Saturday Morning Kitten Blogging

Piquad posing as an herb...with that look on her face!

Kitchen Tools

Ever since I started doing Moo Cluckety-Cluck Parties for TCF, I've been singing the praises of the OXO Salad Spinner. If you don't have one, you might consider buying one. I got mine at the local box store and this thing is the best spinner I've ever owned. It takes a half-head of romaine at a time and it's really good for cleaning radishes, spinach and other items that tend to keep dirt clinging to them. You can fill up the bowl with the basket inside, swish and brush till they're clean, then dump the water in the sink (or on your plants) and spin them out.

The other thing I just recently bought and really love is a Jack LaLanne Juicer. I've never been into juicing, so it was an out of character purchase for me. On the other hand, I've wanted to get into juicing -- especially for lunch -- because I never seem to have time nor the inclination to prepare anything, and then by dinnertime, I'm famished. (Did I mention I work at home?) My son bought this juicer recently and said, "Mom, it's like having a power tool in the kitchen". He also said it had no problem with carrots. See, I think if you're going to juice, you're probably going to do a lot of carrots, and a juicer has to be able to stand up to that.

So -- my first juicing experience was: 1 ripe mango, 10 strawberries and 3 carrots.

It was HEAVEN!

My next juicing experience was: 15 bing cherries, 4 carrots and a 2" piece of ginger.

Again -- FANTASTIC!!

Tony has just developed 2 new juicing boxes for athletes: Juicing for Jocks ($43.48) and Juicing for Jockettes ($36.81). I ordered the Jockette Box -- not knowing what to expect. HOLY COW I'm going to have a BLAST juicing. I got about 6 pounds of huge carrots, a pineapple, a bag of red delicious apples, at least 3 pounds of baby spinach, a cucumber, 6 oranges, a head of romaine and a head of red leaf lettuce (...I know there was more in there, but I had the juicer running as I was putting things away!)

In our house, we're not big fruit eaters. We love fruit (especially TCFs) but we just dont eat a lot of it. Now I can see we may be running low by the end of the week...due to heavy juicing action. And something strange is happening....

We just got two kittens. I'm really allergic to them, but we live out in the country, and the word has gotten out amongst the chipmunks, squirrels, birds, 13-stripe squirrels, ground hogs, moles and so forth, that our older cat, Spike, passed away. We're overrun with critters!! So we got the kittens as a deterrent. The problem is, while I'm petting them and playing with them, I'm suffering. I've got the usual itchy eyes, runny nose and now a burning sensation in my chest. Well, it's kinda of strange, but my symptoms are going away. I'm still playing with the kittens, and I'm still juicing, but I'm not suffering. I can't say that juicing is fixing my allergies....or can I?

PS: can you spot the kitten checking out the pond?

Summer Parties

Summertime is far from over and so summertime parties are far from over, too. I found that there is an even easier way to prepare munchies for the event than buying a veggie and dip tray at the grocery store:

Enter: The Raw Vegetable Box meets The Chop Chop Chef

Every time I get the Raw Vegetable Box, it's a HUGE amount of veggies that are great with dip! (you can cook them all, too, but that's another post.) Have the Chop Chop Chef cut them all up for you, and all you need to do is make a dip: how about:

2 C Mayo
2 Tb. Tamari or Soy Sauce
you can even add
1/2 tsp. hot sauce

When your delivery arrives, you just arrange the vegs on a tray and add the dip. It's just too simple.

This is my vegetarian granddaughter, Shiloh, who hails from Kodiak, Alaska -- and fresh veggies are her favorite!! She brought them to school on her birthday instead of cake (!!) There was some doubt that the kids would even try anything, but low and behold -- THEY ATE EVERYTHING! (they sure do make them smart in Kindergarten. =)

Saturn Peaches

Did you get those little squashed peaches in your delivery this week? Aren't they strange looking? But have you tasted one? If they're hard, just let them sit out a couple of days. Check them often, because once they're ready -- they're ready! These little gems are the SWEETEST, PEACHIEST peaches you'll ever eat. They have a teeny-tiny pit inside, so they're great for juicing -- but it's difficult to keep them from going straight into your mouth. HOWEVER....the other night I was in the mood for a little cocktail. My latest fave is a Mojito -- and I had an idea: I took 6 large mint leaves (minced) and one sliced Saturn Peach and put them into the bottom of a waterglass. Then I added 2 Tb. of sugar, and using the back of a tablespoon, I ground the ingredients together. Then I added a little club soda and mixed it all up...added 2 shots of light spiced rum, ice cubes and enough soda water to fill the glass....gave it a little stir and WOW !!