Weekend Cat Blogging

This is something I've always wanted to do but never gotten around to! Since I started this blog I've always nosed upon the Weekend Cat Blogging group, I mean, who doesn't love a kitty! And, after a year and a bit I've finally gone and done it! So, here is my very first Weekend Cat Blog....


Everyone meet Gogo! Gogo is my foster child and I love her very much! She came to me from a friend who has moved back in with her parents. Said parents have a kitty Gogo didn't really get along with so she came to stay with us for a wee while. I can honestly say she has made the last month of my life so much better, her little face lights up my day. I enjoy her so much, I've decided I'm going to get another cat once she returns to her birth mother. I don't think I've told Kris yet, so shhhh!


And this is the number one man in my life, Marmalade. I don't think it is possible for a human being to love a cat as much as I love Marmalade. He is my little life partner and my reason for getting up in the morning.

Unfortunately, Muffin hates the camera and runs for the hills every time I point it at her. So she will have to live in anonymity...for now.
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SMS & British Food Fortnight

I know most of you will be expecting either my weekly SMS post or even my round up for British Food Fortnight. Well I'm afraid you won't find them here, not today!

I do have an excuse, a good one! My sweet, darling kitty, Marmalade was rushed to pussycat hospital on Thursday morning with a blocked urethra. Although I got him back on Friday afternoon I've spent the entire weekend nursing him back to health, worrying every time he went into the litter and force feeding him medication. Good news though, he's well on the way to normality and he's weeing like a champ so I can finally relax (easier said than done).

I've been so worried my face currently resembles a pizza! Yes, not only did I break out in worry spots but I also developed a stress cold sore. How wonderful!

Anyway, business as normal commencing very soon!
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Snow Babies

No baking today, nuh uh, because at long last we finally got our snow day! The white stuff has been falling since about 9am and is currently around 3" deep, how exciting. As I didn't have uni or work today I was home regardless, but Kris being his own boss, decided to shut up shop and make the traffic filled journey home. Hurrah!

First order of business was to introduce the kitties to their first snowfall.


To say they didn't like it is probably an understatement, the parky beggars bolted back into the warm house the second their feet hit the ground! As I type this entry, Marmalade is sitting on the sofa giving me the evilest of looks. I doubt he'll ever trust me again. Better pick some Sheba up next time I go shopping, by way of an apology.


Of course, we built a snowman. Last year we lived n a tiny one bedroom flat which lacked a garden, and unless I wanted to make a winter friend on the balcony, there was no such fun to be had. So, this year we embraced the back garden and used up every last bit of snow to make Jacques. He looks French, doesn't he?

I especially like his hands! I'm an artist!
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Black bottom cupcakes you make my rockin' world go round

Today has been a sad day in the Deacon-Stewart household. My little baby girl Muffin has finally gone in for her neutering operation after months of us putting it off. After worrying myself sick for the first three hours of the day I decided to try and busy myself with something a little more creative and a little less likely to cause wrinkles. Cupcakes!


I saw this recipe for Black Bottom Cupcakes on one of my very favorite websites, Joy of Baking, and thought I'd give it a whirl. I was originally going to save them for Valentines this Saturday, but I just had to get my mind off my little pudding all alone in the vets.

Though the recipe is very simple, I think my cream cheese filling was a little on the thin side. So rather than sink to the bottom it simply formed a white layer over each cake. If I decide to make these again I think I'll up the quantity to around 250g of cheese.

As I was writing this post my little darling arrived home, shaved and a little shaken but otherwise OK. Well she must be, I've never seen a cat chow down on two tins of tuna consecutively. Hungry Horace! The vets said they had never heard such a chatty kitty, never stopped moaning the whole time she was in. Must take after her mum.


And finally, I just thought I'd share this macabre little scene Kris and I discovered in our back garden yesterday. While clearing the over turned lawn furniture from the decking, an old plant pot was tipped revealing the final frozen resting place for this poor spider. Kinda reminds me of a chilly Jurassic Park.

Ewwwwwww!
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Midweek fun

What a hectic few days we've had up here in good old Newcastle, all thanks to a tiny beast named Muffin!

There's one thing in domestic life that I just can't stand doing, washing, there's something about the washing machine that just makes me irate. I hate it so much, so much so I've actually made a deal with Kris wherein he commands authority over all things laundry and is exempt from any kind of bathroom cleanage, that's how much I despise it. I'd rather have my hand half way down a toilet than deal with soggy clothes! So, a few days ago, Kris was dealing with the ever mounting pile of dirty clothes while I sat, tea in hand, watching Come Dine With Me, lovely! All was fine and dandy till in walked lady Muffin with a washing tablet bag in her greedy mouth. You see, Muffin was purchased from a lady who I believe was experiencing her first day on Earth! The poor beggar was fed upon open packets of ham/chicken/whatever else was lying around from being a tiny kitten, so now she assumes everything left upon the floor is fair game. Anyway, at first I laughed 'Oh how cute' I exclaimed while watching her trot across the floor with the tiny bag in tow, till she dropped it and started gnawing upon the tightening string. I leapt up to retrieve the bag but it was too late, she'd already nommed off a good few inches of it and a little of the rubber stopper as desert! Now, I've had cats my whole life and I know they usually bounce back from the stupid little things they do, so I tapped her bot and sent her to the water dish to try and flush the daft get out.

A couple of days passed and everything was normal, cats kicking hell out of each other at all hours of the day and night, just another day in Bittern Close. This continued until yesterday when we noticed Muffin struggling to, how do we say, relieve herself. Our minds instantly flashed back to the string and a horror story our friend had told us about the time her cat ate a bobble and got it wrapped around it's intestines. Oh no!! A few furious google searches tell me what I already know, get the cat to the vet ASAP! Of course, I start crying and following her around making sure she doesn't just drop where she stands while I wait for Kris to return from work. May I add that Muffin was perfectly fine through all of this, she just lacked to ability to poop, no sickness, no lethargy, no anorexia, I'm just a massive panic junky! Eventually, Kris arrives home and we bundle the little terror to the vets, me full of tears, Kris worrying his head off, Muffin absolutely fine. An hour later and £30 down the vet tells us the cat has absolutely nothing wrong with her and there was no need for my huge over reaction. Phew. If this is what I'm like with the cats, what am I going to be like when I have kids. Dear lord!

After our little ordeal the last thing I wanted was to be cooking up a big, complicated meal so threw together an improv chicken chow mien using random stuff I had in the kitchen. Perfect end to a perfect day.


Chicken Chow Mein:

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shreaded
2 carrots thinly sliced (I grated mine)
1 bag of beansprouts
handful of mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
knob of ginger
pinch of thai five spice
glug of dark soy sauce
glug of rapeseed oil
a bag of fresh egg noodles

Fry the ginger and onions in the oil till soft

Add the rest of the veg, garlic and five spice, stir and fry for another few minutes.

Add the cooked chicken and noodles and fry till the noodles are heated through.

Remove from heat and add soy sauce to taste.
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Whiskers on kittens...

Certainly are one of my favorite things.

Marmalade McTiddlesworth

Muffin McTiddlesworth

Sure, they're A LOT bigger now, but this pair of terrors can elevate my mood instantly with a simple twitch of their cheeks. Without them I don't know what I would do. It's funny how animals can develop their own little personality, each totally different from the other. Marmalade is my tiny prince, spoilt, fussy and stubborn. Want a big cuddle? Well, you're looking at the wrong cat..unless he wants one, of course. Muffin on the other hand is a cuddly, loving little monster. Probably the most ungraceful cat I have ever met, but boy is she adorable. Put them together, however, and you have a kitty whirlwind of naughtiness. But it's a whirlwind I couldn't live without.

Another of my favorite things is banana bread. Oh, how I love banana bread, the taste, the smell, the way it looks, all sultry sitting there in its tin. And luckily for me, I always have a few over ripe bananas knocking around my kitchen. Add chocolate and I'm yours forever, this cake is like a giant moist hug every morning and it only gets better with age. I often make a loaf at the beginning of the week and see how long it can last for a beautiful breakfast time treat.




Chocolate Banana Bread, adapted from Olive Magazine:

Ingredients:

100g plain chocolate
150g unsalted butter
175g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, beaten
175g self raising flour
1 level tsp baking powder
25g cocoa powder
2 ripe bananas, mashed (I used 3 small bananas)

Recipe:

Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line the base of a 1kg loaf tin with baking parchment. Melt the chocolate either in the microwave or in a small glass bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until smooth and remove from the heat.

Cream together the softened butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the egg, beating well between each addition. Sift together the flour, baking powder and cocoa and fold in using a large metal spoon. Add the mashed banana and chocolate and mix well.

Pour mixture into lined tin and bake for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool on a rack, then wrap in baking parchment or foil.


The original recipe calls for 2 smaller loaf tins and to bake them for 45 minutes. I only have a larger tin so I increased the baking time by 15 minutes which seemed to work perfectly. Just make sure you keep and eye on it after the 45 minutes are up. You can find the original recipe here, on
BBC Good Food.
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