Cat Intro Stage Three: How to make her go away

Where were we? Oh yes, I had presumed that the next stage would be 'All Quiet on the Western Front' but because, "We see a lot of kittens, but none as crazy as her"-The Vet, it hasn't really worked out that way.

About two weeks ago Nuni a) stopped eating so we treated her with a laxative to hope that she'd poop and then eat. This worked a little but also it turns out she was just angry that Beatrix is a crazy pants McGee and was just trying to communicate how angry she is. Then, b) developed stress-related colitis, as in had blood in her stool.

$400 later, all cats are healthy, but I think Nuni has now gone in the other direction and has been eating more to fill the void, but I'll keep you updated.

Nuni is not pleased that Beatrix is a spitfire because Nuni is a mature princess and did not ask for the appearance of the court jester. Because Beatrix has a kitten on/off switch that makes her either totally fall asleep on her face or be a horrible monster, it is only a matter of finding ways to tire her out so Adam, myself and Nuni can have a moment to ourselves.

The first attempt: 100 meter dash across house

 

The second attempt: Allow her to give many kisses

As Nuni glares in horror

The third attempt: Humiliate her for accidentally leaving her tongue out

The fourth attempt: Quarantine to the blanket nest so she can't lick or claw our faces incessantly

The fifth attempt: See if she enjoys becoming an alien

 

The sixth event: Play with kitty bubbles with your sister

AND THAT is how you tire a Beatrix monster out

Tastings

I enjoy putting all sorts of food in my gullet. It is especially pleasing when it is novel, decadent and pretty (= "sassy").  Often my dates with lady friends involve putting sassy food in our gullets. Below are my recent exploits.

The Fireplace in Brookline hosts every-other-weekly Saturday alcohol tastings and food pairings called "Fireside Chats". During the pairing a chef or local expert gives you background about the beverage that you are drinking. My Mom and I chose to go to a Cabernet wine tasting because all the other ones coming up soon are gross and about cognac and scotch.

I didn't know exactly what to expect but I was definitely hoping for some snacks while we drank ourselves into a 3pm oblivion. And snacks we got.

The pairings involved 2 wine pours at a time, followed by a course of food, followed by 2 wines, followed by food, followed by 2 wines, followed by food. That's what I'm talkin' about.

The wines were:

McManis Family Cabernet, River Junction, California 2008

J Lohr Cabernet Sauvignon, Monterey, California 2008

Sharecropper's Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley, WA 2008 

Cain Cuvee, Cabernet, California, 2006 

Turnbull Cellars, Cabernet, Napa Valley, California 2006 

Ladera, Cabernet, Napa Valley, California 2006
 

While the speaker told us where the wines were from and about how the climate impacts the grapes, he did not provide me with the vocabulary to describe the taste of the wine. I'm sure many people there were experts at this, but I would have liked to learn more. 

 

I ended up writing words like "tart" (McManis, Sharecroppers) and "poppy" (Turnbull)  down on my description page. By "poppy" I mean that it caused my tongue to dance and my eyes to pop out of my head.

My favorite was the J.Lohr.

 

 

The first course was arugula with goat cheese, pear and walnuts with a citrus vinagrette

Second course was beef short ribs (best thing I've ever had) with cornmeal porridge and truffle popcorn (totally unnecessary)

 

And dessert was molten chocolate cake with raspberry whipped cream

 

This was a totally worthwhile culinary experience and definitely a good way to spend an afternoon with a friend or loved one. It is also a reasonable $25 a person. We had a special deal and it was $29 for two. Jealous?

 

More recently I tried out the Ethiopian restaurant, Addis Red Sea in Cambridge. I was mainly excited to eat with my hands.

 

All food is served on injera, a spongy bread. You are also given a side of injera to use to scoop up food, though you can also use the injera that the food is actually placed on.

 

You sit a bit lower to the ground and sit at a mesob. 

Oh, hi!

Mary and I ordered the 

Doro Wot, spicy
tender chicken marinated in lemon, sautéed in seasoned butter & stewed in a red pepper sauce,
flavored with onions, garlic & ginger root with a pinch of cardamoms & nutmeg $11.95 

Atakilt
mixed vegetables, green beans, potatoes, carrots & onions sautéed in a blend of exotic herbs
$8.95

 

Here lies our hot mess. That's what she said.

It doesn't look like a lot of food but we were pretty full given that you use spongy bread to eat everything with. The chicken was spicy mcspice spice. The vegetables were basically a mirepoix, and tasted like chicken soup. I think I'd probably try more meat next time. That's what she said.