Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for March 16, 2019

SPOILER ZONE

Meant to point this out yesterday…the corned beef looks like a swirly-eyed Muppet. Maybe the Cookie Monster.

And look, Beatrix has a mouse on her head! So cute. :D

Is that Beatrix or Violet talking?

I’ve been waiting all week for that final observation. Bravo Puck! You’ve nailed the essence of corned beef. Let the corned beef lovers pile on me.

Puck is looking rather meowlish today…

Beatrix is the only one doing real investigative reporting. Or is that Violet? Someone needs to get their teeth into this story.

Anything that smells like dead socks belongs at a laundromat.

The twitching tail in the last panel is a nice touch; anyone who spends a lot of time with cats knows that one.

I will eat corned beef on a Ruben, thinly sliced with lots of sauerkraut and swiss cheese on rye. The older I get the less meat I eat. I get kind of grossed out walking through the meat department at Safeway.

Corned beef and cabbage is an Irish-American tradition, not an Irish tradition. It grew out of the poverty of the Irish and Jewish immigrants in the 19th century. Beef was uncommon in Ireland, but Jewish butchers were familiar with it, as well as preservation methods (corning) for a cheap cut like brisket. Cabbage and potatoes completed the mix of inexpensive foods to make this classic filling stew. So we salute our Irish ancestors when we indulge!

The secret is to consume enough alcohol so that you don’t care how the corned beef tastes.

GASP! A Robber Mouse has captured Beatrix! And it’s giving advice on food! (She’s right, btw. Even good with proper English Mustard)

Professor Elvis at the ready. “What do you OBSERVE?” Love that little Ssh to Violet.

Puck, I’m afraid you’re going to have to take a bite of it in order to finish this report.

Happy Caturday, orbsters and orbabies!! The mice are so cute, camouflaging themselves against Elvis and Beatrix. I am looking forward to my corned beef, mashed potatoes and brussels sprouts tomorrow (Paul hates cabbage, but loves sprouts. Go figure). Yum Yum will probably take a sniff and stomp off in a snit.

Dead socks, cooked for eight hours in my slow-cooker.

What a heavenly stench!

Lamb or bacon is the traditional St. Patrick’s day food in Ireland. Corned beef became the substitute when Irish immigrants who’d fled the potato famine ended up living next to Jewish delicatessens in New York.

So, we have an Irish blessing coming?

The cup lives

Yes, Dead socks..indeed… hubby knows I love him because I make him a Reuben a couple times a month.

Dead socks? Are there live socks?

The “dead socks” smell is obviously from the cabbage because corned beef itself smells fantastic.

Enough of the corned beef for the week. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s St. Catty’s Day celebration.

Off Topic:

Lilly has spent enough time in her shelter to leave cat hair. Well, either her or Doppelgänger (a grey tabby that looks just like Idiot did that hangs around the house occasionally but won’t let anyone near her). Those two have been having a standoff this morning.

I was at a loss for what to do about a shelter as I wanted something waterproof but most doghouses were way too big and expensive. In the end I used a 35 lb. size Tidy Cats litter bucket that was scrubbed out and had the handle removed. I insulated it by putting it in a cardboard box, a 10″×10″×10″ one that my son’s medical supplies comes in. The bucket fits perfectly with the top flaps up. Then I covered the whole thing with duct tape, turned it on its side, and used the remains of one of those thick corrugated scratchers as additional insulation on the bottom and the end of the scratcher makes a small porch. The lid of the bucket is hinged so it makes a dandy door. I put one of my old t-shirts inside so it would smell like me so she could be more comfortable. It’s small enough that she can feel safe and enclosed, and dare I say… impossibly tiny.

Saw this when it ran originally. Puck’s “dead socks” comment always just cracks me up! I love it!

Beatrix is sharpening her hunting skills. Horseradish is the Ashkenazi condiment except on sandwiches when it’s mustard.

OT: Diego

With its high salt content and spices, it’s not meant for kitty stomachs or palates. But, some humans, even those of us who shouldn’t have salt, find it delicious with mustard, by itself, or on sandwiches. Mmmm, Rubens!

Something is wrong with Sweetheart. I’m taking her to the Vet. this morning.

I got home from my first client and found her struggling on the bed to get up. She had urinated all over herself. When i fondly got her up and off of the bed, she fell down a couple of times, and when she did get up she was very shaky.

Panting had and licking at her back feet a lot.

I’m frightened and confused.

OK – off reference here – But the Corned Beef dish looks a LOT like ‘Floory’, a character from PeeWee’s Playhouse…

I have never gotten the “Irish Blessing” thing.

Corned beef is a salt-cured beef product. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called “corns” of salt. It is featured as an ingredient in many cuisines.

Most recipes include nitrates or nitrites, which convert the natural myoglobin in beef to nitrosomyoglobin, giving a pink color. Nitrates and nitrites reduce the risk of dangerous botulism during curing by inhibiting the growth of Clostridium botulinum spores, but have been shown to be linked to increased cancer risk. Beef cured with salt only has a gray color and is sometimes called “New England corned beef.” Sometimes, sugar and spices are also added to corned beef recipes.

Irish or not, I agree wholeheartedly with the Boys. I cannot eat corned beef. I cannot even be in the house when my mother cooks it. Yuck. Even my beloved mustard cannot drown out the taste enough for me to gag it down. Is someone going to try to take away my Irish card? Oh yeah I don’t drink either. I am really bad at being Irish.

Slice that sucker up into a Ruben.

I love that she’s made friends with the robber mice already!

Corned beef is a salt-cured beef product. So yes, it is beef. “Corned” mean cured in salt water.

What is Elvis holding that the mouse seems to want?

It’s nice to see the dead socks, getting such a nice funeral!

Ah all the hate being expressed for poor corned beef. The stuff in cans, yes, WAY too salty. The points and flats of corned beef you get in the store, rather flat tasting and chewy. I like to make my own. Trim out a good brisket to get most of the fat off. Put in a 2 1/2 gallon ziplock bag. Add as much pickling brine as will fit. Zip closed. Put in a baking pan in the fridge turning over every couple days for about a week. FAR better than anything you’ll find in a store. After it’s cured, rub with crushed black pepper and smoke it, great pastrami.

Its my sister’s birthday! On March The 16th

Hey, Beatrix has a mouse on her head!

So whose is the line about mustard: Bea’s or the mouse’s?