It's Sunday morning and I've spent it drinking coffee and reading blogs. Well, not totally, I also cleaned up my computer room a little - while looking for a recipe that I had mislaid. I've nothing much to write about today. DH is in the process of making us a batch of his wonderful Red Beans and Rice.... so the house smells wonderful.
I had come across what was promised to be a 'secret recipe for rice pudding'. I love rice pudding, but like everything else, some recipes are better than others. So I'm going to try this one. It calls for using arborio rice and a vanilla bean? Sounds interesting.
This is Texas and while I was freezing on Wednesday (weather was in the 40's I think) and DH had turned off the heat in the house, today it's supposed to reach the 80's (more my speed). Sometimes I just get so-o cold that the only thing that will warm my blood back up is a very hot shower. When I get this cold, I can touch DH on the arm and he will say, "God, you're freezing... how can you be alive?" But my daughter is the same way. DH and the boys seem to be more hot blooded.
Well, it should be a good day to work on my hanging herb baskets. I try to keep basil, parsley, rosemary, and lavender in hanging baskets by the front door. This way the entry smells sweet and they are close by for culinary use.
A few cats pics:
Tux among the towels
Jack playing...
Jack and Tux...
Waiting our turn...
Playing with bubbles...
Playing with Mardi Gras beads...
Rose loves plastic bags...
Love the cat pics, of course. They're so handsome. :-) Both my boys are afraid of soap bubbles, even the catnip ones. I've tried them a few times and the bubbles terrify them, even Nicki. (That was a surprise!)
ReplyDeleteAs for freezing, I've noticed that men seem to just be warmer, overall. My ex would sleep in the nude all winter long, and our winters are FREEZING, as you know. I'd be bundled up in flannel head to toe, including heavy socks, layered under blankets and still be cold. And yes, sometimes you can be chilled to the bone and need a hot shower to thaw.
I hope the rice pudding recipe turns out well. I love it too, my favourite recipe so far includes orange juice and dried cranberries. I suppose not a true rice pudding, but definitely a nice flavour!
Can't believe your boys are afraid of soap bubbles. Mine have always loved them. They gather around me jumping into the air and popping them. So fun! And I love their expression when one pops on their nose.
DeleteAs for the rice pudding, I haven't tried it yet... but hope to sometime this week. Will let you know how it turns out.
No mention of that Sidewinder picture? Scary! I love the cat pictures. They are definitely, well, cats! :-)
ReplyDeleteThe top pic was just one my son had sent me when he was on one of the Zoo's West Texas jaunts to count or tag snakes, horned toads, etc. One of the rattlesnakes crawled across his hat and he took the photo.
DeleteRian, I love the cat photos, adorable everyone, but that rattlesnake photo is scarey!!!
ReplyDeleteJan
Yes, but it makes a good picture...
DeleteJack and Tux are a lot alike. Looks like they have lots of fun at your place. I had a cat once that loved to chew on plastic. I think it was the wax that she likes. Not sure. Rice Pudding is great but I only liked the way my mom made it. Unfortunately, I never got her recipe. Please post yours if it is a hit. That top picture was loading very slowly. That's good because it gave me a chance to see what was coming up. I quickly went past it. I am terrified of those guys and even a picture gives me the willies.
ReplyDeleteDeb, I don't know why the top pic loaded slowly. I didn't check it's size... maybe it was too large. I just grabbed it as it was convenient. My youngest son studied Herpetology and is the Curator of that Dept at the Zoo. So-oo reptiles and amphibians commonplace at our house.
DeleteThe kitties are soooo cute.
ReplyDeleteBut what is with that snake???????? Eeeeeek!!!!! ,-)
If that Rice Pudding is good, please share the recipe! We love rice pudding too. and I can still have it, made with no-lactose-milk. :-)
It's just a little rattlesnake...
DeleteAs for the pudding, I hope to get to it today. So-oo will let you know.
I've never tried soap bubbles. That's a good idea.
ReplyDeleteMy cats love them...
DeleteI love your cat pictures, Rian. So sweet.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how you cope with temperature swings like that - 40's one day 80's the next. I don't like very hot weather and really need to work up to it, with gentle temperature increases day by day. Mind you, given that our temperatures are still stubbornly in the upper 30s - lower 40s, any increase would be welcome. :-)
I don't care for 'really hot weather'... but that's the 100's and above which we get in July and August in Texas. These I could definitely do without. But not so sure I could survive a really cold winter well either. Seems the ideal thing would be to be able to re-locate when the weather warranted (but not many of us have that option - altho once we traveled to Colorado in August and going from the 100's to the 50's was heaven).
DeleteLove the pics of the cats, they look as if they are having lots of fun at your house, that snake scared me, but then we don't have snakes here in NZ. I have made rice pudding with arborio rice it was nice, but a bit chewier than ordinary rice pudding.(or maybe that was my cooking skills slipping up!)
ReplyDeleteWe're used to snakes around here... and although they are not my favorite critter, they don't scare me.
DeleteAs for the rice pudding, it turned out good. DH liked it. I thought it was 'pretty good', but not excellent.
Love the kitties...I should try bubbles with my Lucy and Ethyl...do they try to eat them?
ReplyDeleteDee, the cats run around leaping into the air trying to pop the bubbles. Sometimes they pop on their noses... it's really funny.
DeleteWonderful photos ...nothing better than watching cats at play. Do you have 'Hairy Towel Syndrome'too ...both Toto and Puppy have hair that makes DD itch so if she grabs a 'clean' towel that they have got to first, I can hear her scream no matter where I am in the house. Plastic bags are a nightmare as almost half of ours think they are for eating ...and the small thin ones can cause problems if they are totally devoured.
ReplyDeleteWhat is Red Beans and rice??? ...sounds yummy but hot so not for me.
Good luck with the rice pudding ...let us know how you get on.xx
Oh yes... and I hate it myself if I find the towel all hairy. I try to use the ones on the higher shelf. As for plastic bags, the cats seem to have a 'fetish' for them. Rose wants to lick them, Ghost wants to get inside them, and Tux and Jack want to lie on them. Grocery day is like Christmas as we throw the bags on the floor and let them play with them. (Have to watch Julie as she is the only one that wants to 'eat holes' in them... can't have that)
ReplyDeleteRed Beans and rice is an old Cajun dish... not hot (altho it could be)... just kidney beans, bacon, sausage, onions, garlic, bell pepper, bay leaf, etc. Served over rice. It's delicious!