barley flour
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 T ginger
• 1 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t cloves
• 1/2 t cardamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 pepper

Coating

• 1/8 - 1/4 C brown sugar
• 1/8 - 1/4 C turbinado sugar*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy; add molasses, honey and egg; beating till smooth. Mix all dry ingredients together and stir in to batter by hand or on low with a mixer.

Combine brown sugar and turbinado sugar in a pie plate. Use a medium size cookie scoop (about 1 T of dough) to scoop dough into balls. Roll balls in the sugar mixture and place about 2 inches apart on a heavy cookie sheet. Bake for 7 - 9 minutes, depending on if you like a chewy or crispy molasses cookie.  Cool for a couple minutes before moving to a wire rack. Yield: 3 -3 1/2 dz.

*We use part turbinado sugar because of it's coarseness ... makes the cookies sparkle a bit. White sugar could be used in place of the brown and turbinado sugars.

Cat Nap Wednesdays

Our poor little Katie. When we went to bed last Thursday night everything was fine. Woke up Friday morning to a very sick kitty. By Friday evening she was in emergency surgery. It turned out to be a large hairball that she could not cough up. We are so grateful that it was something simple to remove. 

 This is a very poor photo but Katie was trying to show everyone her bandage. 

 Napping.

 Katie says "It may look like I am bothering my incision ... but I am not and I will not wear the cone of shame. And, furthermore, I am regaining my strength and if you think you are going to continue to cram those pills down my throat, you have another thing coming!" Yes, she is feeling much better today and acting much more like herself. A word of advice, even if your kitty never throws up hairballs and you brush her daily .... give her hairball medicine anyway. Katie doesn't like the hairball medicine and since she hardly ever threw up a hairball, I thought brushing her everyday was enough. We never knew there was a problem till it was too late. 

Feeling better!

Andy, Katie, and I want to thank everyone at the "Suttons Bay Animal Hospital" for the great care, for working late on a Friday night to care for our baby and for all the follow-up care. Once again, you have come to our rescue! From the bottom of our hearts ... Thank you, Thank you, Purr, Purr!

~Michele

Macro Monday

No puzzle today; just a series of macro insect shots.

Andy

Foodie Friday - Cashew Stir Fry

If you frequent this blog, you know I love Asian food and especially stir fries. Here is a nice one. 
Andy


Main Ingredients

• 10 oz or so of cubed firm tofu, patted dry
• 1/2 c chopped red pepper
• 1 celery stalk, sliced
• 3 chopped carrots
• 1/2 c chopped onion

Sauce

• 3/4 tsp (hot) red pepper flakes
• 3/4 c orange-mango juice
• 3 tbs low-sodium soy sauce/tamari 
• 2 tsp corn starch
• 2/3 c cashews

Your choice of bedding: quinoa, mixed greens, brown rice, etc. 

Mix sauce in 2 cup measuring mug and set aside. 

Stir fry main ingredients on med-hi starting with the firmest and longest cooking item. In this recipe, use this order: carrots, celery, onion and red pepper. When the carrots get about half way done then add the next ingredient and so on. 

Once you add the tofu stir fry it for several minutes. Then, stir the sauce very well and pour over the food in the wok. Let simmer for several minutes, stirring frequently, until it slightly thickens and slightly browns. Remove the wok from the heat and spoon a serving over your bedding of choice: quinoa, mixed greens, brown rice, etc. 

Cat Nap Wednesday

 Yep, Katie is still enjoying her naps in the dining room chairs. 

Silly girl!!

Happy Wednesday!

~Michele

Macro Monday

 Andy has another Monday off from blogging ... so our readers are stuck with me again! This is an easy one ... any guesses yet?

How about now??

Here's another hint.

Okay, this one is a give-a-way! 

Yep! It's sweet Katie!!! (Yes, she did get combed after the pictures ... she needed it!)

Have a great week!

~michele

Alpaca Portraits

Does anyone remember Shari Lewis and her puppet, Lamb Chop? Uncanny Lamb Chop likeness!

Here is a carry over from our last Macro Monday post on alpacas from Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm.We just had too many fun alpaca shots and had to share more!

Andy

Lunch time.

Looking noble.

Makes me think of Monty Python's Gumby character, "My brain hurts!"

Getting sleepy.

A shake of the head!

The end.