Cooking up Mardi Gras

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Happy Mardi Gras! For some reason I love this day -- the all-out, anything goes spirit. For me that meant cooking. I made Smitten Kitchen's butterscotch brownies for Darrius (She gave me the turquoise purse), who came to pick them up, but really to check out how my three rooms are decorated. I know a kindred spirit when I meet one. In general, I think she approved. She especially liked the easy chair in the kitchen. She swooped in and out quickly — Last I saw of her was a swirl of fluffy red bathrobe and bright pink slippers. She was nibbling a brownie on her way past the elevator.

I also cooked little chicken tidbits for Zing, so I can hide his peace pills in them. I have already hidden pills in cheese balls and hotdog slices, each time thinking “I’ve finally fooled him.” It works for maybe two days, and then Zing will daintily eat around the pill, which he drops to the floor and ignores. I’ve resorted to professionally-produced "pill pockets” and plastic syringes that stick all the way to the end of his tongue, and I’ve even pried his jaws wide, only to drop his little squirming body and the pills with it onto the floor. I’ve even hidden pills in chunks of leftover beef. Each attempt has ended in failure. So I’m not very hopeful, even though the chicken treats worked today. But I am refining my technique: make the treats bite-sized, so he’s likely to swallow without chewing; offer some chicken bites without pills, along with the others. This chicken recipe better work because there is no more Plan B.

I hope you had your own kind of Mardi Gras fun!

Love,

k