Ramona the Pest

Anyone who lives with a cat knows that it is very difficult to prevent them from doing exactly what they want to do, especially jumping up on countertops. I know that we should more diligently apply the spray bottle method, but I'm not sure it would work on either Rupu or, especially, Ramona, who is very persistent and curious. Why on earth would she want to investigate a bunch of kale? Who knows? It really doesn't matter, because she's going to do it.

I needed the kale for a vegetable casserole called panade. The recipe was in the New York Times Magazine a few weeks ago. It involved layering sauteed leeks, slices of butternut squash, kale, cauliflower, and stale bread in a Dutch oven, and then baking the whole thing with milk and fontina cheese. I added some nutmeg to the recipe; it seemed to need some additional spice. I thought it was a little too wet, so I will need to make some adjustments next time.

Along with the panade, I made an impromptu mushroom-barley soup. I sauteed some onion, carrot, and celery with a bay leaf and some thyme, and then added about twelve ounces of sliced mushrooms, half cremini and half shitake. After they were cooked, I added 2 cups of beef broth I had frozen, about 3 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, and a third of a cup of barley. The soup made a very satisfying starter.

Along with dinner we drank an Austrian red wine, a 2008 Schiefer Königsberg Blaufränkisch that paired well with the food. It is a fairly light red, but with some nice spiciness that complemented the rustic rood very well.