I Did It Again

Yesterday I decided to use a up handful of frozen strawberries by covering them with a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate. In past using Baker’s chocolate I would set the microwave for thirty seconds on high, stir, and repeat until getting the desired consistency.

Still foggy from my little respiratory infection, I decided to just set the oven for a minute. Just as the timer began beeping I turned around and saw smoke billowing out of the microwave.

Oh, no, I thought, not again. Opening windows fast as possible, I asked my husband for help with the smoke alarm. My handy stepstool didn’t give me high enough reach. But he just sat there, watching me scramble, saying he didn’t hear any alarm.

“Right!” I hollered. “And I don’t want to!”

He remained sitting on the couch, unconcerned. I’m thankful my measures proved adequate and we didn’t get another visit from the local fire department. I wish I’d photographed my chocolate hockey puck. Let’s hope I can get the burn marks out of the microwave.

It still stinks - baking soda should help.

Did you know chocolate could char? Do you ever wish you could hire a home cook?

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Aging Health Issues

I’ve (half) joked that Jezebel is my Voodoo doll. When my left shoulder hurt a few years ago I found her limping on her front left leg. As of today we both have kidney issues. ~sigh~ I had to cancel my MRI kidney scan last week due to an upper respiratory infection and, lo and behold, poor Jezzy developed a urinary tract infection (!) that requires twice daily antibiotics.

“Make no mistake, she is my Voodoo doll.”

My active imagination foresaw not bringing her home from Friday’s vet visit. ~shakes head~ My husband assured me as much, though he couldn’t accompany me due to his own medical appointment. Jezebel is officially on a kidney care diet now.

Playing ‘magical plates’ all morning is exhausting, especially since my lungs and sinuses are still phlegm filled. Jezebel’s health is worth the effort of denying her unhealthy foods. Her prescription stuff is safe for the other two kitties, a good thing since Polly seems to want whatever the old gal gets. Thank heaven, Terra is not as food centric.

Why are there no treats produced for pets with CKD? Any fellow cat caretakers have any suggestions?

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Losses and Wins

I almost titled this ‘French Onion Dupe’ but neither the recipe nor its creator was at fault for my French onion soup fail. It seems that adding a baking soda solution to the onions surpassed my sweetness palate. And while my lovingly toasted baguette slices got soggy on the bottom, the expensive Gruyère shreds turned to concrete. Oh, well. I blame my husband more because he showed me a great YouTube video that led me down this rabbit hole, then neither of us could find her again.

On the bright side, grinding meat with my stand mixer is a cool (newer) experience. There is still much for me to learn. I made a pork sauerkraut pinwheel (too lean/dry) and then meatballs, using the rest of the ground pork and some beef (with added fat) that I processed. I’m not a big fan of meatballs yet they turned out great despite my lacking ricotta cheese as suggested by Sam the Cooking Guy.

While his language can be a bit profane, filming with his sons makes watching their show a laugh fest. I suggest checking them out if you enjoy cooking shows.

Do you like watching cooking shows? If so, what type(s)?

Latest Lessons Learned

I need to start numbering these lessoned learned episodes. ~shakes head~ Anyway, back in 2019 our lovely Chevrolet Volt got scrapped due to a collision. If we’d known better, we’d have collected the cargo net since our gorgeous 2017 Volt (electric hybrid version 2.0) lacked this surprisingly expensive little luxury.

Hence when our last microwave oven died I knew enough to retain its glass turntable. It’s a nice item to switch out when our latest and greatest unit needs cleaning, which leads to another lesson.

I need to stop running the microwave oven without donning eyeglasses. ~sigh~ Jezebel wanted her morning arctic char, stomping on me with her shaky geriatric little kitty feet to the point I felt bad and scurried out to the kitchen (hence, no eyeglasses).

She doesn’t much care if her refrigerated food is warmed, yet I decided to do so. I still don’t know how it happened, but my intended four second runtime went on far past that. Opening the door I found an explosive stinky mess. I should have used our domed splatter guard. ~sigh~ On the bright side, our scrubbed microwave oven looks brand new.

Are you a big user of a microwave oven? Do you own any sort of splatter guard for it?

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Oatmeal on a Snowy Morning

Snow in March isn’t unheard of in Ohio but recent spring-like weather led to my surprise upon waking. Hence, a nice bowl of warm cereal sounded perfect. I haven’t eaten it in years and decided to kick this up a notch.

I started with diced Gala apple and raisins. Adding a splash more milk, I felt it needed a little more sweetness. Then I remembered my ginger snap cookies.

They’re small and I used less butter baking them, so don’t judge. ~grin~ And what a delicious twist! My husband followed my suggestion.

Have you experienced fresh ginger root? Are you a fan of hot cereal?
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A Nice Update on Our Fire Department Encounter – & – My Latest Kitchen Gadget

I’ve been meaning to share for some time that I did send a message praising our town’s firefighters. The fire chief had an email address on the city website. Naming each individual, I told the story of my embarrassing little episode in the kitchen.

Chief Westendorf replied:

“Thank you so much for passing this message along. I have forwarded a copy of you message to each of our staff, and council. Additionally, a copy of this letter will be placed in each of their personnel files to document the good work they have done. Franklin is a wonderful community, and you have helped demonstrate that for all.”

He added “Enjoy your weekend!”, which his replay helped me do. ~grin~ Now onto my new toy gadget.

Having gained a sincere appreciation for cast iron pans I researched how best to clean them. My husband also liked what I found. Not only has it turned out to have multiple uses (scouring bamboo cutting boards and my Korean dolsot), owning what is essentially chainmail makes me feel like a true kitchen warrior. Heh…

It’s also dishwasher safe!

Wasn’t the fire chief’s reply nice? Do you like my chainmail?

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Polly’s Follies – 11

On Tuesday I decided to cook some rice in our pressure cooker. Terra must have been napping, so Deputy Inspector Polly supervised. lol Thank heaven for sanitizing wet wipes.

Don’t you agree that the moving lights caught her attention? Do you have a supervisor in your kitchen?

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Another Lesson Learned

Warning: the image at bottom is slightly gross. I made the mistake of trimming Terra’s front claws a few days before realizing her backside needed cleaning. ~rolls eyes~ If you want to visualize instead of seeing my healing boo boo, imagine cutting yourself with a ragged edged blade. lol As for why I scrubbed her rear end, she sometimes has loose stool and a bit got stuck.

If not for having to wash my sheets about a week ago, I might have let her clean herself. Now she has even more nicknames: Poopy Pants.

Did you know baby wipes are useful to clean kitties? Can you blame her for lashing out?

Scroll down if you want to see the image. For having been so tattered, the skin is healing well.

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Don’t you just love the rectangular bandage mark?

 

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