the missing kitty

I had all my Sunday planned out.

A lazy morning and cleaning the house and my room

Cooked some food and to pack lunch for Monday before get some work done

I was even pushing myself to finish the long over due Jacques Raymond dinner that we went 2 weeks ago

But All these got Interrupied badly when Muffie was miawing by the door when I came down stairs 

It was raining outside so I thought Muffie is being sensitive like he always does

Then I heard miawing rather clearly for a few times after Muffie settled down

When i opened the door, I realised there is a kitty standing on the tree outside

He eventually came down and rubbing my legs

He purrs non-stop and was just so affectionate

I took him in and gave him some food to which he ate them extremely quickly

Baby came later and said I should push the cat back out so he would find his way home

But the kitty was very hesitant to step outside and even after he came out,

he rushed back into the house.

I decided to keep him for the night. And Still deciding what to do.

The kitty is very clean, silky furs, clean ears and eyes. I can't help to think it was probably kept indoors so there was no collar. It is probably 6 months? seems quite skinny though. But not like those homeless animals skinny. I can't work out if it is a boy or girl. But I 'think' it is a boy.

The kitty seems very insecured and would need to be me or babe. (so very used with human) Purrs Non-Stop. I mean Non-stop. I put him at the guest bathroom downstairs with food and kitty litter. he would miaw every time I walk past and I would want to go in and pat/stroke him.

Poor darling. I know my bf says I should just let him outside because obviously he was kept in someone' home before.

But  it is at night and raining and cold so I think I made the right decision keeping him in.

I will figure out tomorrow... either putting him out tomorrow to see if he still comes back to my house, this means he has not where to go or he has forgotten where he lives. Then I will post papers with his photos on hopefully people can see. Or i can take him to the vet to check and make sure it is ok. I don't know about taking him to RSPCA because he needs so much attention and I don't want him just go there be another homeless cat waiting for someone to adopt... argh... 

Poor kitty... I hope you find your home soon. If you are homeless then I will find you a home. You are so Adorable.

Kitty purring right next to my feet. His nails haven't been cut and he kept on digging them to me. lols

 

So Cute. He insists on climbing onto my legs and purrs before finally falling asleep... 

Porcini Mushroom Risotto -- delizioso!!

Yes, contrary to many others might think, I can cook and it doesn't involve me burning the kitchen down "touch wood"

Actually I should rephrase to that I cook, not that I "can" cook.

These days as my parents are not in Melbourne, I have to look after my own meal situations

I do not deny I eat out alot and I like to eat out and try different places.

But sometimes you just want to come home for a warm comfy meal. 

In the last couple months other than dishes I already knew, I have tried potato & leek soup, mushroom soup, some others I do not remember and then this, the above, Porcini Mushroom Risotto with pancetta.

It all started with me craving The Italian at 101 Collins. I Love their porcini risotto. It is the best I have tasted anywhere. The strong flavour of porcini and moist risotto left me dreaming about this dish for Days after my first visit. So I decided to try my own.

I googled the receipe and adopted mostly from:http://www.abc.net.au/local/recipes/2008/06/13/2273702.htm from ABC. But I twisted a little. 

I am one of those person who loves read up alot of receipes for one dish before settling for The One. The One I think would taste the best and usually involves the most extensive process. Lucky for me this time I decided to cook after work on Friday so I could only quick check online before dashing to Shoppingtown. For my own reference I will write my recipe as per below, next time I just need to refer to my Own Blog. ha

PORCINI MUSHROOM RISOTTO

Serves: 5 - 6 (I ate them from Fri to Sun)

Ingredients:

* 200g Swiss flat mushrooms

* 200g Swiss brown mushrooms (I cannot usually find these from Coles/Safeway, I ended up buying all my stuff from this mini-supermarket next to Coles, seems to be more pricey but more mushroom choices)

* 20g dried procini ( this was a hard one as I had no idea where I could get these, managed to get the Last Pack from The Jones Grocer - love this shop Too Much btw. Definitely need to look out for them next time at Lygon St)

* 500g Arborio rice (should try carnaroli next time)

* 1 medium brown onion

* good squirt of garlic paste (being naturally lazy and hate how my hand smells afterwords, I buy the pre made mince)

* 1 Shallot 

* Lots of butter, maybe 150g?

* 400ml of chicken or vegetable stock

* salt & pepper

* olive oil

* some white wine (the drier the better)

Method:

1. Boil water and soak the porcini mushrooms in hot water (200ml) for at least 20mins. The water would have a lovely smell which can be used as part of the stock at cooking

2. Slice all mushrooms and dice all onions/shallot

3. In a Medium Sauce pan, with medium heat with olive oil and butter, cook onions/garlic paste/shallot until soften and onions becomes a little translucent

3. Then pour in all the rice, add more butter, ensuring all rice are coated with oil/butter before pouring the white wine in slowly

4. Once you can smell the wine flavour coming off, put in all the sliced mushrooms including the porcini that have been soaked in the hot water.

5. Start to pour in the stock little by little while stirring them constantly. You can alternate with the mushroom stock.

6. To be Honest I am still trying to work out how long it should really take but I guess it really depends on personal preference as I do not like my rice not cooked thoroughly, ie has the white uncooked bits in the middle. But I think for 500g rice, it would take about 30 to 45mins?

7. season with salt & pepper, and let it rest for 5 mins.

Serve with parmesan cheese. For the above, I decided to bake some pancetta bought from Jones the Grocer to make them crispy and add onto the rice. The Pancetta are so nice and fatty. Would be really tasty if broken into little pieces to eat with the risotto. I couldn't resist but eat them as soon the dish is done.


We cooked this on Friday night with lightly stir fried green beans as sides. It was so delicious. We were both Very Satisfied. I am reading up Bolognese sauce and very eager to try asap. I actually did this sauce before when I was making lasagne but I thought I would do a big batch and just defrost them during work day with vegies etc.


Had a pretty quiet weekend with alot of resting as someone is Sick and no doubt I probably would be the lucky one to get Sick very soon.... bummer!

Sunday night chilling with Muffie and my new throw bought from Costco. It is super comfy and Muffie would not stop purring while sitting on it! So cute. Time for bed, another week begins... so not motivated... :(

after life being too hard, I simply cannot go to sleep

Hence still staying up staring at the TV at first flicking though all channels aimlessly, then move onto the strange patch on the wall. Would it be water stain? or dirty spots on my glasses? Perhaps it is a spider that is dirty and running around that part of the wall in circles... *sign*

I was thinking to blog the amazing dinner last Friday night at Jacques Reymond. But I have been so lazy updating and  I actually visited some nice restaurants back in Feb 2010. So I guess I will just update one by one for now. I wonder if they do spelling check because I certainly cannot be stuffed at the time of the hour.

Baby and I decided something very low key for our 4 year anniversary that is no big celebration and no present. (later is still disputable I insist) Our anniversary 11th actually fall on a Wednesday and I wasn't really thinking doing something special so baby suggested we visited Aux Batifolles for 'old time sake'. Aux Batifolles has a special spot in my heart as it is one of the place we loved when we first started dating. And that is a long time ago indeed. Back then babe wasn't big on fine dining and this lovely bistro has such a charm, the waiter greeted you warmly with french accent plus the delicious food. I was pretty happy that we are having dinner there.

On to the photos, they definitely say more than my words.

Whole bottle of French wine to drink over dinner. It is quite light. I actually seldom drink wines outside Australia and I tend to find them quite light compare to Aust's own?

Cute photos of Paris? on the wall with specials wines/dessert. They tell you the specials of the day though.

Me, it was so humid and was actually raining when we were driving to dinner. My hair is uncharacteristically limp. Considering how much I have dried them out over the years of dying/bleaching.

Us. 4 years. How did we Make it babe? lols

We both love raw meat fondly. And Aux Batifolles made one of the nicest Steak Tartare.(Although I  personally prefer asian way of raw beef) This one is made in the most Traditional way and just the right proportion.

Pardon me as I did not take down exactly what was ordered from the menu, I have googled the menu in the hope this is what I ordered. Moules A La Normande - half shelled black mussels with apples and cider. I do think the sauce is a bit different as mine taste alot of garlic. The mussels are cooked right although some tasted overcooked. I decided to try something a bit different this time as normally I am a big fan of the fresh shucked oysters OR the scallops.

Yumm My delicious main, Confit De Canard Etson Maigret Poele Aux Figues (confit & crispy duck leg, pan sealed duck breast, server with iran figs sauce) Now I am not a big fan of Mains in French Cuisine and from my experience at dining at AB, this dish can be a bit of hit and miss. But this time it was cooked really nice. The leg was crispy, fatty and juicy teamed with the beautiful fig sauce. Such a shame as I could not eat much after my entree and constant wine consumption.

Without fail, babe usually go for big fat steak for his choice of main. This is Tournedos Aux Deux Sauces: prime eye fillet, served with bearnaise and red wine sauce. And as always, you can't fault the steak. 

First side: Salade Verte Au Bleu Et Noix: green salad with blue cheese dressing and walnuts

Because it was a special day so we wanted to go all out and order yet another side. I do not know how our brains work sometimes as we were obviously Full after the generous sized entrees! I think this is green beans in butter? or garlic and pepper. It was so yummy. 

So as I was saying we were really full however we both decided to order desserts because you are in a French Restaurant! how can you say No to the  traditional French Dessert? Are you Insane? This is Traditional Vanilla "Grerne Brullee" and it actually taste rather disappointing. :( same applies to my Warm Upside Down Apple "Tarte Tatin" they tasted like it was made a while ago and wasn't reheated properly? shame shame shame!

So other than the desserts, we were pretty happy with the meal and the bill came to... hm... I can't quite remember but I think it was under $150? Pretty Reasonable for 3 course dinner pluss a bottle of French wine.

Lastly, Happy 4 years my dearest babe.

Sometimes I don't know what I do without you

Sometimes I thought you can just piss off

But overall, you are a super special person in my heart 

Because you let me be who I want to be (with certain restrictions)

xoxox

Really, it is your own doing as you ate 1//2 of my entree, 2/3 of my main and 1/4 of my dessert.... j/k he does not look like this normally. 

So seeing the clock ticking closely over to 4am.... I am still Awake... Quite Wide Awake.... my skin will be terrible tomorrow, so is my concentration. Hate this! I want to Fall Asleep!!

Life is simply too hard sometimes

argh....


why does it have to be so hard. :(
I hate having problems with solutions that cannot resolve everything
especially it is related to my P.......!!!


it is too hard!
What am I going to do?!

she wants a new color for ages

I got so much to update because so much happened in the last couple weeks
but I am so lazy and right now, all I can think about is the 5.2km WALK. tomorrow morning (as much as everywhere advertised it as Run for the kids, my apologises all I can do is try my best to Walk the 5.2k)and I have to wake up super early. Probably about 6am on a Sunday! and everyone know how much I love my weekends sleep ins.


On another note, I went to see my lovely hairdresser today for an long overdue appointment. Could not stand my dark roots anymore. I walked out with a whole new darker hair-do... Plus a Fringe!




From this

to this

ta dah! I actually don't mind the darker shade. It has been a while and I always think darker shades create much more warmth in colder days don't you think?

first day of autumn

argh
so sad, summer is officially over.
the weather has not been as hot as last year and not many bad bush fires dare I say... I am glad there weren't that many 40C plus days to endure


the whole Feb past in such a blur
personal life wise, had heaps of gathering/dinners/birthday and anniversaries. (4 years and counting OMG).
Work wise I wonder how I got through this month,
it was supposed to be such an important month and somehow along the way,
things gradually changed... I am pretty numb to even consider if it is for better or worse. I just know Feb did not turn out as I would expected.
I feel like I am still standing at the same spot and there are all these voices and people's faces around me moving around and fading... their voices are so distant even though they faces are near. I think I am just trying to grab my inner voice hard right now.


And I am sick!!! feeling so crap and not up for anything...
I need to get better because got so much on in the next few days 
argh!!

this is me at Lorne, we were on our way to the great ocean road with my cousins visiting from tw and I bought the viet rolls for snacks(for everyone), I truly love this stuff and the person who invented putting all sort of over-processed meat together with some animal fats and pate is Genius. Even my cousins who tried for the first time love the rolls too. just don't eat in the car because the fish sauce stinks.  I was so into eating them I didn't even know this photo was taken.

Then it is muffie, the post would not be completed without him. Time to snuggle up with muffie in bed with Cold & flu tablets.