"Souper" Friday

Yesterday was the sixth week of "Souper Friday" - an attempt to make meal planning more fun with a planned soup supper every Friday. Last night I made Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I looked at the recipes in the Holmes Family Cookbook, and found a recipe on-line that got good reviews and then made up my own mixture. It turned out pretty good. So far during the Souper Friday run we've had Turkish Rice soup, Salmon Chowder, French Onion Soup, Potato Soup, Beef and Vegetable Stew and now Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. Most weeks I've made some sort of hot bread as an accompaniment and I find I'm actually looking forward and planning Friday supper with some enthusiasm. - And that's a good thing.

After supper we went to the Pampered Chef party that Catherine was hosting and Valerie was the representative. They did a good job and Valerie cooked a pizza with chicken, Alfredo sauce and spinach that was delicious. I think I'll make it for Tim for supper tonight. Jane and Neal are here this weekend so I don't have to worry about if Mom can eat it or not.

One of Catherine's gifts for hosting the party was the seasonal cookbook that Pampered Chef puts out to utilize their products. She had each of the guests write a cooking tip inside and mine was to remember that recipes are only a starting point when you are cooking - you should make each dish your own, using what you like and have on hand. I think that's why I like making soup - I can personalize it any way I like. Sometimes that's a good thing.

Peaches is Growing Up

We've had Peaches for 3 or 4 weeks now and she has certainly made our home her home. She tormented Frosty until he had to accept her - but he won't let her run over him completely. She attacks his tail (which is always twitching) and he just puts up with it. BUT when she attacked his head, he bit her foot. She cried and cried - and then went back for more. He isn't as lonely and mopey as he was - and he's always pretty close to her.

The big new discovery for her this week was the FISH!! We have two stock tanks in the basement filled with the goldfish and koi from the pond. The first day she discovered them she (and this is guessing) must have stood by the pond and tried to catch them all day. There was a lot of water on the floor that evening. So Tim went to the Hardware and got some hail screen to cover the tanks. She loved it - she just walked out to the middle of the tank and sat down to watch fish.

She really has a sweet tooth - loves human food and especially frosting (She's as bad as some of my sisters!). Decorating a cake becomes a challenge. This morning I practiced good discipline techniques, I think. I removed her from the table with a firm NO, and sat her on the floor - 5 or 6 times. Then I sort of knocked her off the table with a firm NO for a few times. I think she's learning.

This week we got a new kitten. Frosty, our old fat cat, has been so lonesome since we had Spike euthanized a few months ago - AND for the first time since we've lived here, we had a mouse!!!!
The veterinarian thought of us when a young couple brought in a kitten they had rescued and we have now adopted Peaches. She's probably about 5 months old - we already had her spayed and declawed - and she's adapting very quickly to our home. Frosty isn't too fond of her yet but that hasn't deterred her from playing with his tail - the more he twitches it in disgust, the happier she is to attack.