From Streetcat to Charming Chompy

Yesterday, I lost my lovely little kitty Chompy. He had cancer, multiple forms, but the one that got him attacked his brain, made him confused beyond belief and took away his vision.  But the end was not who Chompy was.

Chompy loved squeezing himself into places smaller than him - he would snuggle and sleep in the top of this bed

Chompy came to me when I was living in Manhattan in the late 90s with my roommate Nona, who is very active in kitty rescue. Someone found a tiny kitten abandoned on the streets and brought him to Nona to deliver to the rescue folks.

However, this spunky little kitten (who was so tiny that he fit in one hand) thought he was a dog, ate dog food and would rough up the other 10 cats living with us, including my Harley, who was the only one who stood up to him. Following a massing set of fur flying fights, they became the best of friends. They fought, scrapped and so much more. And now, they’re up in kitty heaven together.

Chompy loves Harley

And back to Chompy.

Chompy adored hanging on my bed. Especially after washing the linens, where he would roll all over the bed, spreading his special Chompy fur (screw fabric softener).

Chompy’s name came from exactly who he was – a bit of a biter. He never broke the skin but when you would rub his belly, he would get so excited that he would grab your hand with his paws and give you a little love bite – an tiny nibble. Charming. Perfectly Chompy.

He loved chasing laser lights, getting his belly rubbed, sitting on my lap, chomping down full cans of cat food in an instant, snuggling in every which way possible (even on the hottest days of the year), being brushed (though he would attack the brush if it went on for more than three minutes), being pet and just being around me. He had a limitless love for me and everyone he met and — while he was a bit of a scaredy cat around new folks, the blender (where he might have freaked out on my brother and dug a nail into his chest) and the vacuum (which my sister and I might have chased him with causing him to become “flying Chompy”) — he loved every part of life and would greet me at the door whenever I arrived home with an excited meow.

Chompy and Harley both adored catnip. Here they are both seriously stoned after an eating bender.

As a self proclaimed kitty pot addict (aka catnip), he would eat volumes of the stuff every time I opened the container. A few times, I even caught him trying to open the container on his own (charming) and I would rub it into his fur too. Clearly I was his “dealer” enabling his addiction

He was a touch of a troublemaker too. He adored watching the pigeons that flew onto the balcony ledge. I loved watching him stalk his prey, making that little chirpy noise when a pigeon was in sight and then sprinting after them when they were not suspecting anything, and smashing his head into the balcony screen, slowly realizing he couldn’t go any further.

Chompy always got into places that I never thought he could reach. Here he is chilling in the empty closet of the apartment the day we moved in in 2008.

He’d also get into spaces where he didn’t belong, like the day we moved into the apartment in 2008. I remember I couldn’t find him for a while, thinking he got out while the movers were bringing in the last bits. But when I found him, in a classic Chompy fashion, he was just relaxing in one of  the empty closets, taking a break and settling into the new place.

Oh Chompy, I miss your handsome tuxedo-ed face. Thank you for all the time and love you gave me throughout your short life. I wish you an endless of time in heaven, pain free with all of your buddies, including Harley, Jez, Zeke, Sam and Zed. May you walk with the angels, enjoying endless fields of kitty pot and ponds of tuna water.

Dear friends and readers, please add your own memories of Chompy into the comments section below.

Chompy on the Balcony

For me, my home is really quiet without my Chompy, who was such a wonderful comfort when I lost Harley earlier this year. Miss them both quite terribly and created a little Spotify playlist as a tribute. Enjoy.

Kitties tribute – the greatest cats of all (Chompy & Harley)

Full disclosure: I have been working on Spotify’s PR team for some time now via Totally Splended (their US PR agency) and I love building playlists. Hope you enjoy this one.

Kale Smoothies (no, really, they’re delicious)

DeliciousKaleSmoothie, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

Last year, I joined a CSA in my neighborhood to get fresh, local, organic veggies, fruits and more. I’ve learned a lot about food but the biggest thing was that I found out that I don’t hate Kale — but mostly if and only if it’s in a smoothie.

Now, I know you’re thinking that a kale smoothie sounds vile. It does. It looks a little vile too. And then you taste it and it tastes mostly like apples (because it’s made with an entire apple). And, it’s insanely good for you. A great breakfast food. A great snack. And I bet it would be good with some protein powder thrown in to make it a full meal.

Inspired by a recipe on Real Simple, here’s my version.

Kale Smoothie

• 1 Apple – cored (just cut in quarters and remove the core); can also use 1 cup of apple juice but the real apple adds more texture
• 5 – 7 Kale leaves – remove the tough center stem (either cut it out or cheat like me and just fold it in half along the steamline and tear the leaves off); I’ve also used swiss chard but find that kale tastes better
• 1 piece of celery (one of those large pieces from the outside of the bunch; or two small ones); I’ve substituted cucumber for the celery  - just peel it first
• 1 banana – peeled (of course)
• 1/2 lemon – juiced (essential – adds a bit of tartness)
• 1 to 2 cups of water — a little more if it’s not blending well
• 6-7 pieces of Ice (more if you want it super cold)

Put all ingredients into a blender. Cut celery (or break it in half) if it doesn’t fit into the blender properly. Blend* for a bit until it looks like the picture. Then pour into glasses. Makes about four cups or two good sizes smoothies.

I made this for Colin (my sis in law’s bro – does that make him my bother in law?) the other week and he was obsessed with it too. Wanted more but I was out of kale. So we went to a BBQ instead.

*So blending is a bit of an art with this one if you don’t have a super fancy blender, which I don’t. Basically, I pulse the “chop” setting a bunch of times until the ingredients start moving around. Then I run the blender on the highest setting (ice crush on mine) for about 2 minutes until it looks mostly uniformly green. I like this recipe because you don’t peel the apple and you get little flecks of red in the smoothie, which I find slightly charming.

Enjoy!

Spring Cleaning – Want some Books?

I have a good amount of books and realized my bookshelves are slightly overflowing.

So guess what? You can benefit from the clean out by getting books for free from me – yeah!

NYC area peeps, let me know if you want any of the books in this photo.  Donating the balance to the library next week.

The books up for grabs include:

• Blink
• Skinny Bitch (a word of caution – don’t read it unless you’re considering becoming vegan – I had trouble reading it as a vegetarian)
• The Wicked Pavillion
• The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
• Travels with My Aunt
• Dust Track on a Road
• How to Hit a Curveball
• The Gatecrasher (by the author of the “Shopaholic” series)
• Losing Battles
• The Orange Code
• The Best Men’s Stage Monologues of 1999 (really should check with my former roommate on this one as I think it’s his!)
• 101 Things to Do Before you Turn 40
• The Mermaid Chair
• I  Can Has Cheezburger
• The Ha-Ha

Heavenly Harley – a Tribute

A week ago today, I let go of my lovely little kitty Harley. She was my family, my companion for almost 14 years and lived a long, wonderful life (plus nine years with three other families).

Here's the earliest picture of Harley I found during a flip through some old photos. She has always been a princess, sitting on her throne ...

Harley came to me in the spring of ’97. My roommate at the time had just adopted a kitten (that he returned by the end of the weekend!) and I came home with Harley – adopted from friends of the family. She saw me through four apartments, five jobs, many bouts with bronchitis and a load of holidays.

This little kitty cat was my family and taught me many things, including:

Being present is the most important thing: Harley was not a cuddle cat. She hated being held and only let me when I also let her lick my cup of ice cream.

Random photo of Harley - always the watchful one.

But anytime I was sick, sad or injured, she sat right next to me and just watched with a light purr and a slight snuggle to my legs. With anyone she knew, she’d do the same. Like the time my brother cut his finger badly at Thanksgiving. He laid on the floor and she sat next to him. Just watching. Making sure he was okay.  No words, purrs or meows needed. The most important thing is just being there in a time of need.

Life is more important: This probably should read Harley is more important. Sometimes, we all get wrapped up in what we’re doing. Focused on working, watching TV, cooking dinner, talking on the phone, playing a game,

Harley - always angling for attention, no matter what I was doing. She was always more important.

etc. Harley was the best interrupter. If I worked too long on my laptop, she’d climb up the chair and onto my desk, stopping me from over focusing. She’d come sit near me when I was on the phone or wake me up when I overslept (I miss my little alarm clock). No matter what, life for Harley was more important than the task at hand.

 

Always say hello and goodbye: it’s an odd habit but I always greet my kitties when I walk in the house and say goodbye when I headed out. They seem to behave better that way.

 

 

 

Enjoy the simple things: Just like a little kid, Harley’s favorite place to sleep

Harley in a box - Summer 2009

was either in a box or on my bed. No fancy kitty beds needed, simpler was better. She also almost never played with any fancy toy – just the little jingle balls and she loved the laser light too. Whatever brought her joy was simple and at a minimal or no cost. I should practice that more often too.

How about you? What have you learned from your family? Your pet?

I do miss Harley more than I can explain and I’m grateful to have Chompy (who has been relatively patient with the nightly crying jags!). Yes,  it’ll get easier with time,  yes, she had along full life but I still miss her quiet confidence and calm reassurance whenever I needed a little boost.

May you walk with the angels Harley.

Harley - always the beauty queen.

H-to-the-arley

Little Miss Harley – my super awesome kitty – is sick.

She is spending the night at the Dog and Cat Doctor on Woodhaven and is
in rough shape. Dehydrated. Low temp. Definite upper respiratory infection. Off the charts kidney readings. Who knows what else.

Please say a prayer for her. I miss the little munchkin already.

Chompy is benefitting greatly from my sadness. Already he has received a plethora of smoked salmon bits (aka kitty coke since he ate it off a mirror) lots of petting/hugging and prime space on the bed.

Harley – lots of love is being sent your way. Please let me know what you need. Be safe tonight at the cat and dog doctor

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo

Bring on the $30 Wands!

Looks like what should be my new favorite theme park opened today. Yes, that’s right the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens today!

Time has a nice set of photos:
http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1995792_2150397,00.html

Can someone please bring me a butterbeer? TGIF!

Divine Dinner at Home

Seared Tuna Salad with Roasted Beets and Squash, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

Since I joined a CSA this year, I’ve been doing a lot of cooking at home. Mostly it’s because I’ve gotten these beautiful, fresh veggies but I also do like to pretend I’m a chef.

Typically, I make pretty simple fare but I decided to take that and create something spectacular (can anyone tell that the new season of Top Chef started? ha!). Tonight, I made a rather divine dinner that started the other day in prep.

On the menu:
Seared Tuna Salad with Roasted Beets and Squash
Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

The salad was pretty simple. I seared some tuna (originally frozen – defrosted it last night) to pretty well done (haven’t figured out how to get to medium rare yet) and put it on top of some broccoli slaw that I rough chopped into smaller pieces. Then I added small cuts of my roasted beets and butternut squash (which I roasted a few weeks back).

Then came dessert. As a kid, I was fairly obsessed with strawberries. My Mom told me that when she took me strawberry picking, I would eat a strawberry and then add one to the pail. Then eat a strawberry …. and so on. Pair some strawberries with rhubarb and you’ve got a mix I just love, love, love. So I decided to use the fantastic rhubarb I got from the CSA last week and make ice cream. It took a while to make but the result is a sweet, tart little bit of heaven.

Click on the salad photo or here to go see the rest of the set on Flickr in my photo stream.

What’s the best meal you’ve made? Share it in the comments!

Going local for organic produce

CSAVeggies-WeekOne, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

For years, I’ve been a big fan of organic, locally grown produce. As a frequent shopper at the NYC green markets, I wanted to find a way to get the best quality local produce at a space closer to home.

So, after a few years of trying to get into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), I joined the Tuv Ha’Aretz-Forest Hills Jewish Center CSA. After plunking down a hefty down payment, I’ll be receiving fresh fruit, veggies, grains, beans and flour for the next 26 weeks.

This Tuesday, I received the first delivery, which included:
–Red Boston Lettuce (never head this type before!)
–Green Boston Lettuce (biggest I’ve ever seen – about a foot in diameter and it barely fit into the bag)
–Spinach (awesome to sautee with a little garlic and olive oil)
–Baby Arugula (yum – salads!)
–Breakfast Radishes (I traded these for extra Rhubarb – love Rhubarb!)
–Baby Japanese Salad Turnips (never had this before – it’s new to me and tastes a bit like a radish)
–Rhubarb (two bunches for me with my breakfast radish trade)
–Strawberries (one large and one small box)

The fruit and veggies come from the Golden Earthworm Organic Farm, which is located in Jamesport, on Long Island’s North Fork. You can read more about the farm on their site.  The organic bean, grain, and flour shares come from Cayuga Pure Organics in Ithaca, NY – I’ll be getting those deliveries each month.  And, while there were strawberries in this delivery (so many, so delicious and sweet!), the fruit deliveries start later in the summer. The fruit comes from a partner of Golden Earthwork Organic Farm, called Briermere Farms, which provides non-organic yet responsibly grown fruit.  Briermere is also located on Long Island’s North Fork near Golden Earthworm.

But back to this week’s delivery, I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the rhubarb and I think I’m going to try to make strawberry rhubarb jam – it’s my favorite jam of all time but I’ve never made jam before.

Suggestions are welcome ….

Going local for organic produce

CSAVeggies-WeekOne, originally uploaded by MinorlyObsessed.

For years, I’ve been a big fan of organic, locally grown produce. As a frequent shopper at the NYC green markets, I wanted to find a way to get the best quality local produce at a space closer to home.

So, after a few years of trying to get into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), I joined the Tuv Ha’Aretz-Forest Hills Jewish Center CSA. After plunking down a hefty down payment, I’ll be receiving fresh fruit, veggies, grains, beans and flour for the next 26 weeks.

This Tuesday, I received the first delivery, which included:
–Red Boston Lettuce (never head this type before!)
–Green Boston Lettuce (biggest I’ve ever seen – about a foot in diameter and it barely fit into the bag)
–Spinach (awesome to sautee with a little garlic and olive oil)
–Baby Arugula (yum – salads!)
–Breakfast Radishes (I traded these for extra Rhubarb – love Rhubarb!)
–Baby Japanese Salad Turnips (never had this before – it’s new to me and tastes a bit like a radish)
–Rhubarb (two bunches for me with my breakfast radish trade)
–Strawberries (one large and one small box)

I’m trying to figure out what to do with all the rhubarb and I think I’m going to try to make strawberry rhubarb jam – it’s my favorite jam of all time but I’ve never made jam before.

Suggestions are welcome ….

Made-up Healthy Recipes

Since I went freelance about a year ago, I’ve been cooking a lot at home. It’s less expensive and usually, pretty damn tasty. Tonight, I needed to make some Dover Sole I defrosted (well, before it went bad!) and created a new recipe that was not only delicious, but used what I had in my apartment! Here is is if you want to try it out.

Italian-Style Baked Dover Sole

1 lb. Dover Sole Filet  (can be frozen like what I used – just defrost it first)

1 Bag (16oz) French Cut Green Beans – defrosted and rough chopped so that the beans aren’t very long

1 8oz container of fresh mushrooms – sliced

1 small red onion – cut in quarters and thinly sliced

3 cloves of garlic – minced

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup Part Skim mozzarella – finely shredded

1 Can Crushed Tomatoes (half a large, 28 oz can or one of the smaller cans)

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add in mushrooms and saute for about 5-8 minutes – or until the mushrooms are cooked. Then add in the green beans and cook until heated through.

In a clear glass container (I used two circular Pyrex containers that are 1 QT each but I’m sure you could use a small 8×8 pan), lightly coat the bottom with the crushed tomatoes. Then layer:

– fish

– green bean,mushroom, onion,garlic mixture

– thin coating of crushed tomatoes

Repeat the layering and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. You want to make sure the cheese is melted and the fish is flaky.

My guide point was that there were little bubbles coming up the side of the pan (that’s why I wanted you to use a glass pan – makes sense now, right?).

Makes four servings.  Serve with brown rice or quinoa (I went with the quinoa, which adds about 170 calories, 6G protein and 3G fiber and 31G carbs – pretty healthy).

I did a nutrition analysis using my favorite diet Web site, www.sparkpeople.com (it’s free and AWESOME!), and it turns out that it’s pretty damn healthy.  The breakdown of the lower ingredients isn’t probably 100 percent accurate because the containers don’t break out all the info but it was really, really delicious and pretty quick to make.

Plus, not bad for just using what I had in the apartment

Calories		234.1
Total Fat		6.3 g
	Saturated Fat	1.9 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	2.5 g
Cholesterol		63.8 mg
Sodium		494.1 mg
Potassium		187.2 mg
Total Carbohydrate		15.6 g
	Dietary Fiber	5.1 g
	Sugars	6.7 g
Protein		25.8 g

Vitamin A	13.8 %
Vitamin B-12	0.3 %
Vitamin B-6	5.2 %
Vitamin C	28.7 %
Vitamin D	9.1 %
Vitamin E	2.5 %
Calcium	12.9 %
Copper	8.5 %
Folate	2.8 %
Iron	14.6 %
Magnesium	1.7 %
Manganese	4.1 %
Niacin	9.5 %
Pantothenic Acid	7.6 %
Phosphorus	5.0 %
Riboflavin	12.1 %
Selenium	6.7 %
Thiamin	3.7 %
Zinc	2.1 %