Well, I am a kind of gladiator myself, or amazon, I guess I should say, as you can clearly see in this vicious, wild pose whilst playing The String Game. But mama and papa actually met some gladiators in the piazza Rotonda in actual METAL SUITS and HELMETS (copies of gladiator garb) and you see below that my ham of a mama just had to have a photo (taken by papa–he wasn’t about to hug one of those tin cans).
They were doing a charity thing for I can remember what and so mama left a couple of euros for their cause. Did you know that Roman soldiers and gladiators, too, did not like meat but instead survived and trained and fought well by eating farro, or spelt, as it is called in English. Papa eats it for breakfast every morning and he is beginning to look like these guys, without the metal suits!
But if you want something that really puts hair on your tummy, it is cassoulet, which mama is making for a dinner party. Being a cook a little bit out of the norm, mama planned this when she was doing those duck legs and put two aside for this dish. It also has sautéed pork cubes, bacon, sausages and beans, which I am sure gladiators could choke down if they had to, haha.
Cassoulet with beans and meat
I slithered around the kitchen hoping for a morsel of duck or pork, which I eventually got but it was exhausting to try to wheedle it out of the chef.
I am told that kitties should eat raw food, but we don’t have raw foods where we are now, and mama says that too many innards aren’t good for the heart. Does anyone have good food advice for kitties? There is SO, SO MUCH out there and so many kinds of food and it’s all very well and good to try out all of these organic, no-grain, no preservative, farm-raised or wild foods, but we simply can’t get them.
Mama has to stick with pretty much what is at the market.
So any advice would be welcome. I love cooked chicken, for example, but need veggies, too. And you’re not going to catch me munching on carrot and celery sticks, no way, no how. My little teeth can’t take it anyway. And mama LOVES Brussels sprouts—uh, oh.
Thank you for help with nutrition info. Mama like to share that kind of thing as so many of you have had so many different kinds of animals in your families and everyone eats different things.
The cassoulet starts with sautéed onion, carrot and garlic, then bite-size pieces of pork shoulder, then a good slosh of white wine, then cubes of good bacon, then the meat taken off of the confit of duck, then slices of sausage sautéed and added and borlotti or any nice bean you like, cooked until tender with a bit of onion, carrot and garlic.
Then a few leaves of fresh thyme (or a pinch of dried) and fresh bread crumbs sprinkled over the top of the casserole, then baked in a very slow oven for 2 hours.
Nums.
The only problem with mama’s dinner with cassoulet is that one couple called up with fever and colds, another needed to babysit her grandchild suddenly and the third couple was fine with putting the whole thing off until after New Year’s because they had eaten too much for Christmas.
So, the dish sits in the freezer, getting better by the minute, mama says.
I’m not sure gladiators would have turned down mama’s dinner party. They didn’t get colds, anyway.
Maybe next time we should plan to serve Farro-let, haha.
Loulou – that photo with ears laid back in Attack-Mode would scare the beejeezus out of those gladiators, even in all that armor. But they’re so handsome, I know you wouldn’t attack – just pretend to so you get their attention. It’s MOI they would have to be afraid of since anything vertical and metal (I might not recognize it as a leg!!) isn’t safe around me. I Know. It’s not red so I wouldn’t mistake it for a fireplug – but in the dark………..?
Oh, you funny bunny. Fireplug, indeed. I’ll remind mama not to wear RED pants around YOU, Mya.
Great photo of your Mam with the gladiators. I have never had duck-can you believe it?
Well, a lot of vegetarians are not keen on it, but in France everyone eats magret de canard, but mama like confit and so she get that from a lady who does it in her house and sells at the open market. It is tender as butter and you eat it with little potatoes sautéed in duck fat. I’m drooling…..sorry.
Well, that’s a shame. Good food sitting in the freezer. We hope your mama and papa get to enjoy it before too long.
Mama says it will mellow.
Loulou, all that sausage, bacon, etc sounds tasty to me.
Kitties are not supposed to “need” veggies,being obligate carnivores, but maybe you could get your Mama to put out a planter of “cat grass.” Then again, maybe you can’t get that where you are either – they sell them all over here, and they are a big hit with many kitties. And of course shipping you anything of the plant nature from the US of A would be unpossible ! Just keep getting your exercise in, as that is always healthy.
Great pictures of the Romans !
Thank you and yes, mama grows cat grass for me and I eat the weeds in the garden because everything is organic. But in an apartment it’s hard to grow anything. We’ll be back soon, though, and I’ll start eating grass again. There are actually carrots and beans in my Purina!
LouLou, we would swear your mommy’s a fotographer. She gets da bestest fotos of you. Of course your beauty is always shinin’ through. Mommy says she will email your mommy some links to raw food recipes fur makin’ your food herself. We eat da Primal chicken and salmon freeze dried raw, and Whole Life freeze dried duck. Mommy just adds water and voila, a meal. They can be purchased on amazon and many other websites. Anyways, mommy will send an email now, so we’ll hush so she can. Big hugs to all.
Luv ya’
Dezi and Raena
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE WEBSITES! Mama is going to try to make me some raw foods to store in the freezer. Can’t WAIT! Num, liver, chicken, gizzards, all those good things.