Homemade cat toys!

My crafty friend Andrea made her cat some of these toys, and ordered me to do the same. We got some fabric scraps at our local fabric store. Stores should have a discounted scrap section where the ends of bolts or misshapen pieces are sold at a deep discount. Andrea recommends using fleece(hers cost about $1.50); I chose a nylon sparkly fabric (about $3) because I'm easily distracted like that. To make this simple toy, you also need a needle, thread, scissors, and some catnip. I got organic catnip from Target for less than $3.

The easiest, least time consuming way to make the toy is to cut a 2" wide by 8-10" long piece of fabric.

Make a slipknot at the end, leaving a pouch about 1-2" in size.

Sew one side of the pouch, put catnip in the other side, and sew up the remaining side.

Cut the hanging fabric into strips (toy should look a little like an octopus)

Give to your favorite cat and watch the show.

I also tried a couple of different designs. You could cut a heart-shaped piece that's about 3" down the middle. Sew it up inside-out, leaving a hole at the top for the 'nip. Turn right-side-out, fill with 'nip, sew it closed. You could sew on eyes and a tail, and voila! A catnip-filled mouse!



You could also do a little pouch. I probably don't need to explain how to do that.



Ultimately, the octopus is the easiest. The cat likes anything that even remotely involves 'nip, so she's not picky.

Pumpkin (pie) ice cream

Made some delicious pumpkin ice cream with pumpkin pulp left over from Thanksgiving. Since I had just the right amount of pumpkin, I made the whole ice cream recipe but needed to do it in two batches because of the size of my ice cream maker. For the second batch, I thought I'd get creative and throw in some crushed shortbread cookies to make pumpkin ice cream into super great pumpkin pie ice cream! It might have worked if the machine base had completely frozen solid again between batches. Even though I left the base in the freezer for over 6 hours, it wasn't frozen enough to make ice cream. So I got a weird mixture of the ingredients, but it wasn't ice cream. Even when I put the mixture into the freezer to see what would happen if I froze it, the results were just not right. It was not the right consistency--the mix had big ice crystals in it and it just didn't look or taste like ice cream. I ended up letting it thaw and throwing it out, which is very unlike me. I never met a dessert I didn't like. So, let this be a lesson: make sure the machine base is completely frozen solid before starting the next batch.

Straight up pumpkin ice cream recipe (makes 3 quarts):
15 oz. pumpkin
3 c. half and half
2 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. sugar
1 tsp. each ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg

Mix and refrigerate to 40 degrees; follow ice cream maker's instructions.

I still maintain that you could add crushed cookies in the last 5 minutes of mixing to get the essence of pie. As long as the machine's base is frozen, this trick should work.

My favorite appetizer

My new favorite appetizer, served at a holiday party this weekend:

Pickle Roll Ups

Ingredients:
Thin sliced deli ham
Cream cheese
Pickle spears

Instructions:
Spread cream cheese on ham slices. Layer. Roll a pickle spear up in the middle. Slice into sushi-roll-size bites. Eat until you burst.

Is this a Midwestern thing? The roll ups, not the eating until bursting. Let me know!

Coffee, vanilla, and peppermint body scrub--almost good enough to eat!

A friend and I made homemade body scrub to be given as holiday gifts, loosely based on this recipe. We tested out proportions and scents this morning, and then tried out the product on ourselves and her boyfriend, and the results are fantastic! Our hands were soft, smooth, and smelled sweet, almost like chocolate. If you happen to lick your own hands after rinsing, you won't be disappointed either.

Here are the proportions we like best:
3/4 c. turbinado sugar
1/8 c. (plus a little more to add if mixture is too dry) olive oil or vegetable glycerin
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 drops peppermint oil
1/4 c. coffee grounds

(You can find all of the above at a health food store.) Mix everything together, store in 1/2 pt. Ball jar. Rub scrub on hands, elbows, feet, or any other body part you wish to feel soft, smooth, and energized. Scrub may need to be mixed if ingredients have settled. Watch for coffee grounds in drain. Be careful if using in shower! Refrigerate scrub when not in use to prolong freshness.

If you want to make several jars at once, you can use 1 40 oz. bag sugar, 1 16 oz. jar oil, and 1 12 oz. bag ground coffee to yield about 7 jars' worth. Enjoy!

Cold weather comfort foods

Some remarkable meals from the last week:

Chili and Biscuits

Vegetarian Chili
1 pkg. Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can green chilies
1 small can sliced olives

heat it all up in a large pan and serve with:

Horseradish Cheddar Biscuits
1/4 lb. shredded horseradish cheddar
2 c. Bisquick mix
2/3 cup milk

mix it all up, put dollops on baking sheet, and bake at 400 degrees for 9-10 minutes. Makes about 6 extra large biscuits.


Then last night:

Stuffed Shells, Sauteed Kale, and Pumpkin Puddin'

Suffed Shells with Turkey and Artichoke
I used this recipe but substituted soft tofu for the ricotta, eliminated the onion, and used jarred sauce. Bike Guy insisted on using fresh artichokes instead of canned, which were delicious but time consuming. I say save yourself the 45 minutes and use the canned.

Sauteed Kale with Garlic
Remove the leaves from one large bunch of kale, wash, and dry
Saute chopped garlic in olive oil until fragrant, reduce heat to medium
Add the kale and cover until it starts to wilt
Sprinkle with a touch of salt and a tiny squeeze of lemon
Serve it up!

Note: the shells serve about 8 people, and the kale about 2. Plan accordingly.

And for dessert:

Pumpkin Puddin'
I used this recipe but used non-fat evaporated milk because I had it on hand. It makes a delicious, low-cal, low-fat easy dessert!