All That Jazz

Throughout my entire childhood, I never had a single pet.  That can happen, pretty easily, when your dad is allergic to cat and dog hair.  Right there, most of the typical animals are ruled out, and you’d have to imagine that any more obscure mammals would induce a similar reaction.  So you start to look a little lower on the food chain.  My brother had a few gerbils at various times, and my sister currently keeps a rather charming rat, but I never really had much interest in the rodents.  There were also the times we kept Praying Mantises, and the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach, but it’s hard to really make a connection with an insect.

When I was in my pre-teen years, I decided that I wanted an aquarium.  There was no way fish could bother my Dad’s allergy, and I figured a few fish would be pretty interesting to have.  I asked for an aquarium for my birthday, and I distinctly recall making a sign that said “Aquarium coming soon!” but for some reason or another it never happened.  Not sure if it was concern with water spills, fishy smells, me being responsible enough, or something else, but regardless, I didn’t end up having a fish.  Or any other pet, for that matter.

After Stacia and I met, that didn’t change, initially.  Living in the dorms, or in a college-town apartment just didn’t seem conducive to keeping an animal, and I personally didn’t have any fond memories to hearken back to, to make me want one.  Things started to change one time while we were visiting Edgewood, Stacia’s hometown.  We were spending some time out on her Dad’s land, where there were some cats roaming around.  (Apparently this is commonplace on farms – non-pet cats just roam about the place, fending for themselves and whatnot.  I know, I had no idea either.)

Well, this really cute farm cat wandered up and started acting like he/she (?) wanted attention, so I started petting it, and eventually picked it up and held it in my lap.  He/she purred and acted so sweet and content, that Stacia’s Dad offered to send the cat home with us.  Aside from the fact that we didn’t know anything about it (health, spay/neuter, pests, etc), we also decided we weren’t ready to keep a pet.  We declined, but the seed had been planted.  Over the next several months, we made surprisingly frequent trips to the local pet store to look at the adorable kittens, and I started to come around to the idea.

We did all our internet research on keeping cats, and decided we should adopt one from the Animal Rescue League.  We even made a spreadsheet of all the cats at the ARL, to help us choose.  Then, over the long Labor Day weekend (1 year, 4 months ago, making this a very dated article), we stopped by to see a calico cat named Ivy, and fell for her.  She was so timid, even hiding beneath the shelves at the store when we let her out, but very cute.  We filled out the paperwork and took her home.

It soon became clear that Ivy wasn’t really a fitting name for this cat.  We got her home, let her out of the carrier, and allowed her to become accustomed to her new home.  Unlike the shy, reserved cat she had been at the ARL, she methodically stalked through the rooms of the condo, acquainting herself with everything without any fear or significant hesitation.  That first night she did keep us up a bit with some yowling and meowing, but thankfully it didn’t last too long.  Soon, demure little Ivy was a thing of the past.

In short order, our cat was transformed into an assertive and confident but fun and kind of crazy little animal who knew that she was the real head of the household.  For a while we struggled with an appropriate name, but ended up hitting the nail on the head.  Roxie, the spunky, poised entertainer from Chicago would be our cat’s namesake.  Our Roxie is fun, but definitely doesn’t take crap from anybody.  And she certainly is entertaining.  She’s a great cat that makes me glad we got a pet.

One small problem.  Our little girl has recently become, well, not so little.  It’s one of those things where, if you see something every day, you don’t notice small changes, but someone who only sees it at larger intervals sees the change right away.  For example, I never know my hair is getting long, since it grows so little each day that it seems the same as the last day.  But all I need to do is go home ;) and someone will surely point out how shaggy I’ve become.  In a similar manner, Roxie put on 4 pounds in a year.

When we found this out, we made some quick changes to try to reverse the trend.  We started decreasing the amount of food Roxie got, then all-out switched to a weight-loss food, but nothing seemed to work.  She maintained her weight, didn’t get any bigger, but she couldn’t seem to work off what she’d gained.  What to do?  Well, we knew she was pretty lazy during the day, just sleeping and eating, and we don’t always have time to play with her as much as we should in the evening, so she probably wasn’t getting a ton of exercise.  But we could change that… with a kitty treadmill!

Just kidding.  I hope those don’t exist, but you never know.  In reality, the solution to our cat problem is to get another cat!  With someone new to play with, Roxie should theoretically be more active during the day, and if nothing else, she’ll have more stimulation and company while we’re gone.  As I write this, we are getting ready to head out to the ARL to bring home the little black-and-white cat we’ve had our eye on.  Her name is Rachel, but we’re going to call her Velma.  I think the show will be better with two.

From G's to Chefs - Taking Stock

I came by blogging in a rather roundabout way.  It all started about four years ago when Stacia heard about David Bach’s finance book Smart Couples Finish Rich, and decided we should read it.  We did, and we became interested in getting a better hold of our money.  That led to different books, a mini seminar at the bank, and eventually, personal finance blogs.  We followed these religiously for a few years until we both simultaneously but separately decided we’d heard it all, had absorbed some good money habits and would move on.  I started my own blog about nothing, added cooking later on, and have been pretty happy since.

But there was one thing that I liked a lot from the personal finance realm, and the season makes it even more pertinent – the new year’s goal.  PF bloggers are quick to point out that these are different from the commoners’ resolutions, in that they have actual measurable targets rather than obscure and often unattainable desires.  Whatever you call them, and as cliché as it is to start them on January 1^st, I thought I’d try my hand at making some goals this year.  Unfortunately, that also means you’re going to have to read about them.

Before I launch into what I want to achieve this year, let’s look back at last year to see what progress I’ve already made.  2009 was the first year of this blog, which I started in the hopes that I would someday become a creative writer.  I flailed at that, struggled to come up with post topics, until I realized that for me, writing was a secondary pursuit to cooking.  Once I started writing about cooking, it seemed I could churn out a post for every meal if I wanted to, and I never really looked back.  It surprises me to look at where I am, knowing what I want to do, and realize that it was only earlier this year that I even settled on cooking as a hobby, or more accurately a passion.

Other highlights of the year lie in a similar vein to that discovery.  I learned about sustainable food and put a new focus on shopping at the Des Moines Farmer’s Market.  I threw out my old inhibitions and found that there were many new dishes that I liked, from chicken curry to snails (deserving of their own post, which may be forthcoming).  I held back my initial squeamishness and learned new techniques, starting with such simple things as handling raw meat, and ending up cleaning sardines for a dinner.  At the end of the year, I don’t feel like much of an expert, but I look back at all that was new to me in the past year, and I can’t help but be a little proud.

New really is the key word in that last paragraph.  As I transitioned from prepared-food fan to Stacia’s sous chef to someone who actually might know a thing or two about cooking, each step required taking a deep breath, and trying something new.  And with so much more to learn, I plan to head into 2010 with the overarching goal to surround myself with as much new information or instruction as possible.  People often say the first step is the hardest, and maybe it was, but without taking other steps after it, you aren’t likely to get anywhere.  So here, finally, are the specifics of my goals for the year.

1)      Keep up the meal plan – Ok, this one isn’t new, but it is revised.  At the end of each week, I make a plan for the following week’s dinners, consisting of one each of: red meat, white meat, seafood (alternating oily and non-oily), vegetarian, and one wild-card from any one of the categories.  The rest is made up of leftovers, dining out, and occasional quick and easy prepared food.  In 2010 I plan to make a point to do this every week.

2)      Gain exposure to other new ideas – I’ve written before about my mixed feelings on dining out, but recent events have pushed me a bit toward the positive side.  The Des Moines Register put out a list of the top 100 restaurants in town, and I couldn’t check off more than a handful that I’d been to.  If these top chefs in town have new ideas or preparations that could inspire me, I should give them a try.  In 2010, I want to dine at one or more of the restaurants from that list each month.

3)      Learn new techniques – This is really the most important.  In Des Moines, the Kitchen Collage downtown and the Williams-Sonoma at the mall both offer periodic technique classes.  I took a knife skills course at Kitchen Collage and learned more about cutting and chopping than I had from any other source.  And the Williams-Sonoma ones are free!  If I work on knowing essential techniques, I am sure to become a better cook.  In 2010 I will keep abreast of the class calendars and go to as many offerings as possible.

4)      Learn to make something right – I know how to follow a recipe, and I know a few basic techniques.  But what separates me from a real cook is my inability to craft my own recipe-less meals.  Getting there requires a lot of experience, and probably just giving it a try.  But my plan to become less apprehensive about it is to choose one dish that I will research, find recipes for, find their common threads, and really learn how to make it from scratch.  In 2010 I want to do this for one “classic” dish per month.

That’s all I have formally for right now.  There could certainly be late additions, and if you have any suggestions, I’d be open to hearing them.  Naturally, I also plan to try new recipes at home and new menu items out as much as possible, but that’s more a mindset than a definitive goal.  Overall, I think these goals are manageable, and if I manage to achieve them consistently, I may be able to learn even more this year than I did last.  They are big plans, but they are exciting to me, and I can’t help but feel curious about what I’ll post next year at this time, as I keep moving forward.