Curry Recipe + Tacy update
An update on Tacy: After my last post, I mustered the courage to make an appointment to have her declawed. Then I freaked out. I started wondering if maybe putting her down was more humane than declawing her at this point. It's not like it would solve the original problem that was causing her pain to begin with. But then, putting down a cat that is still otherwise healthy besides a surface-type illness...that's awful to contemplate too. Guuhhh. We canceled the declawing, and I called a third vet to get yet another opinion. I get really stressed out going to any kind of new medical person cause you never know how it will go, so I hate going to all these vets, but...thank goodness I did, this time.
This vet told me I was on the right track with switching her food to something hypoallergenic this past week, and that Tacy was probably developing an immunity to the shot the last vet was using, so she gave her a new kind of shot and some antibiotics and told me to change her food again to a different protein if I didn't see results in 6 weeks. She agreed that declawing her was a bad idea. She also treated Tacy more gently than any other vet I've seen. ^_^ I'm still stressed waiting to see if the new shot gets her to stop clawing her mouth, but feeling a lot better.
And by request, a recipe for the veggie curry I made tonight (comfort food after all this...):
--Heat 1 T. ghee or high-heat suitable oil in a large skillet or wok at medium heat
--Cut an eggplant into slices and then quarters, and fry in the ghee* until browned
--While that's cooking, cut an onion into small pieces and 1 lb. potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes
--Set browned eggplant aside, heat 2 more T. ghee in the pan, still at medium heat, add the onion and potatoes
--As it cooks, add to onion/potato mixture the following spices:
Minced garlic to taste (I used three cloves)
2 t. grated fresh ginger
1 t. turmeric
1 t. cumin seeds (can substitute ground cumin)
1/2 t. ground coriander
1 t. salt (more to taste if desired)
1/2 t. sugar
--While that is browning (sort of...the pan might be a bit too crowded to brown, but the bottom should get crusty at least), cut about a cup of tomatoes into small pieces (I used six Campari tomatoes). You can skin them if you feel ambitious, but meh. I don't care if there are tomato skins in my curry.
--When the potatoes and onions have a good crust on the bottom of the pan, pour some water, veggie broth or chicken broth (homemade stock is the bestest!!) into the pan to loosen up the crust. Add the tomatoes and put the eggplant back in. Let it all gently boil, adding extra liquid to the pan as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bottom, but not so much that it's watery at the end. It's done when all the veggies are soft all the way through.
--Put in a bowl and squirt the juice of half a lime or lemon onto it.
Note: You can also easily throw a can of chickpeas in with the tomatoes if you want more protein.
* Edited to add: If you don't have ghee (clarified butter) let me urge you now to BUY SOME! It can be obtained at Indian groceries and many health food stores. I use it for cooking all kinds of stuff, like browning meat for goulash, not just for Indian food, because it can be cooked at high heat without burning but lends a buttery taste to food. In this dish it is particularly wonderful because every little piece of potato will be infused with the rich yumminess of ghee.
This vet told me I was on the right track with switching her food to something hypoallergenic this past week, and that Tacy was probably developing an immunity to the shot the last vet was using, so she gave her a new kind of shot and some antibiotics and told me to change her food again to a different protein if I didn't see results in 6 weeks. She agreed that declawing her was a bad idea. She also treated Tacy more gently than any other vet I've seen. ^_^ I'm still stressed waiting to see if the new shot gets her to stop clawing her mouth, but feeling a lot better.
And by request, a recipe for the veggie curry I made tonight (comfort food after all this...):
--Heat 1 T. ghee or high-heat suitable oil in a large skillet or wok at medium heat
--Cut an eggplant into slices and then quarters, and fry in the ghee* until browned
--While that's cooking, cut an onion into small pieces and 1 lb. potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes
--Set browned eggplant aside, heat 2 more T. ghee in the pan, still at medium heat, add the onion and potatoes
--As it cooks, add to onion/potato mixture the following spices:
Minced garlic to taste (I used three cloves)
2 t. grated fresh ginger
1 t. turmeric
1 t. cumin seeds (can substitute ground cumin)
1/2 t. ground coriander
1 t. salt (more to taste if desired)
1/2 t. sugar
--While that is browning (sort of...the pan might be a bit too crowded to brown, but the bottom should get crusty at least), cut about a cup of tomatoes into small pieces (I used six Campari tomatoes). You can skin them if you feel ambitious, but meh. I don't care if there are tomato skins in my curry.
--When the potatoes and onions have a good crust on the bottom of the pan, pour some water, veggie broth or chicken broth (homemade stock is the bestest!!) into the pan to loosen up the crust. Add the tomatoes and put the eggplant back in. Let it all gently boil, adding extra liquid to the pan as necessary to keep it from sticking to the bottom, but not so much that it's watery at the end. It's done when all the veggies are soft all the way through.
--Put in a bowl and squirt the juice of half a lime or lemon onto it.
Note: You can also easily throw a can of chickpeas in with the tomatoes if you want more protein.
* Edited to add: If you don't have ghee (clarified butter) let me urge you now to BUY SOME! It can be obtained at Indian groceries and many health food stores. I use it for cooking all kinds of stuff, like browning meat for goulash, not just for Indian food, because it can be cooked at high heat without burning but lends a buttery taste to food. In this dish it is particularly wonderful because every little piece of potato will be infused with the rich yumminess of ghee.