Why my cat is really a dog

Lizzie’s shower part II

I have a cat. Many of you know this already. But she’s not really a cat either. She kind of oscillates between a cat and a dog. Here’s proof:

-          She’s intelligent like a dog. By 4 months, she has learnt how to undo the buckle on her collar as well as a full knot. In fact, she has out-smarted me, and managed to undo everything I try to tie onto her neck.

-          She wakes me up every morning by licking my face. Except that her tongue is dry and coarse, not smooth and wet like that of a dog.

-          She’s more affectionate than most cats I have known. Whether its 12pm, 9pm or 2am, she waits at the door for me when I get home, but of course, instead of pouncing on me, she rubs herself on my legs. And no, it’s not just because she’s hungry. It’s real love J

-          I live in an apartment so you don’t get to see the postman, but if she sees one, I’m sure she will chase the postman too.

Here are the aspects of a cat she has managed to retain:

-          She’s religiously clean. Her fur is silky and whiter than cotton.

-          She, thankfully, doesn’t bark.

-          She doesn’t need to be walked

-          She entertains herself. Even a stray litter crystal can entertain her for hours.

I’m not trying to spark a war room debate between cats and dogs. But I just wanted to share that this cat/dog has managed to amuse me for hours on end. But then again, I am easily amused.

In my previous post, I mentioned that I threw a shower for her. Here’s the menu from the shower:

Pink and white macarons (the white is cream cheese frosting)

Strawberry frangipani tartlets

Lemonade scones

White chocolate and raspberry brownies

Banana and coconut cake covered with fondant/RTR

Tuna, corn and mayo sandwiches

Salmon and cucumber sandwiches

Kitten sugar cookies as party favours

Pink Lemonade

Assortment of teas

As you can probably tell, the theme is pink and white to pay homage to Lizzie’s colouring.

Recipes:

Pink Lemonade

Pink Lemonade is the easiest thing in the world. It’s one part cranberry juice to 4 parts lemonade. Or adjust to your liking.

That was the shortest recipe EVER!

Strawberry and frangipani tartlets

Tart shell

Use the recipe from the lemon tart recipe

Filling

1/3 cup good strawberry jam

100g almond meal

100g butter, softened

90g caster sugar

Zest of 1 orange

1 tablespoon vanilla paste or extract

Method

Prepare and blind bake tartlets per instruction. You can make the tartlets in patty pan moulds or muffin pans.

Turn oven to 170 degrees C.

Make frangipane cream by mixing together all ingredients for the filling (except strawberry jam) in a medium bowl using a fork.

Drop ½ teaspoon of strawberry jam in the bottom of the tart cases. Dollop over frangipane cream.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemonade scones

Ingredients:

3 cups self-raising flour

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup fizzy lemonade

I egg yolk for egg wash

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add more flour or lemonade if needed to get the right dough. It won’t ruin the final product. I promise.

The dough should be light and just holds together but not sticky. Do not overwork.

On a lightly floured surface, flatten dough to about 2cm in height. Your hands are fine. No need for a rolling pin. Dip an 8cm round cutter into flour and cut rounds from the dough. Combine scraps of the dough and reroll out to cut out more. However, everytime you cut from the re-rolled dough, make sure you roll the dough thicker to compensate for the air escaping.

Place each round next to each other, and make sure they are lightly touching.  That helps it to rise in the oven.

Whisk egg yolk with 1 tbsp of water. Brush over top of scones.

Put in oven and bake for 20 minutes or tops are golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream and strawberry jam.