Saturday, August 30, 2003

 
Good News on the cat side: After we released Nietzsche, the recent stray cat addition, outside of thursday, we had no idea where he was for 48 hours ... he may have been traumatized by the whole experience .... But we were very happy to see him again tonight. He was his old, shy self, but when he saw food, he came closer, I could touch him again, and grabbed him to check him out inside. He objected only a little, was happy about the amount of food we gave him. His fur seems much better now, but he also had a new scar/wound on one cheek, we are still wondering how that happened.

We let him out again, but he enjoyed being on my lap for quite a while, so he did not jump and run while he actually had a chance. We saw then later both cats hanging out together, Nietze pretty much following Misha around, and Misha just ignoring him. Very cute.

#posted by Peter 10:26 PM

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Friday, August 29, 2003

 
Little know facts about Fiji: Went to the butcher today, casually talked with him, and asked if he ever has any veal. And he first said something like "not often" and then "veal is banned in Fiji, they think killing little cows is cruel" ... hmm .. i did not know that ... I found it interesting though that he had that face like "bring your own, we cut it for you" or "if you want, I can arrange" kinda look ... well, sorry, no authentic Wiener Schnitzel here.

I have something else in mind anyway for dinner tonight!

#posted by Peter 10:37 AM

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Wednesday, August 27, 2003

 
Last night's dinner was poached Bedford with drunken shrimp/dill sauce and wild rice.

Since you need to start with the sauce, this comes first ... take a good handfull of frozen mini / salad shrimp and drown them in white wine for some hours, they will soak up the flavour (or just drink it) ... make a roux in a pot buy melting 2 spoons of butter and adding 2 spoons on flour ... cool it a bit and add cream, the intoxicated shrimp with the wine/brine and some instant chicken broth for flavour ... then a handfull of fresh dill, some fresh pepper ... I even put a bit of ground parmesan in there, and a squeeze of tomato paste to get a very pale pinkish color. Season to taste.

Poaching fish is a tricky business ... first of all you need a pretty firm fish, or you end up with a mousse ... so .. Bedford (some kind of Snapper i think) was a good idea .. .. in a large pan bring enough water to boil while adding some vinegar, sliced onions, parsley, peppercorns and salt (making a broth here) and once it boils, back with the heat and gently add the fish ... turn as little as possible (but DO turn at least once) and it should be done in like 5 minutes ... if it bubbles, it is too hot (and the movement of the water may tear the fish appart) ... serve with wild rice (which usually is a mix on 98% white and 2% black rice) and some veggie (we had broccoli) and top the fish with the sauce ... bon appetite

#posted by Peter 3:24 PM

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Tuesday, August 26, 2003

 
So i got the new cat 'Nietzsche' to the vet today. Turned out he was indeed male, as we thought all the time ... they fixed him (bye bye sexlife) and bathed him and gave him all kinds of shots ... when I came to pick him up at 4:30, he was actually more awake than Misha when we got her after surgery. I brought him home, into his new nice and clean room ... left the door open for him to stroll around (which he can amazingly silently) and what is his "thank you for taking my manlyness"??? He finds the least accessible place and pees! Right behind the TV, tons of cables around, he could have easily electrocute himself ... and take some expensive equipment with him ..

Well, I caught him redhanded, but not sure if it was the drugs or some little known cat mechanism .. he just could not stop peeing .. so .. well .. i kept holding him and try to create only one puddle in an easy to clean area ... oh, the fun of having really crazy cats!

He was looking for a way out very quickly .. i wonder if he will ever get used to us / being close to us ...


#posted by Peter 10:39 PM

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We went last night to see if we can catch a look at Mars ... but it was pretty cloudy and the people at USP who set up a telescope seemed to wanna hog it for themselves ... well .. thanks to the internet we can watch it right here :) Thanks to Jon for the link.




#posted by Peter 10:07 AM

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Monday, August 25, 2003

 
Why not share the real time experience? Since the pic is up online anyway .. Nietzsche is copying Misha's behaviour and is now sleeping on one of the dinner chairs .. and Misha keeps being close by ... so things are going well





#posted by Peter 4:47 PM

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Taming a new feral cat is just so interesting .... and you just never know how high they can jump


#posted by Peter 2:43 PM

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Sunday, August 24, 2003

 
Yesterday's food: Ok .. so what did we have last night for the party:

Chicken Satay skewers:

I like the put quite some lime and coriander (dhana or cilantro) in the marinade. Blend that with chilies and peanuts and you get close :)
I first gave them some charing treatment on the George Foreman Grill . and later in the grill in the oven. I guess they came across a bit dry.

South Sea Chicken

I have done that recipe before and it was on the blog .. like last january .. it is in ThIS part of the archives ... This time we only used drumsticks, and it came out very well, the meat just fell right off the bone.

Parsley Potatoes

A very simple, but very yummy dish .. cook the potatoes until they have passed the 'al dente' point a bit ... cut into 'bit bigger than bite size' and sprinkle with lots of fresh parsley, salt and fresh pepper.

German style meat balls

If I tell you that recipe, the german mafia will come after me and kill me ... all I can say that ketchup and mustard is already in the meat mix. Also some soaked bread. You may find more by asking google.de for "Frikadelle Rezept"

Kokoda

Fijian style fish dish. Take some nice white fish, as fresh as you woul dare to eat it raw, cut into cubes and marinade in lime juice over night (or at least 2 hours) ... schnippel onions, chillies, a bit of green capsicum, maybe some spring onions and some nice ripe tomatoes (de-seed them .. otherwise it may turn to mushy.) Drain the fish, but keep the marinade, mix fish with chopped stuff, add some coconut milk, add some of the marinade for taste ... let sit for a bit, do not refrigerate too much, as coconut milk parts may get solid. Eat cold, yes, there is no cooking involved. Some freshly chopped cilantro never hurts.

Fumi Salad

A new favorite! We just encountered that Saturday afternoon at another bbq / party / function. A very tasty take on cole slaw. Cut some cabbage very thin, add some copped spring onions. In 2 nonstick pans try to toast slivered almonds and sesame seeds seperately ... I am saying "try" as it is very simple to burn them .. first 20 minutes nothing happens .. and then they turn from white to black in 10 seconds. You have been warned. Top the salad with that .. dressing is a simple half half mix of vinegar (apple cider vinegar is good) and sugar, some salt and pepper too .... see .. nearly no fat .. but great in taste .. and you can prepare all the stuff in advance .. and just mix 30 minutes before people come ... or when the bowl is empty.
I just checked some recipes on google and a lot of them suggest to add crushed uncooked ramen noodles ... interesting idea, will try some time.

Vegetarian Pasta Salad

Cook some bow tie and spiral pasta just al dente, shock in cool water to stop cooking (unless you prefer your pasta salad to be a mousse). Dressing is a mix of Mayo, sugar and vinager with some salt and pepper added. For flavor I chopped some green bell pepper, sundried tomatoes, and sweet basil .. then added some toasted pine nuts and parmesan. Give it time for the flavors to mingle

Desert: Peach Melba:

This version is fairly easy to make ... blend some canned peaches (we can hardly get fresh ones here, the few you see look old and are pricey). Add some vanilla extract, maybe some nutmeg .... If you want it a bit more viscose, heat the mix and add some gelatine powder. Keep cold after that ... Make a simple sauce by heating frozen raspberries (another thing we cannot get fresh here) add sugar. maybe some dark rum ... For serving, scoop some of the peach stuff into a class or bowl, add some vanilla icecream and top with the hot raspberry sauce.

#posted by Peter 4:55 PM

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YES .. finally!!! .. no .. we did not kill the rooster .. but we caught that stray cat which was around the house, meowing, harrasing our adorable cat Misha .... and it was fun how it happened .. we had people over for a small after b'day get together (they actually sang happy birthday, which was very moving) and Misha was MIA .. but that other cat, which we call "chickenshit" (as he runs away as soon as he sees us) showed up from time to time .. and at some point I saw that this cat ventured very much inside .. and in great teamwork, Ritsu covered the front door and I the veranda doors .. and we had him trapped inside ..

Once he realized that there was no way out .. it was easy to pick him up and put him into our small bathroom ...



well .. so far we let him out again, checked him out, gave him food .. but the night he is staying in that bathroom again .. wonder how loud he may get ... Monday we will take him to the vet .. and will take it from there ..

Oh .. party pics :) I will write about what kind of food I made later.





#posted by Peter 12:36 AM

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