Taipei // Stray Cats Cafe

I love cats. and I especially love kittens. leaving our two cats behind when we moved abroad was one of the hardest parts of becoming an expat. so when my brother came to Taiwan and said he wanted to visit a cat cafe - a place where you can sit and play with kittens for as long as you like - I was all in.

the concept of cats and coffee might seems a little strange, even more so the concept of cats and eating. but cat cafes are a big deal in Asia, where many people don't have pets. you can come to the cafe and play with animals, sip a latte, read a book, and just hang out.

we selected the Stray Cats Cafe in Taipei to visit, since I had found a blog post recommending it and stating that most of their cats were still kittens. this cafe is also great because all their kittens are up for adoption! they take in strays and then help to find them homes. a few of the cats are older, and act as mothers for the little ones.

we arrived to find a crowd of children chasing around playing with the kittens. there are plenty of cat towers and feathery wands and toys to keep them occupied, and they are all very friendly with the cafe visitors. soon the kittens were tired out and realized they could come hide sleep on/near our table. we didn't mind.

I pretty much didn't want to leave... ever. but dumplings were calling my name, and we had other things to see in Taipei. a cat cafe was the perfect place to sit [in air conditioning] and have a drink while enjoying some serious adorableness. I'm planning to head back soon to get my kitten fix!

linking up with Bonnie, Camila, Jessi, and Amy for Travel Tuesday.

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cats + creatures of Bali

if you've been reading for the past year or so, you know that I've posted three installations of "the cats of Thailand." Bali, it seems, does not have as many cats as they do monkeys running around. but there were still enough kittens and other creatures that I felt it necessary to write this post.

this little one was perhaps the most cooperative in having his picture taken. he had a friend which refused to come out of the bright light and let me focus on him. they were hanging out near the entrance to the water temple [which I'll show you later] which leads me to believe that yes, Bali does have temple cats.

further evidence. we didn't see any cats at Tanah Lot, but it was so crowded I assume they would be in hiding until night. there were also a few cats who frequented the small shrine and our hotel grounds, but they proved to be elusive [and only came out when I didn't have one of my three cameras on hand]

this bird was hanging out at the place where we had our mongoose poop coffee tasting. he was trained to sing and repeat phrases, which was neat but also kindof freaky. I've never really been a bird person.

which may be why this rooster freaked me out. he was chained up outside one of the small shops we walked past on our way to Mexican food. I was completely terrified he would fly at me and pluck my eyes out, but he didn't. luckily my eyes were safe behind the camera.

ok. I have the heebie jeebies just looking at this picture.

obviously when you travel to a tropical climate there will be bugs. I must be extra sweet because bugs tend to like me, as in like to bite me. I spent a few very itchy days after being chomped by ants. let's move on to something more cuddly because I'm getting itchy just thinking about it...

this poor cat - I followed him to take his picture and thought I lucked out when he just sat down. then Husband and our friends were laughing at me [I couldn't figure out why, maybe because I take so many cat pictures?] but no, they were cracking up because as I was taking its picture the cat was pooping. sorry to invade your privacy, cat.



and I leave you with this fluffy bunny that was also hopping round the coffee tasting place. I'm partial to kittens, but he was pretty darn cute.

no animals were harmed in the making of this post.

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toaster oven recipes// baked spinach artichoke dip

welcome to the first installation [of what I hope will be many] of: toaster oven recipes.

many of you know that in a previous life I was an avid baker, and even had a blog full of sweets + recipes. then a few things hapened: I became gluten intolerant and I moved to Taiwan, without all my kitchen gadgets.

so what is a toaster oven recipe? these recipes will include things that I bake - yes - in my toaster oven. but also things you can make with a simply equipped kitchen. the tools I have at my disposal will be all that are needed. namely: gas burners, a microwave, a crock pot, and of course the toaster oven. no fancy gadgets and no rare ingredients.

most of the measurements won't be precise. I do own a measuring cup, but not measuring spoons. I use literal teaspoons and tablespoons. if something is too dry, I add more liquid. if I'm short an egg, I improvise. one time I made pie crust using a cheese grater to cut the butter and a wine bottle as a rolling pin. [100% serious] this may not be the best way to communicate a recipe... but this is what life in my expat kitchen is like.

I hope that you will be able to enjoy these recipes in your own home, though they may require some experimentation on your part. but that, my friends, is the true joy of cooking.

ok, let's talk spinach artichoke dip. there are 456,874 other recipes out there on the internet. but once upon a time I had the. best. recipe. given to me as a christmas gift. it was a handwritten copy and if it still exists at all, it's taped inside the cover of one of my cookbooks packed away with the rest of my kitchen back in the states. I could NOT find this recipe online anywhere, so I did my best to recreate it from memory.

8oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup shredded mozzerella
1 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 cup mayonaise
16 oz can artichoke hearts, chopped
12 oz frozen spinach, defrosted
2 cloves fresh garlic
paprika, nutmeg
salt + pepper to taste

let me state loud and clear that this is NOT a healthy version of this recipe. I found plenty that called for greek yogurt or even pureed white beans, but if I'm going to eat spinach dip it's going to be the good [aka the really bad for you] stuff.

start by mixing together your cream cheese, mayo, minced garlic and spices. I never measure spices, but I would guess about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and nutmeg each. you could also use garlic powder if you don't have fresh on hand. then mix in your shredded cheeses.

we actually buy our spinach fresh here and freeze it ourselves... so I'm guessing I used about the same as your standard box of frozen spinach. if you want more spinach, just add more. I like to crunch up the spinach while it's still frozen to break it into smaller pieces. defrost your spinach in the microwave, squeeze it dry between paper towel, and add to the mixture.

chop your artichoke hearts into bits as big or small as you like and add to the mixture as well. canned or marinated in a jar will both work. spread the dip into a glass baking dish. the dip will melt best if it's about 1 inch thick, so use a larger dish or split into two smaller dishes if you need to. you can cover the dip at this point and keep in the fridge overnight, just let it sit at room temp for a while before popping in the oven.

bake the dip at 350F/175C until the cheese is melted and it's nice and bubbly. mine took 20-30 minutes in the toaster oven. if the top starts to get too brown you can cover it with foil for a bit.

I made this dip for our superbowl brunch and even my friend's cat, Blanca, couldn't resist.

[and I couldn't resist sharing this beautiful fuzzball. can you tell I miss my cats? anyway...]

spinach artichoke dip is one of my favorites, and this recipe is full of creamy melty and garlicky goodness. serve the dip with tortilla chips or pita crisps and watch it disappear. leftovers can be reheated in the microwave... if you have any, that is.

enjoy!

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weekly wishes #6

since it's getting all festive up in here and this week's photo theme is animals, I have an excuse to trot this gem out once again. my cat Beaumont, looking grumpy in reindeer antlers circa 2010. because who doesn't love grumpy cat photos, or photos of cats in costume, or really just cat photos in general?

I'm going to keep myself from entering into a I-miss-my-kittens ramble, and instead assure you that Beau is plenty fat + happy living with my parents back in Michigan. [I'm pretty sure my parents are just glad that he hasn't tried to climb the tree this year... yet.] and our other fur baby Rocky is living the country life with my Mother-in-law, busy chasing mice and attacking her sewing projects.

but I said I wasn't going to ramble about cats...

which brings us to to weekly wishes. I crushed all 3 of last week's goals:
1. hang up the new curtains. 3M hooks got the trick done! I swear, I'm not sponsored by them.
2. have an awesome time at the Thanksgiving potluck. so much so, that I didn't take any pictures.
3. start decorating for Christmas. note tiny snowflake tree + mini ornaments above.

and this next week I want to:

1. transfer my life to Husband's old iPhone. a sad thing happened this morning. I dropped my iPhone [which doesn't get service in Taiwan but I still use with wi-fi] and the screen shattered. I've dropped this thing a billion times and for the past year have been living with one small crack. but this morning I was [as usual] trying to carry too many things at once and bam. thankfully Husband will let me use his [also now-defunct] phone so I can still instagram. because let's be honest, I might not survive otherwise.

2. post a new font download. you see the text on my weekly wishes photo? that's the latest font I've been cooking up. I think I've decided on a name, and you can expect a post with the download later this week. it's not strictly a holiday font, but I'm totally envisioning using it on my Christmas cards. and maybe a blog redesign. I'm really excited for this one!

3. have a tree decorating/Christmas movie date. growing up, we always used to put up our tree while watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol. while that is still on my to-watch list I would settle for Love Actually or even Die Hard [totally a Christmas movie] so long as there's a Husband and hot chocolate involved.

happy monday!

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