The people attending Cooking for Catladies will get to meet this adorable cat (ETA: I lied. You’d only get to meet his sister, Lucy, also CH. Cav was adopted to a forever home - still cute, though):

Awww! The head bob with the hat at 1:14… *flail*

Note from original poster, lxbean:

It’s Cav and his new buddy, Ollie.

(Cav, for those of you who are new to the story, was born with cerebellar hypoplasia, which means he’s missing the part of his brain that smooths motor coordination. It doesn’t affect anything else, and as you can see, he’s wringing every last bit of fun out of life. And don’t worry: he doesn’t care if you laugh at him. In fact, there’s a good chance he’s laughing at you.)

ETA: More Caverly videos from when he was just a wee CHitten being fostered:
Cav’s sister twirl walks
CHittens playing with tinfoil
Cav and the leaf
Breakfast of the CHittens
Cav demonstrated progress

This is big, so I’m being super-organized to keep track…

Tuesday, March 10th1:00-9:00pm - work
9:30pm - transfer last batch of leftovers into compatible containers
9:45pm - make chipotle butter
dinner = salad w/ beef and beets
wash dishes?
go to parents’

Wednesday, March 11thCollect from parents’:

• leftovers
• soup bowls
• hot sauces
• fancy olive oils

1:00-9:00pm - work
9:30pm - roast garlic, 3 sweet potatoes, 5 tomatillos
9:30pm - start vegetable stock
9:35pm - wash dishes
10:00pm - make sweet hot garlic sauce (requires: 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, 3 Tablespoons finely minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon sambal olek)
make tomatillo salsa
experiment with savory mashed sweet potato recipes
dinner = sweet potato stuff
*set meusli to soak*

Thursday, March 12thguess what I forgot? —> breakfast = meusli
full day; no prep work
9:30pm - put coffee on to soak and yogurt to drain (not together)
At work - make label cards with ingredient lists of all the dishes. Make a few extra blank ones. Put nocounterspace URL on each.
dinner = pasta

Friday, March 13th8:00am - call out sick from work
8:00am - go to Studio34
8:30-9:30am - pilates
10:00-11:30am - vinyasa
1:00-2:30pm - go to Produce Junction (pick up
3:30-6:00pm - vegetable stock’s slow simmer
3:30-4:00pm - press coffee, pour off, clean press, put more coffee on to soak overnight
4:00-4:30pm - pickle carrots & cucumbers (requires: 3 cucumbers, 4 carrots, 1 purple onion, sugar, rice vinegar)
4:30-5:00pm - make tzatziki saice (requires: 1 drained quart yogurt, 1 cucumber, minced garlic)
6:00pm - strain vegetable stock
6:00-8:00pm - make pita chips (requires: pita, olive oil, ground coriander, paprika, ground cumin, powdered garlic, thyme or oregano, za’tar that has been ground smooth in a mortar, nutmeg, pepper, smoked paprika)
7:00pm - set kidney beans to soak (requires: 3/4 lb? kidney beans & water)

Saturday, March 14th10-11:30am - yoga
11:45-12:45 - pilates

1:00pm - put sweet potatoes in the oven to roast
1:00pm - accept delivery of vegan cookies and chocolate cake!!

press coffee, pour off, clean press

make curry black beans (requires canned black beans (5 cans?), onions, garlic, ginger, jalepeno flesh, red bell peppers?, vegetable stock, bay leaf, thyme, and curry powder and garam masala)

make chili kidney beans (requires: onion, garlic, pinch of salt, cumin, bay leaf, soaked kidney beans, canned tomatoes, dried onion flakes, chili powder, paprika, oregano, masa harina)

make - spice mix for carrot soup

poach pears

make salsas out of some of the fruit from Produce Junction

make thai-ish chickpeas (requires shredded fresh coconut, purple onion, garlic, ginger, jalepeno, cilantro stems, thai green curry paste, chickpeas (5 cans?), lime juice, lime zest, bay leaf, vegetable stock, water)

Save some minced purple onions

make salad dressing - southwestern ranch (ketchup, mayo, sour cream, packet of taco seasoning, maybe some drained chunks from salsa for seasoning

experiment with salad dressing - (I was thinking last night about cumin. Specifically whole cumin seeds all dry roasted in a pan. And how much I like that with honey. And mushed up roasted garlic. Only it needs more liquid, and I haven’t decided yet what will be the best sour note.)

Buy salad greens and tofu

Make savory mashed sweet potatoes

Slice tofu and marinate (requires: lemons, cumin, chipotle, oregano)

Sunday, March 15th10:00am-noon - Forrest yoga
12:30pm - load car and drive to ’s
1:00pm - set someone to peeling carrots
2:00pm - set someone to peel and halve (lengthwise) the sweet potatoes
2:00pm - make carrot soup (requires: peeled & chunked carrots, full fat coconut milk, asaphoetida, ginger, spice mix, low fat coconut milk, vegetable broth, lime, creamy peanut butter) (1st burner!)
2:30pm - Make beet/cabbage shred (requires: 2 beets, 1.5 purple cabbages, 1/2 purple onion, 3 jalepenos, sugar, minced garlic, minced ginger, rice vinegar, red wine vinegar, olive oil, juice of 3 limes, ground pepper, fresh cilantro)
3:00-3:30pm - slice sweet potatoes into spears, toss in a bag to olive oil (requires: peeled sweet potatoes, bag, olive oil, cumin seeds, powdered garlic, ground coriander, ground black pepper, ground chipotle, and ground thyme)
3:00pm - set someone to slice onions and bell peppers
3:30-4:00pm - toast almond slivers for soup (3rd burner - brief)
4:00pm - set someone else to brush tortillas with water and olive oil and make packets for warming in the oven
4:00-5:00pm - cut up fruit into a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave at room temp out of the way (requires: fruit)
5:00-5:30pm - put bread fixings into bread machine(s)
5:15-6:00pm - wash and cut greens
5:30pm - heat oven to 400F
5:55pm - put first batch of sweet potato spears in the oven
6:00pm - put vegetable stock on stove to heat (2nd burner!)
6:15pm - transfer batches of the carrot soup to a blender, containers with finished soup, rinse soup pot, put soup back in pot and adjust the seasoning
6:30-6:50pm - Make Mexican rice for main course, set aside still covered (requires: 1 cup rice, 2 tsp turmeric, 2 cloves, jar of salsa) (3rd burner!)
6:25-6:35pm - take out first batch of sweet potato spears? and put in the second batch
6:45pm - put onions and bell peppers in a skillet over slow heat (requires: onions, peppers, penzey’s fajita seasoning) (4th burner!)
6:50pm - shred lettuce, dice tomato, mince onion, slice hot peppers, cover plate with plastic and pop in the fridge
—————————
7:00pm - guests arrive
7:00pm - put legumes and sweet potatoes in the oven to heat (requires: 4 casserole dishes. I have 2)

7:00-7:20pm - Appetizers - (standing up and mingling)

• pita chips
• fresh pita in wedges?
• tzatziki
• smashed chickpea salad
• Sweet Potato Spears
• Sweet hot Garlic Sauce

7:10pm - don’t forget the second batch of sweet potato spears. Turn oven down to 350F

7:25pm - halve avocados
7:30pm - pull butters out of the fridge
7:30pm - Soup (seated)

• Curry Coconut Ginger Carrot Soup (required: soup, toasted almonds, chipotle)
• Spicy broth (requires spicy broth, beautiful slices of avocado, marinated tofu)
• Fresh bread? No fresh bread? Oddly, I think it might be better with the salad course

7:30pm - take reject avocados and make guacamole (requires: ??)
7:35pm - Have someone else shred Cheddar Cheese
7:40pm - warm tortillas (requires: 3 baskets and cloth napkins)
7:45pm - cook greens (Kenyan collard greens requires: washed & cut collard greens, vegetable bouillon cube, 5 spice powder, 2 fresh tomatoes, diced; Asian kale requires: Alexine!) (carrot soup burner and rice/almonds burner)
7:50pm - Main Course

• Mexican rice
• tortillas
  • corn
  • wheat
  • whole wheat?
• Curry Black Beans
• Chili Kidney beans
• Thai-ish Chickpeas
• Kenyan Collard Greens
• Asian-ish Kale
• Mashed Sweet Potatoes
• Beet/Cabbage Shred
• Sauteed Onions & Peppers
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Queso Fresco
• salad toppings
• Sour Cream
• Salsas
• Guacamole

8:10pm - rinse greens and set to dry
8:12pm - Make balsamic vinaigrette (requires: balsamic vinegar, mustard, red wine, (honey, if no one objects), ground pepper)
8:30pm - Salad

• large bowl of mesclun (bring colander to give it a quick rinse before serving)
• Replate leftovers from dinner into smaller bowls for salad fixings - esp. sliced tomato, onion)
• salad dressings
  • southwestern ranch
  • garlic/cumin thingy?
  • balsamic vinaigrette
  • fancy balsamic vinegar & fancy olive oil
• Fresh, hot bread (hopefully) - w/ butter, honey butter, and chipotle butter

8:50pm - whip cream (requires: 1 qt heavy cream, 1/2 cup sugar)
8:55pm - microwave poached pears (just to take the chill off)
8:55pm - put a kettle on to boil
9:00pm - Dessert

• Put out cookies
• offer platings of cake and/or muffins?
• big bowl of fruit
• big bowl of whipped cream

9:05pm - offer coffee or tea (requires: coffee concentrate, teabags, sugar, honey, fake sugar?, demerara sugar?, heavy cream, lighter dairy?, soy milk?)

—————————

Still unscheduled
- pick up dessert items from lj person

—————————-

Things for the sous chef to cut up on Sunday (in order)

• peel all the carrots
• peel and halve (lengthwise) sweet potatoes
• slice onions and bell peppers
• wash and stem greens

Dessert plans acquired!

There should be a vegan baked goods option - \o/!

and a cake-type baked goods option.

Woo!

That and a bunch of fruit and some whipped cream should be decent after a big dinner, yes?

I’m thinking of making truffles and poached pears, too, but they’ll probably accompany the vegan cupcakes. Eee! plating!

To Do List

Cooking with Catladies - experiment 1

• Thai beet slaw/salad (needs a better name)
  • peel and slice thinly 1 beet
  • shred a complementary amount of purple cabbage
  • halve a purple onion and slice one thinly
  • Jalapeno, seeded, sliced into thin matchsticks (core reserved for stock)
  • make dressing of:
    • 1 clove garlic, minced
    • 2 tsp sugar
    • 1 teaspoon vinegar (still haven’t decided between rice vinegar for the thai theme or red wine vinegar for the color theme)
    • juice of 1/2 lime
    • 1 tsp good olive oil
  • toss together with some generous grinds of black pepper
  • give a further toss with 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro
  • ETA:decided on 1 teaspoon of each kind of vinegar - needs more lime juice!
• Thai-inspired chickpea taco filling (version 1)
  • Drain a can of chickpeas
  • fry 1 tsp shredded fresh coconut (no really, from a coconut - no sugar added), purple onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro stems, jalapeno flesh in 1 tsp olive oil.
  • Add half the can of chickpeas, juice of 1/2 the lime, 1 bay leaf, and some lime zest
  • Add a mixture of vegetable stock and water and cook until no longer thin.
• Thai-inspired chickpea taco filling (version 2)
  • fry 1 tsp fresh coconut in 2 tsp olive oil
  • add 1/2 tsp thai green curry paste
  • Add the rest of the chickpeas and a similar mixture of vegetable stock and water
  • cook until no longer thin
• ETA: Instead of one or the other, it should be both - add some green curry paste to the first recipe to give it a yummy base flavor. And don’t forget to add a little salt in the cooking

Vacuum floor
Hang up stuff in closet
Clean off kitchen table
1 hr pilates
shower

This is the second time City Kitties has run this event! But this time, the meal will be catered by ME. (RSVP for West Philadelphia location.) This is a great way to help a good cause while meeting new people and sampling new food. At the end of the night, you leave with the recipes. (Or you can even give me suggestions ahead of time here) And if you play your cards right, you might also leave with a cat. OK, that might not be an incentive, but you know, even Catladies can dream…

(please repost far and wide)
From City Kitties:
Another delicious Cooking with Catladies event is fast approaching! For a donation of $30 or more, you can enjoy a multi-course meal and great company. Check out photos from last year’s mouthwatering events here and here. Reserve your place at the table by emailing info at citykitties dot org. Hope to see you there!

Okay, so I am in the planning stages of making a lovely dinner party that will benefit charity. Which charity? City Kitties. As of now, the date is March 15th, but I will make another post when there is a real announcement with a graphic and everything.

Why City Kitties and not PAWS or some local SPCA group? Because while they are also awesome, I was reading back entries of a friend’s (friend from pilates classes) livejournal and came across an entry where they had done one of these a year ago, and it fills the dinner party void in my life. So there.

So here’s the menu planning part (I really would love your feedback and suggestions):

Beverages

• We shall provide sangria with the appetizer course, and after that it is BYOB

Appetizers (3-4 of what is listed below based on availability of ingredients)

• pita chips & tzatziki
  

  pita chips: (I think I’ll make a separate post about these)

  tzatziki: drain 1 qt yogurt. Peel and finely dice 1 large to 4 small cucumbers. Stir together with 1/4 tsp jarred minced garlic.

• Sweet potato spears with dipping sauce
  

  sweet potato spears: toss cut sweet potatoes with olive oil, cumin seeds, powdered garlic, ground coriander, ground black pepper, ground chipotle, and ground thyme. Bake at 400F for 20-35 minutes (depending on size up spears). Sprinkle with salt.

  dipping sauce: Sweet hot Garlic Sauce

• Asian-style Pickled Cucumber & Carrot
  

  Peel cucumber in stripes and slice into 2-3mm pieces. Cut carrots into as fine slices as possible. Also cut thin slices of purple onion. Combine in a water-tight container, sprinkle with (citrus-infused) sugar and pure over 1/4c rice vinegar. Shake to mix and let sit 8-36 hours.

Soup (Choice of 1)

• *Carrot Ginger Coconut Soup
  

  Heat 1 can of foreign (full fat) coconut milk until the oils separate. Fry asaphoetida, 2 inches minced ginger, and a spice mix made up of (kala jeera, black cardamom seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, black peppercorns, and salt). After 2 minutes, add 20-ish carrots, peeled and cut into large 2-3″ pieces. Add a can of lowfat coconut milk and vegetable stock until the liquids cover the solids. Check seasoning and add salt, pepper, juice of 1 lime, and 1 tsp creamy peanut butter. When thoroughly cooked, blend until smooth. Garnish with ground chipotle, toasted slivered almonds, and possibly arugula

• Spicy broth with tofu and avocado
  

  Make my usual vegetable stock with extra garlic and three kinds of pepper (fresh jalepeno, powdered chipotle, dried cayenne). Marinate tofu strips in cumin, chipotle, oregano, and lemon juice. Add tofu to hot broth and garnish with strips of avocado (and maybe fresh red hot peppers).

Main Course - Build your own soft tacos (with optional store-bought tortilla chips?)

• Beans
  • Curry Black Beans - Sabut Urad Lajawab
    adapted from The Ultimate Dal Cookbook by Mona Verma
    

    Soak block beans overnight. Heat olive oil and mustard oil in a pan and fry onions until translucent. Add minced ginger, garlic, and seeded jalepeno. After a couple minutes, add turmeric; garam masala; and ground mix of roasted cumin seeds, roasted coriander seeds, and dried chillies - fry a minute until fragrant. Add drained beans, salt, and tomatoes. Cook down. Season with lime juice near the end of cooking and adjust flavors.

  • Kidney Beans
    

    onions, garlic, jalepeno flesh cooked down. Add kidney beans and 2 cans of stewed tomatoes. Add 1 bay leaf, thyme, oregano, cumin, chili powder, paprika. Cook down until fairly thick and mushy.

  • Thai-inspired chickpeas
    

    Toast finely shredded fresh coconut in a dry skillet. Add olive oil. Add finely diced purple onion. When soft, add minced garlic, minced ginger, minced jalepeno, minced cilantro stems, minced lemongrass (if available). After 1 minute, add a conservative amount of thai green curry paste. Add chickpeas (from a can, drained and rinsed), lime juice, lime zest, and a bay leaf. After a few minutes, add a mixture of vegetable stock and water and let cook until no longer loose. Let flavors sit overnight.

• Greens
  • Kenyan Collard Greens
    

    Cook down thin strips of collard greens in a tiny amount of water/oil. Add vegetable bouillon cube and 5 spice powder. Add diced tomato

  • Asian-inspired Kale - ETA: not served
    

    Cook down kale and add a mixture of soy sauce, wasabi, minced ginger, and lemon juice.

• Root vegetables
  • Sweet potatoes
    

    Roast sweet potatoes and then mash with butter, cumin, chipotle, thyme, oregano, nutmeg, sumac, salt, and black pepper (and maybe a bit of smoked paprika).

    That’s just gilding the lily. Instead, mashed roasted sweet potatoes with roasted garlic and maybe some lime juice to keep things perky. And that’s it.

  • Beet/Cabbage Shred (based on this one)
    

    Slice beet as thin as possible. Shred purple cabbage. Slice a purple onion thinly. Seed and slice thin matchsticks from a jalepeno or two. Toss together and dress with the following pre-mixed liquid: sugar, finely minced garlic, and a wee bit of minced ginger, rice vinegar and red wine vinegar (equal parts), olive oil, and a decently generous amount of lime juice. Toss together. Grind some black pepper and sprinkle in some cilantro. Toss again. Let sit for 15 minutes.

• Sauteed onions and peppers
• Sauteed mushrooms - ETA: not served
• Cheese
  • hand shredded extra sharp cheddar - ETA: not served
  • queso fresco
• shredded lettuce, diced tomato, minced purple onion, sliced hot peppers - ETA: not served
• sour cream and maybe Mexican crema
• Salsas
  • green tomato salsa
    

    roast green tomatoes, let cook, remove skins, dice. Add roasted garlic, jalepeno pepper or two w/o seeds, white balsamic vinegar, and lime juice. Season with salt, pepper, Penzey’s Turkish Seasoning (includes salt, cumin, garlic, half-sharp paprika, black pepper, Turkish oregano, sumac), cilantro, nutmeg, oregano, and a tiny bit of cinnamon.

  • Apple Chipotle Salsa
  • Pineapple /Grape Salsa
  • Mango & Green Pepper Salsa
  • Pineapple Habanero Salsa
• Guacamole
• Rice
  

  1 cup white rice, 1 jar salsa, 1/5 tsp turmeric

Salad - ETA: not served

• *Carrot & Garlic Salad
  

  blanch 2 pounds peeled carrots, toss with lemon juice. Roast carrots, 8 peeled scallions, and a head of garlic until tender. Cut carrots and scallions and mix them with the blended mix (roasted garlic, zest and juice of 1 orange, parley, salt, cinnamon, cumin, ground ginger).

• mixed greens
• Salad dressings
  Southwestern Ranch
  

  make a French dressing base (mayonnaise and ketchup), heavier on the ketchup. Stir in 6oz plain yogurt. Add taco seasoning mix from a packet.

  • Sweet Garlic and Cumin dressing
    

    Roast 2 heads of garlic, and squeeze every clove into a small food processor. Add slightly less than a quarter cup of honey and 2 Tablespoons of good olive oil. Dry Roast 1 Tablespoon of cumin seeds. Add some whole and grind some in a mortar and pestle. Add 2 tsp sweet red wine. Season with salt and pepper. When smooth, taste. When it’s as good as you can make it while still being too strong and a bit too sweet, add cider vinegar until you reach a pourable (but still thick) consistency.

  Dessert

  • A co-worker shall provide an amazing bundt cake and maybe vegan cookies
  • And the kind Sara Strickland shall provide vegan dark chocolate & earl grey tea cupcakes
  • Earl Grey Poached Pears
  • Earl Grey Truffles? ETA: not made, but I’m keeping the links to the recipes should I want to find them again later
    • vegan
    • earl grey with all bittersweet and a smooth ganache
    • earl grey with mixed bittersweet and milk chocolate rolled in cocoa powder

  Note: Adding asterisks to the recipes that need to be tested before the dinner, Anyone interested in tasting some of these things as I go? I especially need someone who likes chickpeas.