Thursday, September 30, 2010

Time to Celebrate!

Hef's dad came back from Miami bearing very good news! Hef's dad will begin training to be a Systems Analyst. To celebrate we are going on a trip! Anyone have visitor tips for Boston? How about Providence, Rhode Island? Hef's dad and I will be driving (ACK! That's 7 1/2 hours!) in a rental car. We are not sure where we are staying yet, or if we will only go to Boston, or maybe providence too! I will keep you posted

Congrats Hef's Dad!
Hef says "This is what they got in Boston right? I'll stay home!"

Monday, September 27, 2010

The buzz of the bunny blogs!

This is my apple pie! I used a store bought refridgerated crust, because I so don't make dough, it never works out for me and I didn't want to waste my apples.
So I made a filling of all our apples diced up, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon juice, sugar, and probably some other stuff. I made it Friday so my memory is fuzzy!
It was absolutely delicious with some nice french vanilla ice cream!

Friday, September 24, 2010

Classic Bunny Lounge day 5

Our 5th and final day of classic bunny lounge for now! Hef's dad comes home tonight! Today's pictures are actually new to the blog and are about a week old, I forgot all about them!
America's Test Kitchen Chili! I like mine topped with sour cream and cheese, Hef's dad likes his hot hot hot!

 These apples are from our tree in the backyard! Tonight they become a pie!
 And this is Hef! You know him don't you? He was jailed due to "Excessive Shedding" but he's been done shedding for about three days now. Keep Hef's dad in your thoughts tonight he's flying home, due to land at 11:45pm !

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Classic Bunny Lounge Day 4

Ahh what a day! I woke up to a thunderstorm at 6:30am, I thought it was the middle of the night but when I got close enough to the clock to see what time it was I found out, 6:30 am. Then work, then to my Gram's house. We went to dinner at Olive Garden, Chicken, Gnochi soup yum!
I just spoke to Hef's dad, he is on the street where they filmed the chainsaw scene in Scarface! Very Cool! We love Scarface. I told him to take pictures for me to share with everybun!
Our good friend BL (Bunny Lady) from A Houseful of Rabbits, has been asking us about Absinthe, because we very much like it here at The Bunny Lounge. Ok, well... I like it, Hef's dad hates it and the furries don't drink, but BL asked about and then in searching for a classic pic I found this:
Here is what I told BL about it,

Absinthe was banned in America for about 80 years. I wrote a paper about it for school once, focusing on the hysteria of banning it! The traditional reason for banning was a man in France, I belive, went to work came home and drank a couple glasses of Absinthe and killed his family. What that leaves out is he had a bunch of other drinks through out the day and was a regular drunk, but Absinthe got blamed. It used to be very popular in France, and the Czech Republic, mostly among artists, writes, poets, etc. The rumor is that Grande Wormwood a main ingredient in Absinthe (kinda like potaotes in vodka or juniper in gin) is supposed to cause hallucinations. Now I've gone through two bottles in the past and have a third in the liquor cabinet (see above photo), no hallucinations. My theory is when some people drink liquor that is 74% alcohol they get drunk and see stuff anyhow. I happen to like Absinthe as a beverage on occasion, it has an anise flavor. I have never cooked with it but would try it. I drink it in the traditonal way, using a slotted spoon, water and a sugar cube.
I forgot to mention the coolest things about Absinthe, when prepared traditonally with water and sugar, Absinthe does something called louching. Absinsthe starts out as a clear green liquid, but then as the water is added it turns a milky opaque green, very neat to watch. Only real absinthe will do it, I've had the fake stuff, it doesn't louche. If you want to check it out there are videos on youtube. Or try it yourself, now that absinthe has been legal again for a while there are a lot of brands out there, I got the above bottle for only $25, before I've payed 60 in canada and a friend payed 60 for a bottle as a gift to me. Give it a shot!

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Classic Bunny Lounge Day 3

Today for some reason, its nice outside. According to my computer weather tool it is 81 degrees out, so I did what any sensable pet mom would, I took Shadow the dog outside for a bath. Fortunately I have a picture of post bath wet dog Shadow in the archives. Shadow uses a special Black Fur shampoo for color enhancement.
Also in the archives I found this picture. Shadow's eat a pegetable carrot, too darn cute! Shadow likes real carrots too, she crunches little baby carrots.
I wish I had my camera to take a picture but last night I made Hot Caramel Apple Cider. It was a powder mix by Mott's that was marked down to 39 cents at my grocery store. I put whip cream on it because I really like Starbuck's Hot Caramel Apple Cider, which did you know, they make with apple juice, I've seen them do it! The powder mix was not as good but certainly close enough for 39 cents. If you see it in your grocery store, get it! And add whip cream on top!

Monday, September 20, 2010

Classic Bunny Lounge Day 2

Hef says "We've only been blogging since 2008 and we are already in reruns? What happened to the new fall season?" In case you missed it, Hef's dad is on a trip with my camera, and thats what happened to the new fall season. Today was a very fall day, tomorrow its supposed to be 80, but today it was 65 and a little breezy, it just had that fall feeling. So here's a classic from last years fall scene on our porch!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Classic Bunny Lounge!

So Hef's dad is away in Miami on a business trip, gone until friday night, and he took my pretty pink camera with him, tee hee. Silly me I forgot to upload birthday photos. Since I don't have my camera I'll have to dig into the archives and share some of my favorites!
Look at Baby Hef! This was days after he was adopted. Look at his long white stripe!

Then it got smaller pretty quick!
And if you can tell here in this photo from a few days ago, its almost gone! Weird huh?

Friday, September 17, 2010

Early Presents!

The best thing about birthdays is of course CAKE! Other then that my favorite part is presents that come early in the mail! In case you didn't know my birthday is Saturday! Lucky me I got one from Shell May of The Raspberry Rabbits! As Shell would say, happy bunny dance! I LOVE LOVE LOVE MY PRESENTS!!! Look at that bun, he's a chef! I don't know if you can tell but he has carrots sticking out of his apron pocket, too funny! AND LOOK at those yummy dips, lemon dill, roasted garlic, and cheddar onion! Gotta get some veggies and mix them up!
Also my dad sent me a J.A. Henckls Santoku knife! It's lovely, 7inches long. I used it right away to cut veggies for soup! (I'll post the soup soon cause it was yummy!)
(Ignore the medicine dropper, that was in case Hef got sicker!)
In the spirit of early gifts, Hef's dad gave me one too! It's an adorable microfiber storage ottoman, perfect for Hef's room. Hef's dad said after Hef's scare he wanted to get something nice for his room.

"I don't think it's for storing bunnies Hef!" And of course two seconds after I got my photos Hef hopped out and went back to his cage!

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hef blogs again!



Ok, goodness, Mama wants me to blog today, and it's a little embrassing! It all started Friday morningwhen Mama came into my room for my morning treat. Usually I am like I am below. I get all excited to see Mama and get my treat! But on Friday I was hiding and not taking my treat. Mama thought I might be sad about poor Baxter and went to work. When Mama came home I ate my treat so Mama figured I was fine. Yesterday morning Mama realized there were a lot more pellets in my bowl then usual, and a lot less "doots" elsewhere. (Oh Mama! What an embrassing thing!) So Mama came to work and wrote BL, because Mama knew she's a bun expert and would help us out! BL told Mama to get a pineapple and juice it. Mama and Daddy went and got one after work. When Mama came up to give me the pineapple she was so happy because I had a big "doot" in my potty. Mama actually gave me an itty bitty slice of pineapple anyhow and she took me in the bathroom and PULLED, yes pulled! clumps off fur off my buns until I had no more extra furs!


So take a look Mama, and everybun! Here is my picked over buns, my new "doots" and my much emptier food dish!

This is so embrassing, now I know how Kate Couric feels! Bye everyone!



Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Today we remembered!

"Oh good! We remembered! Uh... what'd remember Mama?" We remembered to write up the frittata recipe! "Oh? Well I don't eat frittatas..."
Anyway, I did remember to write down the frittata recipe. I got the idea from Shape magazine but if I served Hef's dad low fat cheese and egg whites only, I'd be out the door! Here's the recipe:
Veggie & Cheese Frittata


Serves 4

Prep 15 minutes

Total 25 minutes

3 teaspoons olive oil divided

1 cup diced tomatoes
I used homegrown, from our garden...


1 clove garlic minced/crushed

1 can spinach

6 eggs

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

S&P

Plave oven rack abou 6 inches from the broiler.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a oven safe skillet over medium. Add diced tomatoes and garlic. Saute for 4 minutes. Add spinach and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Stir in spinach mixture and cheese. Season with S&P to taste.

Heat oven to 375 degreesF.

Heat the remaing two teaspoons oil in the same pan. Add egg mixture, reduce heat to low, and shake pan to spread out ingredients. Place pan in the oven, bake for ten minutes until mixture is set.


Turn on broiler, continue to cook until browned, remove, and slice to serve.

It was yummy and Hef's dad said to make it again soon, so somebody better make it!

Monday, September 13, 2010

Darn it!

Darn it! We were going to blog about a frittata we made but left the recipe at home! We'll go get it and talk to you soon!

Friday, September 10, 2010

With a heavy heart

It's a sad day around the bunny blog world. Baxter of A Houseful of Rabbits has gone to the big grass field in the sky. My heart aches for the two sweet people and the sweet buns suffering this loss.
So I'm reposting an old photo of Hef. I've probably posted it a few times now. Hef's just relaxing on my leg on the bed, I was going to post a funny picture to boost the mood, but I think we'll just take it easy today.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHADOW!!

Now I don't know this for sure, but the paperwork from the Erie County SPCA says that Shadow the Dog was born on 9/9/2004. That's today! Ms. Shadow is 6 years old!
Hef's dad keeps say Shadow is old!
"Hmph, birthdays!"
However I know 6 is young in dog years! And we've got a lot of treats and good stuff in store for Shadow the Dog today. I know some of you guys have dogs too, give them an extra treat to celebrate!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Gotcha day!

Ok so Hef's gotcha day was really the 6th, Monday, but I was sick and worked 8-4. Also on Tuesday I was very eger to post about BL's mac and cheese. BL has sent me two more recipes, so stay tuned! Hef is shedding right now so he didn't want me to take a lot of photos. Hef loves these little crossiant treats, they sell them at Petsmart and Wal-Mart.
They make the cutest crunching sound when Hef eats them, munch munch munch.
I also gave Hef a big paper towel roll with some paper towel still attached. What fun! Hef loves to fling objects around his cage. He flung this tube under the shelf in his cage, what a surprise he had when it bounced off the ceiling!
Thanks to Hef for three amazing years, I've learned a lot living with an adorable bunny!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Famous Bunny Lady's Macaroni & Cheese & Tomatoes!

I happen to be lucky enough to recieve a recipe from "Dinner with Dorothy" from the author herself, Bunny Lady! A Houseful of Rabbits is a special blog to me, it's the first bunny blog I read and made me want to start mine. Over the years I've been lucky enough to become friends with both RG and BL. Recently I went on a tangent about my love for mac&cheese, so BL was kind enough to send me her recipe, and don't worry, she said I could share it with all of you!
First off when I brought home my box of macaroni, I found this recipe on the back disturbing!
Can you read it? I think they want the "cook" to tear cheese slices into strips and use that for mac and cheese, ridiculous! Yuck! Let's stick to BL's recipe! Let me say right off the bat I left out the cayenne pepper that the recipe called for. I don't do heat, not even going to risk it! I ruined a beer cheese soup that way! Here is BL's recipe (my comments in red):
Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes


1 lb Barilla elbow macaroni
1 28-oz can petite diced tomatoes
6 TBS butter (BUTTER! YAY!)
½ cup flour
¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or crushed red pepper flakes) (Like I said, did not use, heat wimp)
4 cups half-and-half (Thats 1 quart, heavy cream, butter, very julia!)
1 cup chicken broth
4 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese or
1 cup sharp cheddar and 1 cup Pepper Jack cheese
Here is what all that cheese looks like. I said to Hef's dad, thats a lot of cheese, and he said "That whole bowl is full of cheese?!" YUP! YUM!


Set oven rack to middle position and pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
This is a personal pet peeve of mine and I know every recipe starts off, pre-heat to... it but I gotta say at the begining of a recipe is not always the time to turn the oven on. I just think its a waste to have a oven sit at 400 for 45 minutes or so until I am ready for the oven. My oven only take about 10 minutes to heat up to 400 so I put it off until later, I'll tell you when.
Cook macaroni in salted water until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain pasta and return to pot. Pour diced tomatoes with their juices over pasta and stir to coat. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming. This smells delicious! It made me think of lobster and drawn butter!
Stir in flour and cayenne and cook until golden, about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in half-and-half and broth until smooth. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Near the end of this 15 minutes is where I turned my oven on.
 Off heat, whisk in cheeses, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper until cheeses melt. Pour sauce over macaroni and stir to combine.
Scrap mixture into 13 x 9 inch baking dish set in rimmed baking sheet and bake until top begins to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Time, start to serving: 1 hour, plus time to get macaroni water to boil.

Look at that bubbly cheesey tomato action! It was delicious! Of course this is a big pan for Hef's Dad and I so I took half of it and froze it right away. I also think you could add some canned spinach or some wilted spinach into this and it would yummy too! In case you didn't notice we didn't blog for a few days, because I was sick with a cold, this really hit the spot during our little snap of cold weather and sickness. Definetly an A+ recipe, with hints of Julia Child to it, but BL has you making a roux and doesn't even tell you just sneaks it and and before you know it you've done it. I know Mastering the Art of French Cooking has a Sauce Mornay which is a cheese sauce but have never made it, but my guess is BL took her cue from there as it just gave me that feel of Julia, and french cooking. Go make it tonight, its yummy!