11/22/16

Bad Pictures of Bad Cats

There was no sewing yesterday, and there probably will be no sewing for the remainder of the week. There are lots of cooking things going on right now. For one thing, I made good on my threat to finish the remaining introductory pages of this book:


And then I jumped right on the baking bandwagon. My goal is to bake every loaf in the book, which will take me quite some time, I'm sure. The "formulas" are listed in alphabetical order, and so there's no accounting for the ease or difficulty of any particular loaf. The first loaf is called "Anadama". Before reading the book, I'd never heard of this kind of bread. It originates in Rockport, Massachusetts, and it has an interesting history. Here's what the book author, Peter Reinhart, had to say about the name:


So, I think this goal to bake every loaf is going to be fun for a lot of different reasons. Anadama starts with a "soaker" that needs to sit overnight, made from coarse grind cornmeal and water. Mine is mixed up and waiting on the counter.


Looks delicious, no? (Yes, no.)


And that was the extent of my productivity yesterday, unless you count my monthly pedicure. On the way home from that, I stopped off to pick up a bag of bird seed. The sun was shining when I got home, and so I went out for a walk with my little cat. He only goes outside with me now, and he actually seems to prefer it that way.


Sometimes when I first drive up to the house, I'll offer him the opportunity to go outside, figuring that me driving up will have scared away any predatory critters. He'll go, but he sits at the door waiting for me, and eventually wants to come back inside. I think becoming an adult cat has made him more cautious, which will also keep him alive.

There's not much to see outside these days. The last tree has just a few fall leaves hanging on...


Oh yes, and herds of slugs; excuse me, a cornucopia of slugs. Big ones...


Little ones...


And eensy-weensy ones.


Smitty ran from place to place as we walked. Just call him The Zoomer.


He thought he might run up this tree, but then the adult cat re-engaged. He remembers that he has to get himself down from these situations, and that's never as much fun as getting himself up.


Be sure to say "hi" to Sadie as we go by. She's not allowed out. Period. Mike keeps whining for her, and I just tell him that if she can suspend her craziness long enough for him to put a harness and leash on her, then she can join us. It's a pretty quick fix because I doubt he'll ever get a harness past her teeth and claws.


Later in the afternoon, Smitty found himself on the wrong side of the fence as well.


He actually doesn't seem to mind. He likes that he can nap outside now and not have to keep either eye open. And he really likes being outside and staying out of the rain.

Not enough bad cats for you? Well, take a look at this one as she eyes the pull cord on the window blind. The fob was chewed off long ago by Himself.


This morning I'm heading out early to go to the grocery store. I expect to see panic in the eyes of my fellow shoppers. I did regular shopping last week, and so today I'm just getting stuff for our Thanksgiving dinner. That still comes to a total of about 35 items. I'll steel myself with a visit to McDonalds for my Egg McMuffin first. When I get home and get things put away, I'll get going on the bread. I can hardly wait! I know...it's a thrill a minute around the Three Cats Ranch.

13 comments:

gpc said...

Oh yeah, the promise of an egg mcmuffin can get me to do anything. :) The bread is one I haven't tried before -- looks interesting and I love corn meal so I can't wait to hear how you like it!

claudia said...

It will be fun seeing your bread adventure unfold and hear what you think about each.
Unfortunately my cat, "Big 'O'", didn't listen to his adult cat side and either climbed a tree too high and fell out or was picked up and dropped by an eagle or big hawk. "O" made his way back to me and spent the night under my bed that night, but didn't make it through the night. I'm glad Smitty is more cautious. I would love to get another cat, but I'm afraid of losing another.
I still have to get my food for Thanksgiving! I have no storage to speak of. Getting a turkey early on was a definite no go, there's no room in my freezer! So today is it! Wish me luck!

Quilting Babcia said...

I think we still have a recipe for a adamant bread but I haven't made it in years. Sounds much like my recipe for "almost cauldron bread" if you substitute cooked millet for the cornmeal.

Sarah said...

My family does open hearth cooking, including making anadama bread, but we don't soak anything. I'll have to check the recipe to see the actual ingredients as I don't make it often...

CathieJ said...

That bread book looks wonderful. I have heard of Anadama bread, but I have never made it. Enjoy your baking.

Unknown said...

You are always up for a new challenge! I'm not half so ambitious so look forward to reading all about YOUR bread baking advenutures. Not sure it is my thing having just spent two hours in the kitchen with my husband creating 4 batches of stollen based on a recipe handed down through his family which leaves out some important details. Being the engineer that he is, working with an ambiguous recipe is tantamount to torture. But at least he is good at cleaning up :)

Seriously will be looking forward to the bread baking. Have a great Thanksgiving.

Brown Family said...

Smitty is such a good cat to stay with you!

Lyndsey said...

I'm pleased to hear Smitty has gained some sense in his adult years. Maybe he did actually listen to Gracie when she tried to teach him a few things. 've never heard of that type of bread but it sounds interesting so I'm looking forward to your reveiw of it. I have a bunch of bread recipes I want to try so need to get my act together.

Dana Gaffney said...

That leaves picture is gorgeous, are they really those colors? What a fairyland that would be with pink and lavender leaves. Maybe Sadie's O.K. with staying in, has she ever been out?

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy kitty capers!
Your photo of the leaves has quite an array of color! Beautiful!!
I hope you and your family have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!
Sandra B
scb304@juno.com

Nita said...

My friend Vicky who I met when living in the Yukon makes Anadama bread all the time. She lives in Maine now, and I live in British Columbia - and oh how I miss her showing up on my doorstep with a fresh loaf. Thanks for triggering some great memories!

quiltzyx said...

I too am looking forward to all of your bread adventures as you make your way through the book! I'm going to my friend's for Thanksgiving and made some celery stuffed with cream cheese & cashews. I used my ULU rocking knife to chop the nuts & it worked great. The last time I chopped nuts they kept trying to jump off the cutting board, so this time I put a cutting board into a baking dish and using the ULU made quick work of it.
Smitty is so photogenic! And being so adult, my goodness! Glad Sadie is staying safe in the cationic.
Happy Thanksgiving to you & Mike and all the kids!

Kate said...

I'm looking forward to seeing your parade of breads. My Guy is a big bread baker (lucky me, except when I'm trying to slim down a bit). It's always fun when he tries new stuff.