DIY Cat Stairs November 28, 2008

I’ve been inspired. I’ve been ogling this post for almost a year now and decided to check out Lowe’s today to see what I could come up with.

By the way, does anyone else hate Black Friday? I didn’t mean to go out but needed a few things, and everyone, everywhere, was so rude!

So here is my master plan:

I bought a sheet of particle board and had it cut into 3 small squares (steps) and one large platform.

I’ve got strong metal brackets and drywall screws.

And now I’m stuck. I obviously need to cover the particle board with something because it’s ugly and I don’t want anyone chewing on it, animal-wise. I tried some fabric that I had and it looked awful, partially because it was too thick and the wrong type of fabric (jersey). Now I’m thinking maybe a roll of wood veneer or maybe even shelf paper? Or maybe some pretty paper coated with some sort of sealant? I want it to look natural. I probably should have just bought real wood but was concerned about the weight.

Princess isn’t exactly delicate herself.

Any ideas would be awesome!

Turkey gravy without the turkey November 24, 2008

So last night I had the pleasure of cooking gravy for E’s Thanksgiving lunch today at work.

I like that they put together these things but I hate how the food sign-up works. Basically the men sign up for something they like, and assume their wives will make it. Lovely. I’m just glad he signed me up for something simple and cheap this time!

Anyway, GRAVY. IMO the person who brings the Turkey should always bring the gravy… so they can use the giblets (I’m not really sure what a giblet is either) and pan drippings. No such luck in my case, and no one around here sells JUST the leftovers, so I was stuck making Turkey gravy without the turkey. Here’s what I came up with:

Turkey gravy without the turkey

Ingredients:

A cup or two of chopped carrots, onions, mushrooms, and celery (use whatever you have)

About 2 tbsp olive oil

Garlic powder (I would have used fresh but didn’t want little pieces of garlic left in the gravy)

4 cans low sodium chicken broth (turkey would have been better but I couldn’t find any)

1 can cream of chicken soup

Various herbs for stock, like thyme, sage, bay, and parsley, plus salt and pepper

2 sticks of butter

flour

1/2 cup or red wine, dry white wine, sherry, or brandy (I didn’t have any (!) so used a little bit of red wine vinegar instead)

First, sautee the chopped vegetables in olive oil with garlic powder. You want them to brown or even burn a little bit. While the vegetables are cooking, throw the chicken broth and other herbs in a pot and simmer. When vegetables are good and soggy and brown, pour them into a blender or food processor along with a cup or so of the stock you’re cooking. Make sure you put the lid on the blender, then blend well. Strain remaining stock to remove any large pieces of thyme or bay, then combine the blended vegetables and stock in the pot and continue to cook.

In a clean sautee pan, melt the butter completely and add about 15 tablespoons of flour while stirring. Continue stirring until all of the white is gone and the mixture turns a nice medium brown color. Add your cup of alcohol and stir, making sure to get any bits off the bottom of the pan. Add the stock mixture a cup at a time, and then add the can of cream of chicken soup. Mix everything together and then taste and add more salt or pepper if needed.

If you get it too salty, add a little bit of sugar or puree a carrot to add to the gravy.

This actually turned out REALLY tasty.

We’re not even having turkey at our house this year – E prefers ham.