Kitten Update
In has been just over two months since my post announcing the arrival of Ophelia. When we picked out the kitten, we were sure it was female, which we figured would be more tolerable to Francis, the older male my sister has had for 10 years. However, we were wrong. By late August, it was clear that Ophelia was really an Ophelio. No wonder Francis was extra put out. He was not a big fan of Alice, when Florence first brought her home. While they play, they rarely sleep in the place at the same time. A former barn cat, she tends to have more feral traits than the more domesticated Francis. However, Alice has calmed down a lot now that she has a kitten to harass her like she has harassed Francis for nearly two years. She has become much more affectionate towards her human handlers.
 |
| Alice's new favorite sleeping spot. A laptop stand box from Amazon. She is just the cutest. |
Francis still expresses his displeasure, but is usually appeased by offerings of wet food, which is more agreeable to him in his old age (most of the time). He more readily lets the kitten sleep near him now and sometimes right next to him. They also call to each other with trills to indicate it is time to play/exert their influence over each-other. It has been clear that the growing aggressiveness of the kitten was still starting to get to Francis as he tried to exert himself over Alice one day after she appeared while he was trilling to see where the kitten was. It is a good thing that it was about time to have the baby neutered right on schedule last week. He had an uneventful surgery last Thursday, and I spent the day in my room with him Friday so that he did not get too lonely or too much play while he healed. It was a beautiful day to work and look out my window. He was perfectly pleased that I was there with him and he could have all my attention.
 |
| Cuddle Buddies I |
 |
| Cuddle Buddies II |
 |
| Best spot on the desk. |
 |
| Growing big in the sun. |
 |
| Post-neuter cuddles. It is so much better being next to Mom. |
Early Days Retrospective
Since it has been almost three months since we brought the tiny black kitten home, here are some look back pictures of his first days here. He has been growing exponentially since he arrived, and still has all that ridiculous kitten energy.
 |
| First night - litter box is for sits. |
 |
| Baby at play 💓 |
 |
| Check out those claws. |
Karbach Lemon and Ginger Radler - Beer Battered Chicken
I have always been a fan of trying out regional breweries. Back in Pittsburgh I really enjoyed beer from
Rivertowne Brewery on occasion. One of the products I have had the pleasure of experiencing since moving to Texas from the
Karbach Brewing Co. from Houston, TX. This brewery is definitely a favorite of mine now, especially the Hopadillo. The Lemon Ginger is a bit sweet for me, but I thought that it would make a very tasty beer batter because it has a lot of flavor. I rarely fry when I cook, and I have never done beer batter. I thought that it would be a fun new thing to try doing at home. Everyone was quite pleased with the end result, especially Francis.
 |
| Francis eagerly awaits noms. |
The Method of my Madness
So for the basic method, I followed the technique in this
video. I ended up using a little too much flour. The batter was a little thicker than I would have liked, but not too thick. To compliment the flavor of the beer, I marinated the chicken pieces I broke down from the whole chicken in limes juice, pineapple vinegar, salt, and black pepper for about two and a half hours. I let the chicken dry on a rack in the fridge for about an hour before I battered it, but I could have easily let it dry for two. For the batter, I used flour, a small amount of oil, one can of the Lemon Ginger Radler, ~1/2 teaspoon hot red chili powder, and salt. Before dredging, I dusted the chicken pieces with a combination of cake flour and corn starch. I did a shallow fry, so I had to flip all the pieces over to fully cook them on all sides.
The Final Results
Over all, it was very good chicken. The strong lemon and spicy ginger of the beer were well complimented by the heat of the red pepper powder. Next time I will leave out the vinegar in the marinade. While good, it competed too much with the batter's strong flavors. I cut and de-boned the chicken, but left the skin on. I used all the bones except for the wings to make a stock to use for beans later this week. I fried the wings as they were. I divided the breasts into two pieces for smaller servings. Next time I would break them down into four and divide the thigh and leg meat portions down into two small pieces each. I could also probably just go ahead and remove the skin since it does not crisp up with the thick batter, but it was still very tasty. My favorite part was the chicken tenders. I could always do a batch of just tenders next time. They seemed to attract less batter, so it was just the right ratio of meat to crispy coating.
 |
| Perfect juicy tenders! |
 |
| Served with a side of seasoned un-buttered steamed broccoli for some healthy balance. |
Upcoming Thoughts
It has been really busy for me work wise lately, so I have not had a lot of time to write and keep up with all the fast moving events in the news, but one very important date is coming up. Do not forget to get out and vote and undo the disaster that was the 2016 election. I still find it very hard to understand why anyone of good conscience would support Trump for any reason. He does not represent the ideals of the Republican party as I once knew it, and he certainly is no democrat or republican in neither politics nor temperament. It is time to correct course while we can. Get out and VOTE!
 |
| V for VOTE - The future awaits. |
Comments
Post a Comment