Thursday 22 October 2009

So, how's it going?

One does adapt to circumstances. After our initial scare that Shadow might have to be put down immediately, it was a great relief that he's responded well enough to his treatment to be able to come home. So now we merely have kittehs with a terminal disease, one very far advanced. They also have very silly haircuts. We're trying to get Plummet to accept the renal diet, which he's kind of almost OK with, except that he can smell the tuna and meat that Shadow is getting. Shadow won't eat anything else, and since he won't last long, he may as well enjoy his last few months.

That renal diet is expensive! About ten times the cost of whiskas. The vet gave me a list of recipes to make your own, which I was quite keen on until I read them. I'm pretty sure they are American. Cans of clams aren't exactly standard fare around here. Oh well. As long as he's eating moderately well, that's the main thing. They're both bouncing around the house seemingly as healthy as horses. That's kidney disease for you - all well until sudden collapse.


In other news, I'm still feeling a bit down and slightly off my food. The job situation is getting to me, even though I know that the Public Service processes are very slow. Not very much music is happening either; my singing teacher is down with a very nasty shoulder injury. Too much facebook game time is going on. Hey, wanna be my friend, and play cafe world and fellowship and that zoo game thing and farmville and treasure mania and bejeweled blitz? Hmmmm. Could be slightly excessive there...

Well, I'd better look more on the bright side. I'm still reviewing for the Canberra Times, so I get to go out for fancy dinners even while unemployed, yay! And it's springtime and the garden is doing well. I planted Kipfler potatoes and they are up and flourishing. There's spinach and rhubarb coming along and my hydroponic lettuces are growing quickly. Perhaps too quickly, they're stealing the water from the other plants in the box. The baby apricot tree is setting fruit, the fig tree and the new cherry tree are sprouting leaves. And we've had a lovely display of irises, too.

I have cooked a few things, mostly simple repeats like the pulled pork, brown bean sauce noodles, spag bog, and grilled meats and sausages. I have a half finished post on a curry dinner that I made before all this fuss. I should finish that one off, I suppose. I've also made an egg and leek and potato dish that won't be reappearing on the menu because it needs too many saucepans. I've also made the annual Xmas cake, and I used my gorgeous new birthday cake pan to make the orange cake that came on its label. This is it - photo is not ideal, and some icing would enhance it, but I think it's clear enough to work out what it is. Cool, eh?

I've also been out for a few meals. We've done pre-theatre quick dinners at several places. The Wig & Pen - great beer, tolerable pub grub - is an old standard and close to the Street Theatre. Tosolini's is pretty good food, convenient to the Canberra Theatre. Entree sized pastas are enough if you have bread and salad, too, and it's pretty quick. And we also tried out Coo, which had terrible, terrible service. We only ordered sushi, and though you'd think that would be quick, only two of our 4 items actually made it to our table in 45 minutes, and then we had to leave. It is very new, though, so I'll be giving them another chance some time. And the food we did have was delicious, and they apologised a lot.

7 comments:

Mummy/Crit said...

Excellent cake, and good to hear the moggies are going well enough. Nippy was on the renal diet for a few months before her final collapse. It's hard work.

You could ice the cake as Cthulu pretty successfully.

Jens Knudsen (Sili) said...

All the best to the cats.

I got away with making a leek quiche the other day - I only seem to eat every other day at the moment. Sleeping too much - prolly a case of SAD. But this way I have half of it left still for tomorrow ,I think - I need to eat my lettuce before it goes off.

Gonna try to stew some pointy cabbage in a minute. I'd have forsworn I'd ever willingly try that. I was such a picky eater as a kid. If it turns out bad, at least I have the defrosted meatballs.

Impressive cakepan. I've never baked anything adventurous. Wouldn't know where to start decorating.

Bonne chance!

infoaddict said...

Hugs and snuggles to all of you, including the pusscats. A hard time for everyone. Treat yourself as well as you treat your cats; you're more emotional than they are and you deserve it.

I've got a Bundt pan which turns out a rose-shaped cake, which I'm yet to actually use for anything ... I must do some baking to at least use up my surplus eggs!! Maybe this weekend ...

Dannielle said...

Cath where do you buy your fruit for your xmas cake? (from a regular lurker)

Cath said...

Hi Dannielle. I buy dried fruit quite randomly - supermarkets and health food stores.

For the glace fruit, Cooking Coordinates in Belconnen. They have a secret supplier from South Australia with interesting kinds - peach, quince and apricot, for instance, as well as orange and lemon peel. But they don't make cherries, so it's back to the random health food stores for those. (As if glace fruit were health food!)

The one thing I recommend against is the cheap packs of mixed dried fruit. They tend to have nasty fake gelatine cherries.

BJ said...

@ info-addict: when you brave the rose tin, grease it very very very well, and flour or cocoa it for an even better chance that the completely beautiful shape will come out in one piece. I have a tin like this, and have learned these wise ways through painful experience... altho it WAS fun sitting around with 3 other ppl, teaspoons and a bit of cream, digging out bits of warm chocolate cake lodged in the petals!

Chaa006 said...

Sorry to learn about the cats' kidney problems, Cath, but don't give up hope : my little one (now 14 years old) has had both intestinal cancer and feline influenza, yet three years on is still more than holding his own. I imagine you've done your research very carefully, but just in case you missed it there is some very useful information concerning home-made recipes for use in cases of feline kidney disease at http://www.felinecrf.org/which_foods.htm#homemade_foods.