What’s The Matter? Cat Got Your Tongue?

Image credit: George Hodan

I saw a funny drawing the other day that reminded me of an idiom we used to use quite often when I was growing up. The saying ‘Cat got your tongue?’ is shorted from the question ‘Has the cat got your tongue?’ The meaning behind the saying is directed at anyone who seems to be at a loss for words and is suspiciously unobtrusive when they are expected to speak.

Image credit: deviantart.com

Yet, I’ve often wondered why a cat? Why not a dog, or squirrel or bird? There are no historical derivations that involve an actual cat. So where does this cliche come from? Who knows? Probably from the same place ‘Straight from the horse’s mouth’, ‘A little bird told me’, ‘When pigs fly’ or ‘Like a bat out of hell’ came from!

Sometimes, we often hear individuals who ‘run their mouths’ way too much and can say some off-colored language that makes you want to tell them to ‘Bite your tongue’ in no uncertain terms. Perhaps you could send a cat after them?

An Act of Kindness on National Be An Angel Day

Image Credit: Sabine Sauermaul

Although today we recognize National Be An Angel Day, why not show a random act of kindness to someone frequently? It costs you absolutely nothing to do a good deed or simply to be kind to someone. The beautiful part about being an angel is that you don’t expect anything in return. Oh my gosh, how amazing you feel after you’ve done something kind for someone who never expected it. Go ahead…make someone’s day!

#NationalBeAnAngelDay

Poetry of a Total Solar Eclipse

Image Credit: Piotr Siedlecki

What a historic moment in time and timing. Today, August 21, 2017, Americans will be able to see the first total solar eclipse across the country since 1918. Experiencing a total solar eclipse where you live happens about once in 375 years, according to NASA.

Don’t forget to protect your eyes with special solar eclipse glasses, before viewing this spectacular sight.

Circles of Perfection in an Ecliptic Dance

Suddenly the daytime sky darkens
as the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth
the fiery day star completely obscured
by a silhouette of the lunar celestial body
perfect circles aligned in orbit
a slow dance in the shadows of day
corona brilliantly radiating an angular glow
within moments this three-dimensional dance is over.

©Kym Gordon Moore

Food Porn Friday: Twice-Baked Goat Cheese-Truffle Potatoes

Image credit: mygourmetconnection.com

August is National Goat Cheese Month. Today on Food Porn Friday, we are featuring this deliciously rich, easy to make, Twice Baked Goat Cheese Truffle Potatoes from the kitchen of My Gourmet Connection.

Twice-Baked Goat Cheese-Truffle Potatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Yield: 4 to 6 servings

• Ingredients:
• 4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed
• 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
• 2-1/2 tablespoons white truffle oil (see notes)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cream or half-and-half
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 400°F and arrange the scrubbed potatoes on a baking sheet. Bake for about 1 hour, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Slice each potato in half lengthwise and using a large spoon, gently scrape the cooked potato into a large bowl, leaving about 1/8-inch of flesh in the skin. Place the empty skins back on the baking sheet.

Heat the truffle oil and cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, just until warm, 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the goat cheese and chives. Add the mixture to the potatoes and mash until creamy and well combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mound the potato-cheese mixture into the skins and smooth with the back of a spoon. Return to the oven to warm through and brown lightly on the top, 10 to 12 minutes.

About white truffle oil:
Look for white truffle oil that’s made by infusing top quality extra virgin olive oil with actual pieces of white truffle. Our favorite brand is I Peccati di Ciacco Alba White Truffle Oil, which we buy from Gourmets-Delight.com. This ingredient doesn’t come cheap, so we always reserve it for special occasions.

Gotta Take A Laugh Break

Thank goodness for my fellow writers who continue to write about topics that are positive, honest and many times quite lighthearted. You just don’t know how much it means to read a blog, article, or watch a video that adds a bit of humor to a bunch of dread. 

It seems like we are oversaturated with news that will send you into a tailspin for the rest of your day. Now isn’t that something to look forward to? NOT!

So step away from the myriad of crazy and insane idiosyncrasies that’s been swirling around us lately, like a bad toothache or hemorrhoid. You gotta live a little, laugh a little and enjoy this amazing gift of life a lot! Have an awesome day! That’s right, I said it!

The Enemy Within

Commentaries have flooded the airwaves, the Internet and among general conversations about the recent horrifying racially charged incident that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia over the weekend. The tragic, horrific and senseless tragedies and fatalities that resulted after the escalation this particular gathering brought, sadly and initially fueled by hatred, is a topic that continues to bring new or renewed conversations of such terrorism to the forefront of a common reality once more.

For those of us who are born from any type of ethnic derivation, regardless of where you are from, racism for most of us is not a foreign subject. This deep-seeded pathogen of darkness incubates within the very heart and soul of racial terrorists, and justification for their deeds and actions is imprudent and vile.

Like a wound that cannot produce a scab of healing, or a raging fire fueled by an accelerant of hatred, the mindset of this enemy is not only disturbing and dangerous, but it is a toxicity that cannot be tolerated or empowered. Somehow, such thinking spurs unnecessary and unsubstantiated race rating. There is no superior race.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Genesis 1:27 KJV)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” (excerpt from the Declaration of Independence)

Where Did All of My Forks Go?

Image Credit: Kevin Phillips

Is there a fork burglar out there, swiping innocent forks and interrupting the flow of even dinnerware placement sets? C’mon, I know you can relate because everyone seems to go through their missing fork syndrome, more than we can imagine. I am always baffled when I have to buy more everyday flatware, all because my forks seem to be disappearing without leaving a trace of evidence as to where they went. Yep boys and girls, that is another one of my things that make you go “Hmmm” moments!

The Missing Forks

Oh where oh where have my dinner forks gone
did they run away or hide in some deserted cubby hole
only leaving teaspoons, knives, and tablespoons behind
I need them more, but somehow they disappear faster
vanishing into thin air like a Houdini magic trick
gone, each time I buy a new matching set of flatware
in all of their novelty and sparkle of stainless steel
splashes of dazzling accents on a beautifully set table
and lo, after I check the final count of each utensil
zapped by uneven numbers, where have all my forks gone?

© Kym Gordon Moore