Month: November 2013

We tested: the Paris Cat Café

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So, one month of a waiting list and 30 minutes of queuing later we finally managed to get into the famous “Café des Chats” – new Parisian café that is home to 12 cats.

Launched a few months ago, the Café des Chats provoked an incredible online buzz with articles not online in the French but also in the English press including the BBC. What made it so special? Well, obviously the cats. The concept is based on a Japanese believe that cuddling a cat helps a person relax and distress. This café is now home to 12 cats of different ages, all taken from a shelter. Furthermore, part of the profit goes back to the cat-shelter. I heard a lot about it, and finally managed to test it this week!!

Our first impression was the wait. Despite the one month reservation in advance, we had to wait half an hour to get in. When finally, there was a table ready, the hostess made sure everyone disinfected their hands before entering and introduced the basic rules: no feeding of the cats, no forcing them, and if a cat is sleeping, let her sleep!

When we finally got inside, we realised that the café is relatively small, with just 6 tables and a big cat tree in the corner. Most of the cats were sleeping and thus we couldn’t touch them. When one kitten finally woke up and decided to walk around, around 6 people jumped on him to take photos and try to caress him. This obviously scared the poor thing and he ran away to hide.

So what did we like? It’s a nice idea to adopt homeless cats and give them a nice home.

What we didn’t like is the fact that the cats don’t look comfortable and not very happy..

So our overall conclusion – it was pretty disappointing experience!

 

The perfect cat-christmas present!

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Are you looking for an original Christmas present for a cat-lover? Nothing beats those stunning cat embroided shirts made by a Japanese designer Hiro Kubota! Those orginal shirts are sold at $250 on his profile, at Etsy. Unfortunately, due to their popularity, the shirts are sold out at the moment, but I am not loosing hope that they will reappear for the Christmas period!

 

Cat-man: the new online trend!

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EVERYONE heard about the cat-beard online photo trend that started earlier this year. But forget that – the new cool thing is CAT-MAN, started by this Reddit fan. What do you think? Will you try this with your cat? 😉

We got a Liebster Award! And we nominate others..

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I would like to thank Kalesija Blog for nominating me for the The Liebster Award. To be perfectly honest, I have not heard about this award but it sounds fun so I accepted! Now, Brucy and I had to answer the following 11 questions:

1) What are your favourite herbs to cook with?

I use spring onion a LOT; I am a big fan of adding it everywhere – from salads to soup! And Brucy loves it when I grow basil – she eats half of it!

2) What food do you absolutely refuse to eat?

Beetroot and marmite

3) What are your favourite kitchen appliances?

I love my hand mixer – it is quite a basic mixer, nothing fancy, but I use it nearly always when I bake.

4) If you won $10,000 on the Food Network show, “Chopped”, what would you do with it?

I would probably move to a Paris apartment that has a bigger kitchen – at the moment, my kitchen is very tiny, which makes cooking a bit of a challenge!

5) If you could choose one country, whose food you like cooking the most, which country would it be?

It’s a tough call, because I change my cooking inspirations too often. I think I would go somewhere is Asia, to learn more about the spices.. Maybe not China, as I’d be afraid for Brucy!

6) If someone said to you, “For your birthday, I’m going to import any food from anywhere in the world for you, and money is no object”, what would it be?

Truffles! I love black truffles but the prices can be quite extravagant.. So if “money is no object” I would definitely benefit from this 😉

7) What is the most you would spend for a cookbook (new)?

There is no limit 😉 I love cookbooks with beautiful photos and recipes that cost my monthly rent to make!

8) Do you follow a recipe exactly, or take some ‘artistic license’, even if making it for the first time?

In baking, I follow the recipe to the dot. In cooking, I improvise a lot! I add my favorite ingredients, I always add extra spices.. so yes to “artistic license”!

9) Have you ever made your own cheese and if so, what kind? Would you like to make your own cheese, if you haven’t already tried it?

I have never made my own cheese, but I bake my own bread 🙂

10) Do you keep a stocked pantry (if you have some space), or do you just buy what you need for the next few meals? (canned goods, dried pasta, etc.)

As my Parisian kitchen is tiny, I don’t have an huge stock, but I have a lot of baking things – around 10 different cake shapes, cupcake kits, cookies cutters etc..

11) What would your ‘dream’ kitchen be like?

I used to work a bit on a professional cooking and I know what a Michelin star kitchen looks like: with huge ovens, freezers, tables, loads of space and equipment. Well, I would like just that please 🙂

11 fun facts about Brucy and myself are:

  • Brucy understands only English and refuses to understand French
  • I have a pet peeve of people folding paper with their finger tips
  • Brucy’s favourite foods are canned peas and carrots
  • Around the house I normally wear a huge pink onesie
  •  Brucy loves watching football matches on a large video projector screen
  • I have seen all episodes of House MD and am confident that it qualifies me to diagnose and perform surgery
  • Brucy loves drinking out a glass (by putting her paw in it)
  • I have a weird habit of adding the ras-el-hanout spice to all foods I make, including desserts
  • Despite being a huge meat fan, Brucy refuses to eat salami
  • I have subscribed all my work colleagues to my blog, with their work emails
  • In human years, Brucy is now the same age as me

Wow that was long!!

So in return, I would like to nominate the following blogs for the The Liebster Award:

If they accept, they would need to answer the following questions:

1)      Cats are way cooler than dogs, do you agree?

2)     Would you ever get a ferret?

3)     A spider?

4)     If you could be any animal in your future life, who would you be?

5)     What’s your pet’s favourite food?

6)     What do you think about dressing up your pet for Halloween?

7)     Did you have a pet when you were growing up?

8)     If you would one day get a chance to write a book – what would it be about?

9)     Favorite film with a cat?

10)  Name your top 3 blogs that you follow?

11)   What do you use more Facebook or Twitter?

And don’t forget to also give us 11 random facts about yourself!

More info on the award can be found here!

Making a cake for your cat!

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Ok, ok, I know it’s not technically a cake and more like a huge meat sandwich but anyways! As you know, Brucy’s birthday was last Sunday and I decided to cook something special for my little furry kitten!

I looked at all ingredients cat can eat (vegetables, meat, cream..) and decided to compose a meat cake! I started off by slicing thin slices of zucchini, that I assembled in a circle and then using a circle food ring, I placed a layer of chicken breast meat, beef mince and chicken again. I topped up the cake with a slice of cream cheese and drew little cream dots around the cake for decoration.

Needless to say that Brucy destroyed the cake within minutes! I think she enjoyed it J Do you cook for your cat?

Happy Birthday Brucy!

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My little girl is turning 2 years old today! It seems like only yesterday this little kitten entered my life and since then has been filling it with so much happiness, purring and cuddles! Obviously there was also a lot of plants-cables-sofas destruction, but despite all her naughtiness, Brucy is adorable and I love her to bits! Happy birthday my little fur ball!

Catit Senses Circuit #2: Brucy’s early birthday present..

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As you all know Brucy’s birthday is coming up and I couldn’t resist spoiling this furball, so I bought her a new Catit Senses Circuit. She already had one, so I thought getting her the long version with an illuminated ball would make her even happier. Yesterday, we’ve spent quite some time putting it all together and as a result, we constructed a 2 meter long circuit with two balls! I think Brucy was a bit scared of the illuminated ball(that cleverly lights up only when you touch it), but she quite enjoyed it in the end 🙂

Do you have Catit Senses Circuits? What’s your opinion on them?

Our first Pam & Sam award!!

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If you don’t know about Sam & Pam’s Tuesday Teaser challenges – you must be living on another planet.  Brucy and I participated numerous times but they are always so hard, so we never won! This week, however, thanks to the power of Google – we managed to get it right! Moreover, we were the first ones! Which means, we get the honour to display this amazing Pam & Sam badge. We are really excited and don’t forget to participate in the game next week 😉

Making a cat birthday-cake?

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Brucy’s birthday is coming up next Sunday, and I’ve been thinking of cooking her a special cat-cake!

Which lead me to the question – what human food can cats eat? I know I’ve been giving her occasional treats from our table like chicken, mince, canned peas..but what ingredients are officially good for cat?

According to this interesting article at Care2, there are actually quite a lot of things cats can eat. We all know that a bit of meat and fish is ok (as long as there is little oil, as fatty acids prevent the absorption of vitamin E), but did you know that cats can also eat scrambled eggs and steamed broccoli? Apparently, some vegetables, such as carrots, beans and broccoli are also quite good for cats, as long as they are steamed! Brucy loves canned vegetables such as peas and carrots, so I think I will use those in her “birthday cake”! Have you cooked for your cat? Share some recipes!