Kitties and Kafta

As you may recall from previous posts, we have 6 cats (after KitKats's passing a couple of weeks ago)... my boyfriend J inherited 1 and had  2 of his own, I took one of my daughter's cats that she became allergic to, and I adopted a kitten last year.

Two of our cats were indoors, the baby, Basheera, and Chebi who was de-clawed when my daughter got her from the shelter.

basheera

chebi beside basheera 2012

For weeks Basheera has been shedding like a sheep!  She has super long, weightless fur that either falls in clumps on the carpet, or floats in threads through the air.  I didn't expect all this hair, so now that she's turned 1, I felt it was time for her to join the other 4 cats outside.  She has the type of curiosity that will make the great outdoors a fun adventure.

My one concern was that Chebi would miss her.  They get into mischief together ALL the TIME! And before Basheera joined us from Petco last year, Chebi slept, ate, slept, ate, and not much else.. she seemed lonely.  Of course that all changed with a kitten in the house, chasing her and pawing her tail and licking her.  Chebi came to life and started getting super bold... like jumping on counter tops and desks (which she never did before)!

Sure enough, once Basheera was spending the whole day and night outside, Chebi became distraught.  She meowed a lot, trotted from room to room looking for company, became super needy of attention and hid in her litter box at times.

So today, my daughter was over, and we were telling her this story.  Chebi came to the kitchen where we were, and the minute someone opened the sliding door she bolted, and I mean like lightning, out into the backyard! She is a very hesitant cat, who is never quite sure what her next move should be.  So she stood in the middle of  the yard looking around, one paw forward.

Curious we all joined her waiting to see what she wanted to do.  She sat with us for a while, then scampered to one end of the yard where her old cat stand stood. When we went back joining them every once in a while. :)

Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf

I love this product from Trader Joe's. It's one of the few Rice combos that has enough fiber (thanks to the Daikon Radish Seeds!) to work well with our Anti-Cancer diet.  Remember our Good Carb Formula?  Well this combo has 5g of Fiber to 33g of Carbs per serving.

brown rice medley TJ

• 1 c. Water

• 1-1/2 c. organic Chicken Broth (I like the Whole Foods brand)

• 1 c. Brown Rice Medley (TJ brand)

• 2 Tbs. organic White Onion, chopped

• 2 tsp. Sea Salt

• Dash of Cinnamon

• Sliced organic Almonds (opt.)

In medium pot, over medium-high heat, bring water, broth, salt, cinnamon and onion to a boil.  Add rice. Cover and cook over low heat for 35-40 minutes. Scoop into serving dish and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

willd n brown rice pilaf

In the meantime, make the Kafta.

Kafta

• 2 lbs. organic grass-fed ground Beef

• 1 -1/2 c. chopped organic Parsley

• 1/2 c. chopped organic Mint

• 1 med. organic White Onion, chopped

• 2 Tbs. Allspice

• 1 Tbs. Cinnamon

• 3 tsp. Sea Salt

• 1 tsp. Black Pepper

• 1/8 c. Water

• 2 Tbs. organic Tomato Paste

• 1/4 c. Water

• 1 tsp. Allspice

• 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. Sea Salt

Turn oven to Broil.

mint parsley onion chop

Combine Parsley, Mint and Onion in a medium bowl. Add spices and mix with your hand squeezing all together so that the spices are integrated into the veggies.

Scrape mixture into food processor, add beef and water. Process using long pulses, and scraping down sides, until just combined.  Return to bowl and mix with your hand to ensure all beef is infused with veggies mixture.

Lightly grease a rectangular pan with olive oil (9 x 13 or 10 x 10). Pat beef in bottom of pan, smoothing out to the edges.

Kafta raw

Drizzle lightly with olive oil, and broil for 15 minutes.

tomato paste thinned

Mix Tomato paste, spices and enough water together until the consistency of ketchup. When timer goes off, remove Kafta from oven and pour the tomato mixture on top.

kafta3

Smooth to edges of Kafta, and return to oven for 5 minutes. Remove when done, and let rest for 10 minutes, then slice into squares and serve.

kafta cooked

I made a simple sliced Tomato, Onion Salad on the side

Minty Tomato-Onion Salad

• 2 organic Tomatoes, sliced

• 1 organic sweet white onion, sliced

• dried Mint

• Sea Salt

• extra virgin Olive Oil

Arrange tomatoes and onions of a plate. Sprinkle with dried mint, salt and drizzle with olive oil.

tomato onion salad

~ Sahtein! (double health)   ♥