Mary Grace the Christmas cat (2025)

02/06/2024

A big “thank mew” to everypawdy who responded to my request last week for recipe suggestions. Some great ideas & they will all find their way onto the menu in the coming weeks. The most popular suggestion was for spaghetti bolognaise & that will be appearing in the coming days. Minced beef & tomato sauce are favourites of both the humans & all us kitties here – they're super nummy.

I do my very best to ensure that whenever possible the food I serve up is something that will be enjoyed by humans & kitties alike. This meant that on Friday my brofurs & sisfurs had not just their usual wet kitty nums but they all got, as well, a bowl of mixed cooked meats – gammon, pork & steak. Needless to say I was their favourite sisfur! Now I have a big decision for today – shall I fire up the BBQ or shall I prepare a traditional Sunday roast dinner with chicken?

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

26/05/2024

Thank goodness – as I wrote last week – that I had been so busy in the kitchen preparing lots of meals as this week we have had lots of rain. No firing up the BBQ & sitting on the catio in the sun. All that planning paid off. Now I’m back to square one & need to come up with some new recipes as well as the tried & tested favourites. The humans – especially the Mummy – will eat most things so your mealtime suggestions will be greatly welcomed. I can turn my hands (paws?!!) to most things culinary so over to you, my friends. Surprise me. I will have my sous chef Kaz ( & Dave) on standby. He’s ever so helpful just so long as he gets to taste whatever it is he is preparing. He says that all the great chefs say the key to good food is to “taste, taste, taste” & that is hard to argue against. Now pass me my apron....

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

19/05/2024

What a busy day I had yesterday in the kitchen. With good weather on the horizon I did lots of preparation & had pre-planned the menu for the week ahead. Amongst the dishes are Indian butter chicken, Thai green chicken curry, lamb bhuna, chicken breast with a lime & mango marinade, pork steaks with a maple syrup glaze & some super nummy beef steaks with a Jack Daniels BBQ sauce. Lots there to keep the humans happy & all my brofurs & sisfurs will be well fed as well. The Mummy says I must not forget that lots of salads are needed as well but this is something I can delegate to my sous chef, Kaz ( & Dave). Right, time for a rest after all this work. I shall curl up until its time to fire up the BBQ. A chef’s job is never done!

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

13/05/2024

My quest to add an increasing variety to the food menu here continues. On Caturday night I prepared chicken breast marinaded in lemon, garlic & mixed herbs & served with garlic infused rice, a garlic baguette & a simple side salad. Definitely lots of garlic – no vampires here! MOL. No comments – good or bad - so far from the humans. Also on this week’s menu were Aberdeen Angus beef burgers with lots of additions (two different sauces, lettuce, tomato, onion etc.) which, even if I say so myself, were far better than a Big Mac or a Whopper. I also tested a pork with Cantonese sauce which was very much like a black bean & red pepper sauce but without the red peppers - & without the black beans! Oh well, I know what I mean. I added baby corn & spring onions.

Brofur & sisfur Alfie & Maggie May had their twelfth birthdays on Friday so I also had to cater for the event with kitty treats very much on the menu. Time now to get the leg of lamb in the oven. It has been marinading overnight in garlic & rosemary. You can’t beat a traditional Sunday roast. Don’t just take my word for it – ask any of the kitties here & they will tell you how much they love to share the same food as our humans!

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

05/05/2024

I tried a new recipe on my humans last night – szechuan fried rice with chicken breast, red & green peppers, red chillies, baby corn & spring onions. As any good chef knows, the secret to any dish is to regularly taste it. I did so & even with spices & garlic in it I thought it was a little bland so I added some ginger paste. Oops, too much. It was a good job the Mummy had a glass of water next to her on the table. Back to the drawing board I think! The rest of the week was taken up with tried & tested meals such as rump steak, Indian buttered chicken & Thai red curry with chicken. As the Daddy was at a conference in London on Tuesday (the Mummy’s birthday but she allowed him to go!) I got to cook her a special dish. She was served spinach & ricotta cannelloni with a side salad accompanied by a bottle of chardonnay. She praised me, saying it was super nummy. A traditional Sunday roast for today, I think, but pork loin or leg of lamb? Decisions, decisions.....

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

28/04/2024

I served up a new recipe for my humans last night – schwarma marinaded chicken thighs served with garlic infused rice & a side salad. It was very well received so may appear again quite soon. My other recent addition to the menu – Indian buttered chicken – put in another appearance this week but I had slightly tweaked the recipe to make it even nummier. Other meals this week included sirloin steak (with all the usual accompaniments) & the usual Friday night pizzas. Today the Daddy is taking the Mummy out as it is her birthday on Tuesday (he will be at a conference in London – the Mummy gave her purrmission for him to go! MOL!) so I intend to make the most of this rare night off from my kitchen.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

21/04/2024

I had a busy day in the kitchen yesterday. It was curry day! I made an Indian butter chicken as my previous, first attempt at this new recipe proved to be so popular as well as both red & green Thai chicken curries. I was ably assisted (or should that be “hindered”?) by my brofur Kaz ( & Dave). I know he really only hangs around for whatever nums I might give him but at this rate I may well decide to appoint him as my sous chef. What do you think?

Other meals during the week were not amongst my most exciting – chicken kievs, savoury mince with Yorkshire pudding, chicken fajitas, a salmon & prawn salad, chicken burritos & pizzas – but they were all apparently enjoyed by my humans which is what matters. I’m really undecided about what to cook today for Sunday lunch – a traditional roast or something a little different? With the Mummy’s birthday coming up on the 30th. & the humans’ wedding anniversary the following day I had better start to give some thought to special menus for them. Time to once again showcase my kitchen skills! MOL.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

14/04/2024

The steak dinner last Caturday for the Daddy’s birthday & the roast chicken for Sunday lunch meant I was extremely popular with humans & kitties alike. Yes, there was most definitely enough food to feed everypawdy. My brofurs & sisfurs were most confused yesterday. You see, they thought I had invited a new kitty – Sue – to join us for dinner & that I was serving curry. No, silly kitties, I was busy cooking a traditional Japanese dish of chicken katsu curry. The Mummy banned the kitties from cleaning the plates & bowls afterwards – a risk of resultant runny poo! - although Kaz ( & Dave) & myself were the exceptions. We have amazing constitutions, rarely does anything upset our tummies. I don’t think we’ll be having a traditional roast today, I fancy being creative. Purrhaps hot & spicy prawns, purrrhaps chicken enchiladas – or, then again, purrhaps chicken kievs. Hmmm, decisions, decisions, decisions. Its never easy being a Michelin starred chef as you always have to be on top of your game. MOL.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

07/04/2024

I served up a new recipe this week & it won the approval of both my humans. It was Indian buttered chicken. Just lightly spiced, I served it with pilau rice & a garlic & coriander naan bread. Last night – to celebrate the Daddy’s birthday – I prepared two big steaks for the humans with all the usual trimmings. There was enough steak remaining for it to be shared with all the kitties here so I was everypawdy’s favourite chef by bedtime.

Time for a few more different dishes I think. Salmon in a sweet chilli sauce with new potatoes & a green salad sounds good to me. Certainly the lamb tagine went down well during the week. There again so did the grilled sausages with baked beans & potato wedges – from one extreme to the other!

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

31/03/2024

Happy Easter! Whilst none of us kitties are allowed chocolate eggs (for obvious reasons) our humans always ensure we have Easter treats to keep us happy & to share in the Easter Day celebrations. My contribution is to prepare a traditional roast leg of lamb for Easter Sunday dinner. I have marinaded it overnight in garlic & rosemary & will serve it with accompaniments of baby new potatoes, petit pois, chantennay carrots & green beans with mint sauce & a gravy made from the meat juices. A starter of smoked salmon & prawns should also prove popular with both humans & kitties. On Good Friday I had a break from the kitchen as the Daddy went out to collect ready cooked fish & chips – a rare treat - & he ordered extra haddock so that all of us kitties got to join in the meal.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

24/03/2024

An interesting week in the kitchen with fish pie, pizza, individual beef & stilton pies & chicken tikka masala all being served up, each dish including appropriate vegetables & side dishes. I got to have a day off on Thursday as the Mummy had a hospital appointment so she & the Daddy went out to eat. Hard to believe that Easter will be here next weekend & I am already busy planning my menus. Today (Sunday) we are having french-cut bavette steaks served simply with extra thin fries, petit pois & garlic butter. Monday we shall have fish pie (as it was so popular last week!), then pork steaks with a honey & mustard sauce, individual minced beef & onion pies on Wednesday & another day off on Thursday as the Mummy is once again at the hospital. I think I might get to really enjoy having Thursdays off! Good Friday means a fish dish – purrhaps salmon? - with rump steak on Saturday. Then, for Easter Day, a traditional Sunday roast leg of lamb with all the usual trimmings. The more I forward plan, the easier it is to cater for everyone & I’m sure amongst all these dishes there will be plenty to share with all my brofurs & sisfurs. They will be queueing up!

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

17/03/2024

Hello again, Chef Gracie here taking a break from my food preparation in the kitchen. The steaks I served up last week for Mothering Sunday were so big – almost half a moo cow each! - that I had to cut them in half so instead of a Sunday roast I shall again grill some steak with all the usual trimmings as they were well received last week. Last night the humans ate up the remains of a couple of my previous Indian curries – a lamb rogan josh & a chicken tikka masala. Friday was the usual pizza night. Again, I’ve managed to have a relatively easy week. This has meant having some unexpected time to myself so, with some better weather, I have been able to spend time outdoors. I have not neglected the kitchen, however, & have prepared a nummy fish pie for later in the week. I had to get very growly with several of my kitty brofurs & sisfurs who, as soon as they realised what I was cooking, laid siege to the kitchen. They always get to sample my food & never go without so the fuss was really not necessary. All good chefs are known to have a bit of a temper so they really should know better & keep out of my way.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

10/03/2024

Happy Mothering Sunday to Mummies everywhere but especially to my human Mummy here. When we were in the kitchen yesterday she gave me extra hugs & cuddles – just because she could! Now isn’t that what being a Mummy is all about? I have got some really special steak from the butchers to serve to her for dinner today. How else would I celebrate today for her? Chef Gracie knows what to do & I shall serve it cooked medium (rare for the Daddy &, yes, he’s included) with chunky triple cooked fries, grilled tomato & mushrooms, petit pois, onion rings & sides of coleslaw & a green salad. Simple but classy. Hmm – is that me or the meal? Probably both. MOL. As always I’ve had great fun in the kitchen all week serving up a mix of dishes although compared to some weeks the fayre has been fairly plain such as chicken fajitas, Thai king prawn red curry, Aberdeen Angus burgers, meatballs & pasta plus the usual Friday night pizzas. Purrhaps I shall make next week’s food a little more exciting.

Sending all my love & purrs, Gracie ###

Mary Grace the Christmas cat