@___@.....
Oh man... Bob's chasing the Funny Looking Kitties (the ferrets), the ferrets are chasing the Weird Looking Weasle Without A Tail, and... I severely suspect I'm going to end up with a cat who thinks he's a ferret. Not that this is a BAD thing, necessarily. Tan's a little leery of Bob and shies away, but Kit has played with him and Chai keeps jumping on him (and vice versa) and tumbling over and over. So far, so good, except that Bob's trying to fit through ferret-sized spaces (he's already gotten under my dresser 3 times) and this is not necessarily a wonderful event, as getting him OUT may be a problem in the future. I mean, he's got what, about 5 brain-cells at the moment in his fuzzy little round head? **groan**
Am feeling distinctly better; it was the flu-shot, thank gods, and not the onset of real flu or anything else. Damn sorry I missed Southern Crusades, but so it goes... and today's a day off, courtesy of it being a holiday, yay! So I have grocery-shopping to do and laundry and housecleaning and reading porn, errr, never mind that last bit (yeah, right) and--
What is it with the change of seasons that makes me want to DO stuff? I've been contemplating remaking my back yard, literally from the ground up. This would involve a) removing damn everything except the tree, the garden-pond, and the pomegranate bush; b) bringing in soil to adjunct the horrible dirt that's already there; c) putting in a *real* watering system, not the jury-rigged one I have out there right now; and d) replanting EVERYTHING. Want morning-glories again, and sunflowers and nasturtiums and stock and tomato plants and gourds; I haven't really gardened in two-and-a-half years, ever since.... well, spring of 2005, when I found out I had cancer. So now I want to again. Hey Em, are you reading this? I still think you ought to toss some local wildflower seeds out your bathroom window come spring-- that slope behind your place would be damn beautiful! And you can already tell it catches enough light, there's stuff growing all over it. Betcha sunflowers'd grow like maniacs back there when it gets warm enough.
Heh; sorry about going on and on about growing things.... that's good, though, isn't it? I forgot how much I love to garden; think I'll concentrate an area on veggies again, and not just tomatos and green onions this time. Maybe some raised beds so the weeds don't sneak through? That'd be good, and they're so easy to do... cheap, too. Was also thinking of doing some hanging-basket veggies-- maybe I ought to put the tomatos out that way, or maybe some strawberries. Problem around here is the sun, of course; when it gets 112 or so, everything bakes (or if there's enough moisture, steams), so you HAVE to have shade. Could maybe consider getting some of that garden-mesh and shade the veggies--?
Okay, enough of this. Can't do much until spring anyway, but at least I can work on the yard, I guess.
Tried out a new recipe the other day when I started feeling like food would actually be a good idea, something that my ex-mother-in-law used to cook that I really loved, even though hers was a bit different. Relatively easy, very cheap; think this one's a keeper:
Kanitama (Chinese-style crab omelet with soy-sauce gravy)
Omelet:
4 large eggs
pinch of salt
.5 cup crabmeat (or fake crab)
2 tbsp chopped bamboo shoots
Green onions to taste (I used one) finely minced, including green tops
2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon frozen peas (or fresh peas cooked briefly in water)
a little cooking oil
Gravy:
1/2 cup chicken-broth
1.5 tsp soy sauce
1.5 tsp sugar
.25 tsp cooking sake
pinch of salt
1.5 tsp cornstarch dissolved in a bit of water
To make the gravy, blend everything but the cornstarch in a small pan and bring to a low boil; add the cornstarch and simmer until thickened to gravyish consistancy. Set aside, but keep warm.
To make the omelet, oil a pan or wok and in a bowl blend all other ingredients together; pour out into the pan and cook thoroughly on low-medium heat, flipping the mass with a plate at least once to ensure complete cooking-- if it doesn't cook all the way through, the mushrooms will stay raw. Divide in half (this serves two people) and pour on the gravy; enjoy.
This was how the recipe (from 'Let's Cook Japanese Food!' by Amy Kaneko) went; my ex-mother-in-law used to add bean-sprouts and make this in little hamburger-sized patties, rather than a largish omelet. I totally fail at omelet-fluffiness, but this was still really good-- think I'll increase the soy-sauce amount next time, though... and maybe the sugar. And I'll try the patties instead of the big mass. All in all, though, it was really good (and since my stomach was still being delicate, mild enough that I could eat it without any trouble.)
Okay, enough blethering for me today; the weasles are now back in their room, Bob's asleep on the carpet by my foot, and I need to either put away some laundry or settle down and read porn. Gee, wonder which I'll pick to do? XD