Cat Food

Yesterday, when I got home from work, I saw a big spot on the floor where Peeper (our cat), apparently was not able to stomach her dinner. Whole bits of food - not even chewed. Disgusting, right?  Did I feel like cleaning it up?  No. So, I left it. 

This morning, Peeper was very persistent about getting her breakfast. When Pam and I got downstairs, I was going about getting myself ready for work and Peeper was meowing incessantly. Finally, I turned toward her and said "Well, why don't you eat what you left on the floor last night?" And as I turned to gesture toward the pile of puke on the floor, I see that is just we she had done. All the whole bits of food were gone. 

Eeeeeeeew!

She got her breakfast. 

UPDATE: Lest one think that is all we gave her for breakfast, I meant to suggest that we gave her some more food, given that she made the ultimate sacrifice of cleaning up the mess for us. 

Piping Hot

When I looked up the origin of the phrase "piping hot" tonight, I had no idea how old the phrase was. Interestingly, if you can believe it, we have been using this phrase in common English since the days of Chaucer in the 14th century. 

In 1390 in The Miller's Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer wrote:

He kembeth his lokkes brode, and made hym gay;
He woweth hire by meenes and brocage,
And swoor he wolde been hir owene page;
He syngeth, brokkynge as a nyghtyngale;
He sente hire pyment, meeth, and spiced ale,
And wafres, pipyng hoot out of the gleede;
And, for she was of town, he profred meede;″

Another source suggests (along the same lines):

"The derivation of this little phrase is the sizzling, whistling sound made by steam escaping from very hot food, which is similar to the sound of high-pitched musical pipes."

Interesting. I am not sure if this what Chaucer was getting at, but given the choice, I prefer mead too. 

Why do we Americans focus so much on the food?

Lingering after a hearty breakfast at our local Mimi's, Pam and I were musing on the idea that American's seem to always be rushed through even the nicer of eating establishments. There is little time for socializing. The food comes to the table quicker than lightening. We gobble it up. Pay the bill and leave.

Personally, I think it would be nicer if the restaurant staff would take their time bringing the food. Now, I am not saying that they should be slow. Slow service can be quite painful. In fact, I believe that they should still be available for more coffee or soda or wine or what have you, but they should not be hovering either. It's a fine line really.

The food, on the other hand, should be slower to arrive. If I am going to take time to come into a restaurant, park the car and walk in through the rain - yes, it happens to be raining today - then I would want my time in their service to be a little more relaxed and not so rushed.

It reminds me of a time when we were out with my parents at a small restaurant in Little Italy in Baltimore. We had lingered too long after a fantastic meal, talking and whatnot, when the manager finally comes over and says, "We love you, but we would like to have the table". While I can understand their need to serve more people, it seemed a little rude to me. Maybe if we had ordered more wine - or a big bottle of champagne - to justify their time. But as it is, we got up and left.

So Mimi's was fast with their service and their food today, but we have yet to be kicked out. There are plenty of open tables. They have already taken the check (with the tip), but I'll save that for another rant.

Happy Turkey Day!

From the Baltimorian/Frederickian Corey's -- Happy Turkey Day! We didn't do anything as exciting as going to New York but it was a great day anyway. All the food turned out deliciously and Vernon got to try out my new electric knife for the turkey. Anyway, I took a small video - I'm not very good at it - but nonetheless here it is.

I love Chick-Fil-A!

In case there wasn't enough to love about Chick-Fil-A, I tried their breakfast today. I got the bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit and it was amazing! First of all, it was gigantic - think three times the size of the same item at Mickey D's. And so tasty - the eggs were *real* and substantial, the biscuit itself was so soft and buttery that that alone probably would have been enough for me to eat. So anyway, big plug for Chick-Fil-A if you have one near you. If I had had my camera with me I would have taken a photo but alas, it was not the case.

My latest hobby is baking bread from scratch - no breadmaker. I've been enjoying making recipes out of two great cookbooks using the no-knead method. Well, I've never considered myself a good baker because unlike cooking usually you have to follow a recipe to the letter or the baking won't turn out right. But I just couldn't stand it so I modified a recipe and this loaf was the result. I think it's delicious. It's the soft white bread recipe (has some butter and sugar in the dough) but I substituted one cup of oat bran for one cup of the flour. I also added in a few teaspoons of vital wheat gluten that is supposed to make home-made bread fluffier and last longer on the shelf. Oh, yeah, and I also sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top. Now that I've had success with modification I will be assuredly trying more concoctions with my bread. I'm really enjoying the bread making process but two people can only eat so much bread so I can't make as much as I'd like as often as I'd like. I've already taken several loafs to work and given one to a neighbor.