Fast Dinners for When it is 1 Million Degrees Out: Part 1

Ok, so it has been hot. It has been TOO HOT TO BLOG.

What is this? The surface of the sun?

No, no, not quite. In reality, this is a precise rendering of my living room last week.

As you can see, Charlotte has actually melted.

Basically, no one in their right mind is going to cook anything in this situation, but I have been making the best of it and accumulated some cold meal ideas that I have been too lazy to write up. So, I'll be doling those out over the next week or so starting with this one, which is basically a pile of cool, refreshing (vegan) goodness.

First up, simple watermelon salad. I could live on this.

This couldn't be easier. You need: basil, lemon, and watermelon.  First, take some watermelon- I buy them in quarters because otherwise it's a race against time to eat the watermelon before it gets kind of mushy. Chop into slightly larger than bite size pieces. Now take your basil and chiffonade - this basically just means (after washing) stack up the basil leaves and slice them into thin strips. Now, sprinkle this on the watermelon and squeeze the juice of half a lime over the whole thing. Toss it. Eat it. Bask in the glory of the cold sweet watermelon and tart lime and refreshing basil. 

There are more elaborate versions with things like diced jalapeno, red onion, and feta, and that is delicious, but this is easier :).

Next up, little pita tacos. First, roughly chop a cucumber and slice some red onions. Put in a bowl with some red wine vinegar, olive oil, and a little dill, salt and pepper and let it sit. While that's happening you're going to make some hummus (or use store bought hummus, but the home made is SO EASY). Take a can of garbanzo beans, a big spoonful of tahini, juice of half a lemon, and a small clove of garlic- dump in food processor and run it until it looks like hummus (if it is too dry add a little water). Now, resist the urge to put too much garlic in because this is totally raw, and will really permeate the hummus especially as it sits. 

All you have to do is slather some half-pitas with hummus, top with the veggies, pick up like a taco and eat. This is barely even a recipe, but I like it because with a few basic staples (around here in summer cucumber is  definitely a staple- if I wasn't living on watermelon I'd live on cucumber salad).

A Battle of Wills

Charlotte is on antibiotics. This has proven to be a challenge for both of us. For me the challenge is trying to wrestle a writhing cat to the ground, for her the challenge is to avoid medical care at any cost. I have created a handy little graphic in case you end up in this situation yourself. The most remarkable thing is the change between Days 1 and 2- who knew she could learn so quickly! (Disclosure, the full week is based on the last experience, this time we went through Days 1, 2, & 3 at which point I started hiding it in some Fancy Feast)

She looks, so innocent, right? I'm here to tell you, it's all an act.

Charlotte, the Scientist

As a scientist myself, and a hard-core supporter of the wonder that is Charlotte, it came as a great joy when Dr. Charlie-Pants was recognized for her key scientific contributions. While the experiments were completed many years ago, the results (and her fashion sense) continue to have a lingering impact.

Source: catscientists.tumblr.com via Yellowfish on Pinterest

The illustrious organization that bestowed this great honor is "Cat Scientists of the 60's", where Charlotte is profiled along with a number of her feline colleagues. A Nobel Prize is just around the corner!

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy 4th of July!!

I hope you're enjoying it... I'm not sure what else you can ask for from a holiday beyond a 3 day weekend, a Twilight Zone Marathon, barbecues and fireworks, so live it up!

Charlotte recommends a lower key celebration- she is pondering her independence while taking a long sunbath in her favorite deck chair.

Completely Gratuitous Cat Photo

She just looks so stinkin' cute with the quilt.

My Rapid Decline into Old-Ladyhood... part III, the final hurrah.

Once I finished the top of the quilt, I was pretty excited... then I realized, that was only half the battle. I made a back of the quilt, which probably could have been simpler except I had a lot of fabric that I could cut up, and didn't want to waste it. So, I made the whole thing out of 12x12 squares, with 2 stripes of color to add a little interest.

First step was to spread the entire thing out flat, taping down the sides so there were as few wrinkles as possible. Given that this took the entire available space in my living room (with the coffee table and rug moved and the couches pushed around), this was no easy feat. It is possible the hardest part was keeping Charlotte off of it, because she was pretty intrigued.

Then the next step is to make the "quilt sandwich". So, on top of the backing of the quilt put the batting. I used an 80/20 cotton/poly blend with low loft. Then I put on the top, trying to center it (not so easy!). Then, I used a little tool my friend Kristen (who also advised on the whole process) loaned me, which is basically like a price gun that shoots a little plastic thing through all the layers to hold them together- alternatively, you can pin it. The gun was pretty fun, though.

 Then, I rolled it up, because the whole thing has to be fed through the sewing machine (no small feat either)! There are a lot of fancy techniques for the actual quilting, but I wanted to go way simple because frankly, I had no idea what I was doing, and by the time everything was sandwiched together, just maneuvering the whole thing through the machine was tricky.

 I decided to just sew along each seam- my stripes were either 4 inches wide (colors) or 2 inches wide (grey) so it worked out (the batting say to quilt every 4 inches to avoid bunching). I didn't manage to sew the same distance from the edge of each stripe, but, it worked out anyways

Then I had to do the edge, which I was kind of worried about. First I trimmed everything so it was the same size. Then, I cut a bunch of strips of fabric about 3 inches wide and connected them (the way this blog showed me). A lot of the descriptions of binding involved hand sewing, until I found this miraculous post saying that you could do it without doing it by hand, so for my first try, I just went with that. I would describe it in detail, but there are about a million posts about doing this, all by people who know more than I do.

 

And here it is... in all its glory....

*drumroll please*

 

And here is the edge, which despite being a design borne of necessity, is actually a part of it I really like.

And, here is the back, made that way purely for cuteness...

The first night sleeping under that quilt, was the best night ever :).

Also, I know you're concerned, but, Charlotte approves...

If you want to see the rest of the series, here is part 1:

http://yellowfishblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-rapid-decline-into-old-ladyhood-part.html

and part 2:

http://yellowfishblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/my-rapid-decline-into-old-ladyhood-part_14.html

 

The 365 Days Project

Well, for some reason I'm in an internet meme-y kind of mood. It all started when one food blog I was reading talked about spending only $30 for food for a week (including groceries, coffee, etc). All these people were posting their menus, and I thought, $30, I could do $30 with my hand tied behind my back (only one hand because I need the other hand to cook)! But I was only thinking about when I cook, which as we all know, is cheap when you actually prefer to survive on garbanzo beans. Unfortunately I have a conference, and a dinner with a friend from out of town, and $30 won't cut it this week (which I realize defies the entire point, but whatever). Anyways, that will come soon.

Then I got all pumped up about 101 things in 1001 days, where you decide on 101 things to accomplish over roughly the next 2.75 years. Sounds productive. Also sounds like something I should work on listing out when I'm not flailing around in piles of busy-ness like I am right now. So that MAY come too (if I actually feel like putting it on the blog, which will likely only happen if I include a section on things I want to learn to cook).

SO. Here we are. I've settled on the 365 days challenge, where you take a picture a day for 365 days. I'm sure I'm way out of date on this, but it will still be fun! I actually take an inordinate amount of pictures (like, haha, look at this baking disaster or haha, look at this hilarious sign), so theoretically this won't be hard. We shall see. Despite what I'm about to post, I promise that all of the pictures won't be of Charlotte. I'll also put up normal stuff as well (I have ANOTHER wheatberry incarnation up my sleeve, but am almost afraid to put it up after the last two, so I'm waiting).

I am starting yesterday, because this is just too cute. Today's is upcoming.

Charlotte, with her cat grass. You can't see, but it exactly matches her eyes...

The busiest cat in the world.

I know you've been dying to know what little Charlotte has been up to.

I've been traveling a lot for work lately. Fortunately, she is my right hand man and can help me prep for the trip. You can see here that she is reviewing some paperwork, taking notes, and using the phone- all while looking exceedingly glamorous. If she had hair, she would be flipping it. Who could ask for anything more?

Who's Bed is it Anyways?

I think it is pretty clear- I may pay the rent, but she's just letting me live here as a courtesy.

Why I wish I were a cat

I am running around, scarfing down oatmeal, combing my hair, packing up my computer, looking for my lost keys, finding two matching socks, and generally getting ready to go sit in my freezing cold office analyzing data all day.

Charlotte, is doing this:


I think its pretty clear who has the better end of this bargain...

The Season of Giving...

This is the Christmas gift that Charlotte gave out this year. I thought about what she could possibly give someone, and decided that to her, the only remotely desirable or appropriate gift would be a seductive self portrait. Its sort of the way I imagine Zsa-zsa Gabor might decide to hand out gifts...

(Not so?) Little Cat

Well, as long as I'm getting going, introducing things, blah blah blah, I better get this out of the way. This stunning creature is Charlotte, my affectionate, drooly, slightly tubby cat. The main reason this is of great import is that, other than many many drafts of pictures of jewelry, pictures of Charlotte are responsible for using up the other half of my camera batteries. If only she won't so photogenic, I might be able to resist her charms. Here you can see her modeling two of her favorite poses ("Superman Charlotte" and "Cat in a Bag")... we watch a lot of America's Next Top Model re-runs together, so she gets a lot of tips.
.(Charlotte came from Kitten Rescue, which you can check out here)