Ellie New Cat and Things That Don't Go Well On Chicken

[thistlechaser]

Cream of (something) soup is generally a winner to top a chicken breast with. Cream of chicken has the right number of carbs to have with a meal, so that's been my go-to soup. While picking up more, I eyed the other options.

Cream of Potato soup. Hmmm. Chicken + potato = Sunday night dinner, right? Maybe so, but the soup was a poor match. On its own, the soup was surprisingly good. (I worried it might be god awful.) I ate the chunks of potato out of it. But the soup with the chicken was just wrong. Somehow the texture was horribly terribly scary awful.

Have I mentioned how tired I am of chicken breasts? I've lost track of how many months I've been eating them now, with only two ways I know how to make them. lokyst suggested I try garam masala spices, so that's the next thing I'm attempting, likely Monday night.

In Ellie news, I can't believe I've had her her almost a year now. She came home with me on February 26th 2011. It's even more surprising that she's still making progress (or maybe I should word that 'it's even more surprising that a year later there's still progress to be made').

Over the last couple days she's turned a really big corner. I've been thinking about how to describe it, but I haven't come up with a better way than this: She's finally seeing me. She looks at me and sees me. She meets my eyes and sees me, not just sees a horrible cat-eating monster.

While she still doesn't like being picked up, she likes being held. When I hold her to my shoulder, she puts her head against mine and purrs. It's such a wonderful thing.

I know this will sound awful, but I still don't feel love for her. I'm not blaming her, but it's hard to feel a connection with something that doesn't look at you and expects you to hurt it. It's only now with her starting to see me that I'm starting to feel more, feel a connection. I'm really, really happy I do. I'd like her to become more than just "a nice cat I happen to live with because no one else wanted".

Comments

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is cool. For our kitty Simon, he was pretty much a ghost for 3-4 years, and suddenly decided to come out and be social and get lovins, it was a dramatic change. Still we don't really know what brought it on.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh! I wonder what changed. Maybe just time? (So much time!) I'm glad he did change though. :)

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Also, eye contact is important... we always make sure to make blinky-eyes at cats, which seems to communicate trust and calm. Hopefully now that she is looking at your face you can start to communicate more effectively :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yes! Cats like blinking. "Hey, look how chill I am, blinking away at you."

Fitting icon is fitting.

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

Adding my agreement about blinking! (Slow blinking, not mad fluttering eyelashes, that is XD)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Ha, yes! Slow blinks. :D

[gconnor.livejournal.com]

Also... why are you eating chicken breasts so often, do you feel like you need the extra protein, or do you have a lack of other choices?

I think there's nothing wrong with eating the same thing day after day but it only works if you kind of like it. Since staring the LCHF plan, I have been eating a lot of salad and veggies with mayo+soy dressing (like 3-4 cups of veg for lunch and 5-6 cups of salad plus some veggies for dinner) and Morningstar meat patties with cheese melted over them, and for snacks I've been having mixed nuts, cheese, hot tea. I'm going low-carb, but I'm not body-building, so I don't need to seek out more protein. That leaves veggies, and fat (mostly mayo, cheese, cottage cheese, occasional boiled egg)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Mostly it's just that I have to have something for dinner that's not fast food. Low calories/fat are important as well. I have beef once or twice a week (often lunches) and pork once a week (dinner, usually).

I should look at how calories run on the Morningstar stuff, I used to eat that all the time when I wasn't eating meat. It'd be a nice change now and then.

One of my bigger problems is that I don't like vegetables. I mean like any of them. That's an issue I'm still dealing with.

[mel-redcap.livejournal.com]

...I don't remember, did I give you my recipe for teriyaki pear chicken breasts? (om nom nom!)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

You did, but I just remembered it now! I love teriyaki and pears both, I need to try it!

[nicenewra.livejournal.com]

Girl, you have got to start playing with your food. Go out and pick up a book called "The Flavor Bible". It is a key item in learning to cook for yourself -- you look up an ingredient, it lists flavours that pair well with it in various degrees, and for some foods it even lists combinations to avoid at all costs. There are also quotes from chefs for what they might particularly enjoy doing with a given ingredient, and select dishes listed from various restaurants. I love this book because it puts the For chicken, you're looking at its best combinations being bay leaf, unsalted butter, carrots, cinnamon, garlic, fresh or ground ginger, lemons, mushrooms, olive oil, olives, onions, parsley, pepper, rosemary, salt, tarragon, thyme, tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, dry white wine (like riesling). And that's just the things it lists as OMG AMAZING. I seriously can't get enough of chicken in a balsamic glaze, or roasted and topped with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt.

Chicken breast is great. It's VERSATILE. But you are stuck in a rut. How do you usually cook it? Just sauteed and tossed into/on top of whatever side item you might have in mind that day?

Why don't you like vegetables? Try to tell me what it is about them -- specific ones, even -- that you don't enjoy, and I will try to help you find ways that you might like them.

I am huge on cooking and would be happy to help you try and figure out some sort of easy, appealing dishes :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That book sounds exactly like what I need! I have no idea what goes with what (spices and stuff). So when I figure out something that works, I stick with it.

Why don't you like vegetables?

Because it feels like I have plants in my mouth. :/ The texture drives me crazy! Cooked a lot, cooked a little, raw, it just feels wrong. I can make my own tomato sauce and that's okay, so "hidden" veggies work for me.

Chicken breast is great. It's VERSATILE. But you are stuck in a rut. How do you usually cook it?

Usually I stick it in the oven at 350 for some amount of time (35-50 minutes, depending on how big it is). I think I'm overcooking them, but I worry lots about undercooked chicken.

[nicenewra.livejournal.com]

That book sounds exactly like what I need! I have no idea what goes with what (spices and stuff).

It's the best "cookbook" (really, it's a manual) I've ever spent money on (although in more traditional cookbooks, if you can get ahold of Chef Michael Smith's 'The Best of Chef at Home' I highly recommend it, too). It puts the power for flavour decisions and spices in your hands, with guidance that really helps you to understand on your own how they all work together.

Because it feels like I have plants in my mouth. :/ The texture drives me crazy! Cooked a lot, cooked a little, raw

Hrm. Okay. I mean, every vegetable has different textures, and then depending on how you cook them, that changes too. What are you cooking, and how? There's gotta be something out there you'll enjoy. For example, the only way I really enjoy carrots is if I slice em into discs, parboil, then sautee with butter and honey.

Have you tried roasting veggies? Honestly, roasting asparagus (with sesame oil, salt & pepper, and then a squeeze of lemon at the end) changed my die-hard asparagus-hating husband into a fan of the veggie. Realistically, you can roast ANYTHING after tossing it in olive oil, salt & pepper (potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, green beans, it doesn't matter), and it'll have a great flavour. Give it a try.

Or figure out flavour profiles you like. I went through this crazy "omg everything must be Asian flavoured" kick, and I was eating cucumbers tossed with ginger, lime, honey, sesame oil, and salt/pepper like they were going out of style. Right now my daughter and I chow down on raw bell peppers dipped in balsamic all the time.

Usually I stick it in the oven at 350 for some amount of time (35-50 minutes, depending on how big it is). I think I'm overcooking them, but I worry lots about undercooked chicken.

You are, but I do too. Buy a meat thermometer! They're like $10 at Ikea. This is another one of those things that'll change how you cook, because you learn as you go along using it.

God I hope I don't sound preachy. I'm sorry. I just get REALLY fuckin' excited about cooking.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Sorry for the delayed reply, was RPing and couldn't get away.

I totally forgot about roasting vegetables! I've eaten green beans and kale that way, and I liked both. They didn't seem like vegetables at all. I should get more things to try roasting!

I have a meat thermometer, but it seems to have stopped working. Everything got really overcooked before it would reach the range it was supposed to be in. I really should buy a new one, they're not that expensive...

Thanks for the advice! :D

[prettyredeyes.livejournal.com]

I hate vegetables too. >_> My mom gives me hell about it but they just don't taste like anything to me ever. I like a salad but that's because I go into it with the expectation of lettuce. I don't much like mixing veggies in with my meat even if the vegetables pick up the flavour because then I have meat-flavoured something-that-has-a-weird-non-meat-texture. Blegh. I wish I could magically like vegetables, but I don't. :/ Outside of salads and eating green peppers as a snack item, I tend to avoid them. So you are not alone! XD

I don't remember if you said you liked spicy food or not. :o I am super picky about chicken, so when I make it I tend to make a sauce. I love spicy food so I use some butter and hot sauce to make a good buffalo sauce to roll them in. Actually, a variation on that I've made is to dice up the chicken breast, coat it in the sauce, and then make it into a wrap with a little bit of shredded lettuce for crunch. It was so derp quick and easy that even I could handle it. XD

Squall also has a sauce he makes when he doesn't want to eat my spicy stuff that uses a smokey BBQ base. I like chicken because you can dress it up a bunch of ways. So maybe exploring sauces will make dinner more exciting for you!

I also get what you mean with the cat situation. I kind of feel like that about our dog right now. He's really Squall's dog, so while I like him, I don't really feel love for him yet. He's kind of a dog that lives in my house right now because we really haven't bonded, even when he sleeps in the bed. :\ I think it will definitely be better for you now that she's warming up to you. Yaaay! :D

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

something-that-has-a-weird-non-meat-texture

That's what gets me, too. THERE'S A PLANT IN MY MOUTH! Ugh!

I wish I could magically like vegetables, but I don't. :

Me too! Liking them would help so much.

Nope, I'm not a spicy food person at all. My tongue is a wuss.

Hopefully you and the dog will hit it off, soon! :)

[ani-mama.livejournal.com]

If Ellie started out as a feral stray, I think she is making excellent progress! Cats do things on their own time.

Not all cats like being picked up and hugged. It has got to be a bit scary, being picked up by a giant! Of the 4 cats we have, Sam I Am is the only one that really seems to like it. He hugs back. XD

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yep! She was feral for a year, then she lived with a foster care mother for a year, but that person had tons of cats so she didn't get enough attention.

And yeah, that's totally understandable about picking up and hugging, with as scared as she had been!

[chichiri.livejournal.com]

I eat chicken every day, so I'll keep this in mind- no potato cream of soup.:)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yes! Though I'm sure you can find lots of interesting stuff to put on it there. :D