Hey November

Koby cooks a Cornish game hen for the first time and I begin my novel. (See my writer's specs? Follow my writing progress here.)

Mediterranean Chicken Soup and Meli's Mutilated Whiskers

Mediterranean Chicken Soup - muy different, muy tasty

Stock:
1/2 cup cup orange juice (yeah!)
3 (10 1/2 oz) cans chicken broth
1 (8oz) can stewed tomatoes
4 medium (2 cups) carrots, sliced
2 medium (1 cup) onions, chopped
1 bulb (1 cup) fresh fennel, trimmed, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves (can sub dried in same amount)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (can sub dried in same amount)
1 teaspood finely chopped fresh garlic

Chicken:
2 cups cubed 1 inch cooked chicken
1 (2 1/4 oz) can sliced ripe black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

In Dutch oven combine all stock ingredients. Cook over high heat until mixture comes to a full boil (8-10 min). Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Stir in chicken and olvies, continue cooking until heated through (2-3) minutes. Ladle into individual service bowls. Sprinkle each serving with parsley.

YIELD: 4 servings
NUTRITION INFO: (1 serving) 270 calories, 27g protein, 21g carbohydrates, 9g fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 1230 mg sodium

While I was boiling the chicken, I am suspicious that Meli succumbed to her newfound fascination, which is crawling all over the countertops. We know this because she singed the whiskers on the left side of her face. Koby and I Googled all about whiskers after that - was she hurt? Hopefully she won't crawl around the stove top and the knives anymore. Part of me laughs when I look at her mutilated, curly whiskers, and part of me feels bad for my little kitty. She's just too curious for her own good.

cuteness vomit

Enter Amelia

Against our better judgment, Koby and I adopted a kitten. Koby's uncle, Kirby, has a cat that had a litter about 8 weeks ago. So, for about 8 weeks, I have been talking about our new cat. (This imaginary cat was originally named 'Hagrid the Cat', but we ended up with Amelia. Koby named her.)

We brought Amelia, now called Meli (Mee-lee, because Amelia can be hard to say), home a few nights ago and we are all learning to live together. Meli Cat likes to play, lick my face, sit on my shoulder and sniff my ears. She was shy for about the first ten minutes after arriving at her new dwelling, but we quickly saw her true colors. She chases her tail, uses the litter box without prompting, will sit still until I get out the camera, and enjoys plastic Walmart bags. Koby pretends he doesn't like her and the scratches on my wrists and legs are already healing. Things are going well in the Andrews house. Bonney and Sophie haven't met Amelia yet (actually I don't know if Sophie has ever met a cat), but I think Meli will be able to fend for herself when the time is right. (She is very fast and easily able to avoid Koby and me when we are trying to put her in the bathroom, where she sleeps.)

Dogs are still better.







***DISCLAIMER*** I know, I know. Our house is a wreck. Not Meli's fault. We are still unpacking and have run out of room to put things. In the very near future Koby and I will be making a very generous donation to the Goodwill establishment.