La Chatte du Cuisine

Mac & cheese from a box is what you might call a humble American institution. A friend of mine once amassed a serious collection of M&C boxes from all over the continent, and perhaps the world, with friends sending him their cardboard finds from their wanderings.

Georgina is the oldest of the six cats in the house at around twelve years old. She spends most of her time on the stovetop and lately a makeshift ramp has been put in place to help her get up to it. She does not like being chased away just because some human has lit the burners.

Tonight GG gave me some pointers on the proper creation of mac & cheese of the higher order. She has a relaxed, folksy way of teaching, sort of like Clemenza showing Michael how to make a good spaghetti sauce --except that she's a girl.

"Start with the de luxe kind that has the bag of gooey cheese," said the old cat, "not the kind where you add milk and butter. It's worth the extra cost, even if it has to be store brand. This time we're using shells instead of elbows --hey, why not? While the pasta cooks, you open cans of albacore tuna (never chunk light, as it's too mushy) and chop it up. Do the same with the onion, celery, and half a jalapeno pepper. Wait until the food is in the bowl before you shake some black pepper on it (it adds a nice touch)."

Being extra hungry, I made a double batch --you only live once.