Chinese Food And Kitties

 It's funny how animals have certain human or people food they love.Cats are especially guilty of this. They will eat anything and everything that their pet parents have.

This was true for my little king Otto who passed early yesterday morning. He had his favorites, chicken skewers from our local Chinese restaurant, Popeye's and anything from Acme or Stop and Shop.He did have to stick to his urinary tract diet. a special food hey never really too to . He had been in an dout of the animal hospital with various UTI infections. The staff there knew him well and even then I went to they nearby Stew Leonards to get him fried chicken.I'd eat the crunch skin part while I'd cut up the meat for him to eat. Like anyone else, he hated hospital food. He loved stealing Nutri from the other cats and he adored his Friskies broths and shreds. It was human food though that Otto adored. He'd come out when one friend would visit us and we'd order.I;d always order chicken skewers for him and for Lucky .Otto would devour a whole skewer's worth of chicken. He loved those crispy  crunchy pieces.He also like East Wok's shrimp in lobster sauce but not as much as with chicken.

He also went wild for Popeye's I'd always get the three piece dinner, eating the leg and part of the wing there along with their crunch coating . Everything else would be for Otto and for Lucky too. Both loved the succulent juicy meat.I 'd make sure they received as many pieces as they could eat - which for cats were a lot.As with any cat Otto loved his ham so I would buy the containers of ham ends from my local Acme, They were solid chunks that had t be sliced into little pieces for easy eating. Otto would eat piles of these along with the chopped turkey Acme also sold. He also had a fondness for Country Crock plant based butter as did Lucky. Both loved receiving teaspoons of it after they had their meds. Otto also did  love frosting . He licked an entire tablespoon of buttercream that I had scraped off a cupcake. Cat parents however have to be careful with how they feed their kitties treats. It's fine once in a great while but not too often.I know I overindulged Otto but he was irresistible. I could not resist his kitty charms.

Cat parents should be diligent with feeding their babies the right food. It can result in  a lot of diseases such as heart and diabetes. A treat is good every once in a while.

For my beloved Otto, here's to all the chicken in heaven you're having.

Fun And Scary Treats

Halloween is definitely the time for creative baking and decorating., All it takes is cake mix , icing and candies to create creepy treats , sure to bring smiles to big and little monsters. Have some fun making these ghoulish goodies that taste devilishly fun.

There's a big push for confetti cake,  a cake with a good cup of sprinkles added in. You can start off with a white or butter cake and add  black, orange and purple sprinkles. A more Halloween centric cake is a  rich , fudgy devil's food  speckled with just orange sprinkles. The icing is usually a buttercream or chocolate frosting coated completely in  - what else - more sprinkles. Cupcakes can also be done this way too.If you're wondering on where to get sprinkles or jimmies in holiday colors, look no further than your local grocery. Its' bakery department always bakes holiday themed cakes and cupcakes ,using  specifically colored sprinkles. The extra ones are then put on sale for home bakers to buy. Other sweet All Hallow's treats are themed cakes.It's all about the frosting and decorating. A simple idea is  just orange icing, drizzled with chocolate. Scatter traditional or the new salted chocolate candy corn over or arrange in a fun mosaic.  Jack o'lantern cakes are always a crowd pleaser. There are cake molds, usually Bundt pans to give you a perfect sphere. It's then decorating with orange butter cream and making the features and pumpkin stem out of black and green dyed fondant.

Cupcakes are another tasty treat, everyone likes. Home bakers can go wild with creating fun toppings , sure to please the fussiest little trick or treater. A fun idea is the ultimate Halloween symbol, the black cat. Frost cupcakes with bought or homemade chocolate frosting. Add two blobs of green frosting for the eyes. Put a small dot of black frosting in the middle of these. The nose can be a pink Tictac flanked by black licorice strings. The kitty's pointy ears can be chocolate morsels.. Take away the nose and ears , put more licorice strings and you have scary spiders.Tombstone cakes are another ghoulishly great idea. Take Pepperidge Farm Milano cookies , break in half  , then coat with a pale brown or pale grey icing. Use a toothpick to write  BOO! in chocolate on them.For the cupcake frost with green icing and then stick the "gravestones' in them.Party guests can also ice their own if you set up a frosting bar. Have prizes for the scariest and the cutest decorated.Cookies are another fun Halloween delight . Make chocolate cat or bat cookies. They can even be turned into sandwich cookies. Fill with a tasty orange flavored creme  that' can be either made with cream cheese, butter or margarine along with confectioners sugar, fresh squeezed orange juice and orange zest.

All Hallow's is a time for sweet treats and scary fun. Celebrate it with yummy cakes and toothsome cupcakes and cookies. Have a sweet Halloween and enjoy!