Thabo Lama and His Special Human

’In the short walk of this life
We have had our share of joy.
Let us hope to meet again
In the youth of our next life’

Tsangyang Gyatso

Sixth Dalia Lama

It started out as an endeavor to boost Tina's spirits after her Sophie died this past Christmas day. Two kittens, Ziva Jane and Thabo Lama, litter mates. They were born on October 24th and joined our family in January. It turned into a kitten, Thabo Lama becoming something to me that I never imagined possible. Tina says I was Thabo's special human, and it is true. I became his special human in no short order.

Perhaps it was the time of year, cold, dark and lots of snow that helped the two us hunker down and forge this special relationship. Perhaps I was finally ready. I don't know. All I know is that I loved him dearly and he filled my days with joy. I love Ziva Jane too but she took to Tina like white on rice. We spent hours in the kitchen and every evening after TIna came home from work the four of us played and cuddled in bed. Tina would put them in their room every night around midnight and I would get them up at 5:00 am. We had long days filled with endless fun. I am grateful to have so many wonderful memories and photos of him and while this one is perhaps not the best, it does portray his character and his enthusiasm for human food. I have written about this little personality of his many times but here he is standing guard of the turkey I roasted. He kept this position for the better part of 6 hours staring at the oven while the turkey roasted and then watching it cool for at least 3 hours, without moving!

I always knew there was something not right about Thabo Lama. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but it went beyond his crazy clamoring for people food and his relentless medical problems that took us to the vet week after week after week. He stayed kitten like for way too long, both physically and developmentally. But it didn't matter, I was completely attached to him just as he was.

Thabo Lama was liberated to his rebirth during the early hours of this morning. I received some unforeseen Karma just before his passing. I spent Sunday evening surrounded by my Tibetan American friends at an event for The Venerable Palden Gyatso, a Tibetan Monk and freedom fighter who spent over 33 years tortured in chinese prison camps. It is only because I saw my friend Nancy that I was able to give Thabo Lama a fitting send off to his new life. Nancy reminded me that I had some Mani Pills which I had received directly from His Holiness The Dalai Lama. She told me I could use them for an easy, swift and auspicious rebirth and good health in his next life. It wasn't easy, but I felt so much better after giving Thabo Lama the Mani Pill and reciting Om Mani Padme Hum. I will be forever grateful for my connection with Nancy the night before Thabo Lama was liberated.

I am grateful too for my loving wife and partner who empowered me in my new found connection to this kitten. We would have never gotten these two kittens were it not for her. Patrick and Trudy, you will never know how much your support has meant to me in the past week. I am imbued with your kindness. So many others that have buoyed me this past week, Sherri, Helen, Kristen. . . And Paula for being with me this morning to help me tend to the logistics of Thabo's death.

We have donated Thabo to Dr. Greene and the University of Minnesota in the hope that he may help them better understand the rare condition of Feline Pituitary Dwarfism. In part because Tina and I are both academics, while Tina is the only practicing academic in our home I have been on the faculty of several colleges in the Twin Cities over the years, teaching nursing. We both value education and research and hope that Thabo Lama can further that endeavor.

We had a great team of people behind us, our breeder Lauri who never left our side and has extended herself way beyond reason, the folks at Grand Ave Vet who loved this little guy as well and especially Dr. Joe Greene, from the University of Minnesota, who was able to diagnose Thabo Lama in a matter of moments and guided us through the last two weeks of his life.

All of you are the best I am grateful to have you in my life and on our team, even if only for a moment.

I just want my kitchen cat back

Little Thabo Lama, I don't know exactly how he did it but this little guy got inside me, wicked deep inside and I am overcome with despair about him these days.

When he first arrived Thabo was full of spunk and had complete and utter enthusiasm for the kitchen. The two of us started logging hour after hour in the kitchen. He followed me from stove to fridge to counter, wherever I went, he followed. He was underfoot and in my business all my waking hours. I guess this is how I became his special human as Tina likes to say. Thabo sat on the counter watching my every move in the kitchen. He loved watching me cut vegetables, mix things in the vitamix, pop toast in the toaster. You name it, if it happened in the kitchen he was in. He seemed completely consumed with all things food, especially our food. It was a challenge from the start to get him to eat cat food. Thabo pulled popcorn right out of Tina's mouth, he monitored a turkey I was roasting for the better part of 9 hours, he dragged pizza off our plates, broke into a Tupperware of chocolate chip cookies, cracked open a carry out container with chocolate cake, tore through a bag of bread, the list goes on. This little guy was crazy for people food.

But Thabo hasn't been healthy from the get go, struggling with one health care issue after another and had what I would call failure to thrive. He just couldn't gain weight and in the past two months he has lost a full pound. Now that may not sound like much but when it is a quarter of your total body weight the mathematician would say it is significant. He started eating fabric, lost his interest in our food and stopped eating all together three weeks ago. He is sluggish, mentally dull and fading away. We are usually at the vet several times a week but starting three weeks ago we have been to our vet or the University of Minnesota Vet Center almost every other day. About 10 days ago he had a metabolic crisis and was hospitalized at the University. Looking back it was the best thing that could have happened, getting plugged into the University has taken us on a path of action that we just couldn't get at our own vet.

On Monday Thabo was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a condition I also have. Finally an answer and some medication. Still, I am guarded. I know it will take some time for the medication to kick in and for his thyroid to get in gear but in the mean time he continues to loose weight every day. I am trying my level best to syringe feed him, something neither of us like. I wait for some sign that he is coming back but so far nothing. The mental dullness is overwhelming. I just want to wake up and find him clamoring for something we are eating, clamoring for his diced chicken I roasted every day for him, eating something, anything on his own.

I just want to wake up and find my kitchen cat back in the kitchen with me!

Cherry Basil Soda and a Challenging Kitten

Thabo Lama (silent h folks) might like cherries just as much as I do. I can't get anything done in the kitchen with this little guy around. He is into everything and he wants to eat anything other than his own kitten food. He grabs food right out of Tina's mouth, popcorn, chips, cake . . . He clamors for anything humans eat and turns his back on his own food. One day I roasted a turkey. Thabo sat at the foot of the oven for three hours while the turkey was in the oven and then guarded the turkey cooling in a window sill like it were his job.

All of this might seem quite amusing. I will admit it is a part of his personality that makes me laugh, watching him scamper across the counter every time I open the door of the fridge getting as close to the food source as possible. However his crazy eating habits went sour about a month ago when he started eating fabric including the crotch out three pairs of unders, a few pairs of socks, one of my favorite napkins and put bilateral holes in the arms of my P.J.'s. While it solved the "clothing on the floor around here" problem it was not amusing. Additionally he lost some weight while we were in Europe. We just can't seem to keep him past the 4 pound mark.

Back to the cherries. My friend Shauna posted a recipe for Cherry-Basil Soda a few days ago. Being completely obsessed with Cherries I made it immediately. Never mind it was the crack of dawn and I just happened to have a few pounds of fresh cherries in the fridge. I could hardly wait for the syrup to steep. When I passed the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer some of it landed on the counter. The challenge was on, who was going to get more licked up me, or Thabo. Once I got the syrup into a jar, Thabo stalked the jar and made endless attempts to get it open. It was funny and sad all at the same time.

The Cherry-Basil soda, pure bliss! Nothing could top this summer mocktail. The combination of cherry and basil is simply genius. Conceptually the recipe is a base for an endless source of mocktails. You can find the recipe at Sauna's blog: http://glutenfreegirl.com/cherry-basil-soda/ .

Back to little Thabo Lama. Thank goodness he is sweet as the day is long and I simply adore him. His food issues are challenging indeed. Just when we think we have made some progress we find ourselves taking a few steps back. Many have suggested just letting him eat what he wants. At one point even our vet considered this option. Cats need an essential amino acid called Taurine which can only be consumed in appropriate amounts in cat food or a supplement. Without enough Taurine Thabo would be prone to a host of serious medical conditions. So we considered a supplement which would mean cooking for him every darn day. However when our vet went to program his nutritional needs into the program provided by the supplier of the supplement they refused him. He was too small and vulnerable to meet the criteria for getting the supplement. Many have suggested we just keep him out of the kitchen, remove the triggers so to speak. We do put him away when we eat but I can't keep him contained all day. He lives in the kitchen, with me and that is that. I am not putting him away all day so I can cook without his trouble making. I like him too much.

Cheers to a challenging cat with some Cherry-Basil Soda!

Lessons from the Fight of the Turquoise Bee Apiary

Year two of beekeeping is now well underway as are the lessons. These bees have so much to offer, not just the products of the hive but in their everyday lessons.

One of the many surprises of this journey for me has been the friendship of my beekeeping partner Paula. When the idea of keeping bees got inside me I didn’t know how physically demanding the work would be. As it turns out, I could not do this without Paula, physically or emotionally. I am thankful each and every day that Paula is on this journey with me. Our partnership is perfect in every way and perhaps for me, it is the lessons of the bees that have allowed me to collaborate in this endeavor.

I am a go at it alone kind-a-gal. I like to be in complete control of my every breath, especially at work. I am not a team player. I never liked group projects at school. In the kitchen, stay clear please. I don’t want anything other than my own efforts to impact the outcome of anything. I am not particularly proud of this characteristic but it is somewhat bittersweet. I am sure it is because of this dominating quality that I am so very successful at managing my Celiac disease. What other significant medical problem can you think of that an individual can actually completely control by what they put in their mouth. I love total control, being in charge of making the plan, executing the plan and getting the results, on my own, just my terms.

Enter the honeybee, or more specifically the colony where the collective efforts of all are completely interdependent. Without the collective work of the socialized colony, nothing would get done. Their engineering miracle is achieved by the collective work of thousands of bees. Building comb, collecting pollen, nectar, tending to the queen, nursing the larva, guarding the hive, all of it completely dependent on the work of the colony. No single bee or handful of bees could make this happen. They are in a constant state of communication with each other, directing forgers to the pollen, water and nectar sources through wing motions and dancing. The hive is made up of 30,000 or more bees, living and working together. There is overwhelming evidence of organization and harmony in the hive that one can hardly look past the lesson of democracy. Collective fact-finding, vigorous debate, and consensus building, the honeybee has much to teach us when it comes to collective wisdom and effective decision-making. I think beekeeping should be a required hobby for all of our politicians! As for myself, I am watching and learning and I think I have become a slightly better colleague, paying more attention to those around me at work and pitching in when I might otherwise be serving my own purposes. It is a small step and I have a long way to go but these bees have taught me a great deal about working together. I am not saying I am ready for a group project yet but I am less about my own agenda, which is good.

Wild Mushroom Ragout

Ah wild mushrooms, the quintessential spring ingredient, worth their weight in gold, literally! I wish I could afford to eat these exotic treats more often, but alas, on a regular basis they are not in my budget. For a special occasion, yes, I will indulge.

A few weeks ago we had company for dinner, company I wanted to impress so I pulled out all the stops, crab salad with steamed asparagus tips, grilled sirloin with tarragon butter, truffled mashed potatoes, wild mushroom ragout, and passion fruit tarts drizzled with blood orange sauce. It was an over the top menu and a wonderful meal. The wild mushroom ragout was the center piece! Visually stunning and a divine addition! The woody, earthy flavors of the mushrooms are intensified by being sautéed with fresh herbs and garlic. The recipe is adapted from the girl and the fig, my new favorite cookbook! Modifications included cutting way back on the oil and butter and meat fat called for in the original recipe and mixing up the assortment of mushrooms and herbs.

Wild Mushroom Ragout

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup minced pancetta

4 cups assorted wild mushrooms (I used Morels, Oyster, Chanterelles and Shiitake)

1 tablespoon each fresh chopped thyme, sage, parsley and tarragon

2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup red wine

1 tablespoon butter

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet and sauté the pancetta over low heat until crisp and golden brown. Add the mushrooms, herbs and garlic, cook until tender and golden brown. Season with salt and pepper. Deglaze the ban with the wine and reduce the liquid by half. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter.

Tina's Minnesota State Fair Pulled Turkey Sandwhich

Screw you Minnesota and your pathetic weather! I am sure I could find a better way to convey how I feel about Minnesota these days. If you don't live here you won't understand what we have been through these past 6 months and as I write, spring is passing us by. We have had nothing but cold, snow and more snow followed by cloudy, gloomy, windy rainy days. Today was the last straw especially when I heard this soaker that has planted itself over the Twin Cities might dole out snow tonight. Thank goodness we had a small window of sunshine yesterday so Paula, my beekeeping partner, and I could hive our bees. It was a beautiful day and we left the bee yard feeling completely energized and excited about the beekeeping season. The weather turned sour shortly after we got home. Fortunately Tina found a way to cheer us up and make us believe it were August, State Fair season. She found a recipe for a Minnesota State Fair favorite of hers, Pulled Turkey Sandwiches.

Our adventure started late in the afternoon, roasting a 12 pound turkey and by 9 pm, well past my bedtime, I finished pulling all the turkey off the carcass tossing it into a crock pot. Tina seasoned the meat, and a quart of my homemade chicken stock went in as well. I would have made turkey stock but we didn't have time. The turkey cooked in the crock pot all night. This morning Tina re-seasoned the meat and stuck it in the fridge while I went to check on the bees in a frigid windy downpour. I spent the rest of the day putting together the fixings for a good old fashion picnic, gussied up baked beans, napa cabbage salad, dilly cucumbers, pickles and watermelon. It might only be the end of April but we are having an indoor picnic tonight even if the rain won't stop. I've never had a Pulled Turkey Sandwich at the fair, after all I wouldn't waste calories on anything other than French Fries but this pulled turkey is darn good and quite easy to make. I enjoyed mine on a toasted Kinnikinnick gluten-free "english muffin" and had seconds with a little BBQ sauce.

Tina's Minnesota State Fair Pulled Turkey

1 roasted turkey, about 12 pounds

Lawry's Seasoning Salt

coarse ground pepper

garlic salt

turkey broth

Roast a turkey and cool long enough to handle, about an hour or so. Remove skin and pull meat off carcass, shredding it. Place all the meat into a crock pot and pour enough broth to cover the meat half way. Season with about a tablespoon or two of Lawry's, two teaspoons or so of coarse ground pepper and 2 teaspoons of garlic salt. The amount of seasonings is really up to you, more or less according to your taste. Cook the meat on low for 4-6 hours. Season again with Lawry's, pepper and garlic salt and put in the fridge for about half a day or more. Put meat back into the crock pot, cook on low for another 3-4 hours. Serve on buns.

the girl & the fig, in disguise

Where to start? I guess I should come clean, I have an Internet friend. That's right, a friend I met on facebook. Her name is Katrina and she is sweet as the day is long! Katrina writes a wonderful blog which I have written about here before. We connected through her blog, we have never met in person. We are more like facebook pals, now engaged in a wild exchange of fun surprised for each other. It started as a way for me to lift her spirits after her husband took to the road for the year on the Broadway tour of Rock Of Ages. I periodically send fun, uplifting surprises for her, cooking equipment, unusual ingredients and what not, to keep her busy. I never expected she would respond with Skillet Bacon Spread, packages of gluten-free treats, a box full of cranberry treats, a fun lunch box and now this, the girl & the fig cookbook.

I have lusted after this restaurant for years, trying to scheme a way to visit Sonoma country and eat at the girl & the fig. This and Alice Waters . . . some day. When I left the house for my walk this morning I realized I had a day in front of me with nothing specific to do. When I got home, this package was sitting on the dining room table. I am not sure when it arrived, Tina must have brought it in and left it there. I literally gasped with surprise when I opened the package and found the girl and the fig cookbook. My day took shape over coffee and I selected a recipe, one that would take all day.

These Meyer Lemon Tartlets with Blood Orange Sauce are beautiful! I know they are good, even though I can't eat them, the lemon shortbread dough is not gluten-free I am sure it would be easy to make this with a gluten-free crust but today I wanted to make something for Tina's colleagues. But I can eat my weight in lemon curd, and this recipe did not disappoint! The Blood Orange Sauce gives the curd a twist and punches a second pucker like nobodies business! If you like tart you will like these! Unfortunately I can't post the recipe as I don't have copy rights, but trust me they would make a beautiful end to any spring meal or liven up the weekly Math department meeting!

As for Sonoma and the girl & the fig, I am going to get there someday! In the mean time I am looking forward to cooking from her cookbook! Thanks Katrina, you are the best!