Monday, August 24, 2015

Kitty Belly and Rice Pudding



But before we get to the FOOD,
let's talk about the cats!
Look at that silly Allistair above, showing us all his sweet soft belly!



And here's Stephen, peeking out from his hiding place under the flap of the couch.
I think the mail delivery person had just delivered something (SCARY!)



Greg and I set up this automatic water dispenser for the cats
(particularly the kittens, who like to drink from the bathroom faucets),
but they hated it so much that they wouldn't go through the laundry room to get to the litter boxes in the garage . . . someone had a little accident on the rug in the bedroom because he was afraid of this fountain, in fact.


The fountain got removed after one day,
and the kittens went back to drinking from the faucet when they need to.




We've had some more blooming cactus flowers. 



Beautiful!
The desert may be mostly brown, but when it blooms, it's colorful!



The other day, we had many, many weather alerts!
1.  dust storm warning
2.  excessive heat watch
3.  arial flood advisory
4.  dangerous thunderstorm alert
5.  severe thunderstorm warning.
I think there may have also been an excessive heat advisory.


Don't worry, we snuggled and stayed safe!
 





Juvy likes to sleep on the baskets of blankets underneath the Foosball table.
She was playing with the little ties.


Sometimes she likes to hide behind the draperies and peek out
(because she's a fierce huntress!)


Allistair weighs 14 pounds, but he still believes himself to be a tiny kitten, and he wants to curl up on top of my laptop.  He doesn't fit, as you can see!


He's 14 pounds of sweet cuddly affection!




Stephen only weighs 10 pounds, if I recall correctly.
He's a very different build - long and lanky and slim like a ferret.


Awww!



So another recipe I tried lately is rice pudding.
I don't remember ever having had it before, and I'm glad I tried it - I like it!

my meal ideas



I tried white fluffy rice first, even though it's less healthy than brown.
I just made some brown rice rice pudding last night.
It's good, too, just a little chewier.



It looked like this as it was simmering.


Mmm!!!
It is really good when I'm having a bit of a Crohnie flare.
Soothing and slightly sweet, but not too sweet.
It's only rice, raisins, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and soy milk.

Highly recommended!

Nice Cream



Mmmm!!!

We liked the cherry-banana version so much that I tried a blueberry-banana recipe, too!


I like the cherry version better, but that doesn't mean that the blueberry didn't get eaten up
just the same!
And isn't it beautiful?


It's nice to have a dessert to make that doesn't require the oven
and that's actually VERY good for us!


Juvy sometimes just lolls around with her tongue poking out.
I can't resist taking more and more photos - I'm only posting one, though, so I still have some readers left at the end of this post!


Allistair, hanging off the coffee table:


Have a lovely Monday!

Spinach Pancakes & Sweet Potato Fries



The last couple of weeks have been a little rough health-wise.
Thankfully, I have four adorable little fuzzballs to make me smile!

They like watching the morning doves through the curtain (they're being sneaky!)
Juvy, Allistair, Claude, Stephen

Stephen:



Here's what the backyard looks like right now.
Our outside table broke while I was moving it so the construction dudes could use the patio, and we don't actually sit out there much, so I wonder if there's a need to replace it.

We still have chairs!
(They are off to the left-hand side of the frame of this photo.


It really has been hot.
This week is not expected to get hotter than 107 or so.
Still not lovely weather, but better than 114!


Juvy has been inside most of the time, enjoying the cool tile and this rug.


Stephen, being silly!
Wookit his cute widdle fangs!  


Allistair "helping" me do yoga:





I love it when Juvy sleeps all curled up because even her toesies curl.




Here is what it looks like on a typical afternoon at our house:


The other night, I made sweet potato fries at home.
Whenever my digestive system is acting up, I crave sweet potato fries.


I chopped up four sweet potatoes (the orange ones) into strips
and baked them at 425 for a long time.
Like 45 minutes on one side and 15 on the other side.


They came out like this
(great - now my mouth is watering!)



I love it when Allistair sleeps, too.
He often covers his eyes.


"Mom - come on.  You're invading my sleep privacy!"


Greg and I were watching "The X-Files" a while back, and Stephen tried to be all sly and sneak up onto Daddy's lap.  Not sure why he thought he was sneaky or why he thought he needed to be sneaky - Daddy loves to snuggle!



And here's another meal I attemped - this one turned out pretty well and I'll be making something similar again.

Spinach pancakes (recipe here)


YES!  The pancakes were green!



. . . and potato cubes, fried in water (continual stirring is required, but then there's no oil!)


Plated up with a banana, it was a lovely and tasty dinner.


Yum!



Now I'm hungry.  Time for lunch!