Neighborhood Cats
Here are the neighbor’s kitties — we know they have at least three. These two pictured above, and one we’ve dubbed “Unbutters” for his uncanny similarity to our Butters. I need to catch a video of this guy. He has the same coat, and — you wouldn’t believe it, a LIMP on his front paw! Except for its a lot more pronounced and it’s on the “opposite” side from Butters. Here’s a pic i snapped of him running away.
Eagle 26
Our go-to Chinese restaurant in Downtown Salinas. Service is good and friendly, food pretty decent. We usually order out, and hadn’t been inside to sit down and eat for a while. They re-did the inside but couldn’t figure out exactly what they did to it. I was in there the whole time trying to imaging what it was like before and couldn’t. Wanted to get the usualy Chow Funn but they ran out, so we got Singapore Curry Rice Noodles, and tried their Mapo Tofu. EAGLE 26!
Spam Musubi
Craving for some SPAM Musubi… so made a pot of rice and a can of spam and did some up for my lunch tomorrow!
The Eye Doctor
Went to the eye doctor today. Last time i checked my eyes was right before my wedding two years ago.. i was supposed to order new glasses but never ended up doing it. Last time i got new glasses was 4 years ago. Apparently my eyesight WITH my glasses was poor enough for the doctor to tell me that i was barely legal to drive! Haha… i replied jokingly, “Oh really that’s kind of funny” and of course the doctor goes “Actually, not really… lets get your prescription soon” O.K. — I did find some new frames that look similar to the ones i have now. Should be here in two weeks.
Soup & Grilled Cheese
Been totally slacking on dinner plans lately… this is what we end up eating for dinner. Can of Progresso soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches with a pickle! Man how much sodium do you think this meal had?
Kitty Showdown
Butters was actin’ funny this morning, then i noticed the neighbors white kitty in our yard.
Baked Apples
I invited Torie and Patti and their husbands over to our house for dessert tonight so we could all catch up… and I could see Pattis lil’ growin’ belly!
Serves 6. Published January 1, 2010. From Cook’s Illustrated.
If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, transfer the browned apples to a 13- by 9-inch baking dish and bake as directed. The recipe calls for 7 apples; 6 are left whole and 1 is diced and added to the filling. Serve the apples with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Best Baked Apples | 7 | large (about 6 ounces each) Granny Smith apples |
| 6 | tablespoons unsalted butter , softened |
| 1/4 | cup packed brown sugar |
| 1/3 | cup dried cranberries , coarsely chopped |
| 1/3 | cup coarsely chopped pecans , toasted |
| 3 | tablespoons old-fashioned rolled oats |
| 1 | teaspoon finely grated zest from 1 orange |
| 1/2 | teaspoon ground cinnamon |
| Pinch table salt | |
| 1/3 | cup maple syrup |
| 1/3 | cup plus 2 tablespoons apple cider |
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core, and cut 1 apple into 1/4-inch dice. Combine 5 tablespoons of butter, brown sugar, cranberries, pecans, oats, orange zest, cinnamon, diced apple, and salt in large bowl; set aside.- 2. Shave thin slice off bottom (blossom end) of remaining 6 apples to allow them to sit flat. Cut top 1/2 inch off stem end of apples and reserve. Peel apples and use melon baller or small measuring spoon to remove 1½-inch diameter core, being careful not to cut through bottom of apple.
- 3. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in 12-inch nonstick ovensafe skillet over medium heat. Once foaming subsides, add apples, stem-side down, and cook until cut surface is golden brown, about 3 minutes. Flip apples, reduce heat to low, and spoon filling inside, mounding excess filling over cavities; top with reserved apple caps. Add maple syrup and 1/3 cup cider to skillet. Transfer skillet to oven, and bake until skewer inserted into apples meets little resistance, 35 to 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes with maple syrup mixture in skillet.
- 4. Transfer apples to serving platter. Stir up to 2 tablespoons remaining cider into sauce in skillet to adjust consistency. Pour sauce over apples and serve.
Semi-Burnt Tostadas
Jeff was in charge of “toasting” the tostadas for our chicken tostadas.
Hair Dryer
My usual routine is to take a shower right before i go to bed, then sleep with dripping wet hair. Not really good for my health (as grandma would say) and not really good for the health of my hair. Tonight i took a shower a bit earlier, and decided to give the blow drier a try. Wow it does feel a lot better to have dry hair when going to bed. This cordless hair dryer has been with me since freshman year of college, which got me thinking, i used to blow dry my hair everyday….
Henrie Schipper Cat
Henrie fell asleep on my desk next to her water mug.