Lolcats, Pet Doors, The Link

see more Lolcats and funny pictures I couldn't resist adding this. Karen Miller (Karen's Musings see link this page) often adds Lolcat pictures to her site and I was looking at some of them on the website and thought this was hilarious. I was talking about the dangers of Doggie Doors the other day, I must admit I hadn't thought of this one. A woman in Maryland came home one day to find she had a visitor on her couch curled up next to her Beagle. What a gorgeous little critter. Have you heard about Ida The Link? She is a 47 million yr. old primate fossil which was discovered in Germany and, incredibly, has opposable thumbs which is something not seen on later specimens. If you would like to read more about her click here to see the GMA article. Another incredible thing is that she has fingernails, not claws. They figure she broke her wrist and was unable to climb trees and that is why she died. Absolutely fascinating. Watched Giada di Laurentiis on TV yesterday, she cooked some good stuff as usual, but one which really appealed to me, was a tomato tart. She made it with Heirloom Tomatoes which she says are the best, like old fashioned tomatoes with a wonderful flavour. Now I am going to be on a hunt to see if anyone in our area grows Heirloom tomatoes. If not, I will use the best I can find, but I will probably season the tomatoes before I use them and if necessary add a sprinkling of sugar to improve the taste. Heirloom Tomato and Basil Tart Crust: 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust (recommended: Pillsbury) Basil Pesto (see below) 2 med (12 ounces) heirloom or 4 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/8-inch thick slices 2 Tbs thinly sliced fresh basil leaves Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling Kosher salt Freshly ground pepper 1 Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the pie crust on an ungreased baking sheet and bake for 7 minutes until lightly golden. Cool for 20 minutes. 2 Using a spatula, spread the pesto over the cooled crust. Arrange the tomato slices on top of the pesto and garnish with the sliced basil. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cut the tart into wedges and serve. Servings: 4 Cooking time: 7 minutes Source: Giada Di Laurentiis Cook's Notes: To toast pine nuts, place on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until lightly browned. For those of you who do not have a basil pesto recipe, here is the one I use, you will see above that Giada tells you how to toast pine nuts, my recipe tells you a different method - either method is perfectly acceptable. Classic Basil Pesto 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided 1/4 cup pine nuts toasted 2 cups fresh basil leaves 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese 1 In a small skillet set over medium-low heat, toss the pine nuts with about 1 tbsp of olive oil, stirring constantly just until they begin to turn golden, about five minutes. Be careful not to let the pine nuts burn. 2 Transfer the toasted pine nuts to the container of a food processor or blender and add the remaining olive oil, basil leaves, garlic and salt. Blend until almost (but not entirely) smooth, scraping down the sides of the container once or twice so that it blends evenly. 3 Add the parmesan cheese and process just to mix. Have a great day.