I’ve mentioned previously that under
lockdown we’ve been spending more time working in the garden. But we’ve also had
more time to spend with the members of our feline family. Let me introduce you to them one by one.
Mr Mao is
probably the cutest in his fluffiness. He is very attached to Z and cries to
come inside to keep him company. He loves finding freshly laundered sheets to
recline on! He will often go to the other males and lick them –obviously
wanting them to be well groomed.
Next we have Paireag, named after an aunt’s ‘scaredy cat’ from many moons ago.
He seems wired to be constantly on the defensive, poor thing, and allows
minimum contact – unless you’re feeding him. These two are brothers.
And here is their Mum, the Lady Prunella, aka Pru. She is the
aloof one and likes to be alone. We once had a little second-cousin stay a few
days with us and she was really taken by this elegant mog. So much so that when
she returned to the village in Evros, she insisted everyone call her Prunella!
Her brother is Pushkin. They had a Pharaonic relationship so he is the Big Daddy
of the family. Sadly, he seems unwell these days and has lost most of his
teeth, so Z ensures his food is soft. He doesn’t seem to be in pain, but seems
to have aged: he moves slowly, and seems to be shrinking before our very eyes,
poor thing! Here he is below, partaking of a wee post-prandial drink.
We still have the odd cool evening, so this
shot of the-boys-in-the-box demonstrates keeping-warm strategies. Z has been
busy sanding down our balcony furniture and I’ve oiled them. I read somewhere
that regularly rubbing in a mix of one part lemon juice to two parts olive oil will give them a good sheen. Gonna smell like a salad, no?
Another area of activity has been in
the kitchen where I’ve been trying out new recipes: chocolate cake was one that
I wanted to explore. The first one was an ordinary chocolate cake with a ganache filling and topping. A bit dense for
us, but our neighbours loved that one. The second, one of my favourites, was Black Forest gateau – décor by Z!
I also wanted to try my hand at milk puddings.
The first one below, is the Turkish cornflour-based sweet, Kazan Dipi. This has a burnt
layer at the base, so here it is intentionally being burned in the oven – well
I think I kinda overdid that!! Below is my attempt at crème caramel, an egg
custard with a caramel sauce. It turned out quite nice, but the best was still
to come: the Italian gelatin-based panna cotta, usually served with some
kind of fruit coulis. This was our
favourite - sorry, we ate it all up with no thought of keeping photographic
evidence! :( :)
And
our latest adventure was easing up on our isolation and going out for a meal
with friends at a nearby restaurant. Lots of space to maintain a comfortable
distance, tables outside, good food and waiters all masked and gloved – made
you feel quite safe!
And that’s
what I wish for everyone: lovely experiences in good weather and staying safe!
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