Happy Pumpkin Water Wednesday!

Happy Pumpkin Wednesday friends!  

While I have been away because of my internet problems, Pumpkin has been keeping herself out of trouble by spending the day at her office.

I can't promise that she has been doing as much work as she likes to claim, but she has been keeping notes about her blog ideas.  As you might know, Pumpkin hasn't always had the best track record with water (see tips for extending the life of your laptop #5 for the inside scoop), but she does know that water is an essential element in her diet and life.

The amount of water cats drink every day obviously varies, but a cat eating wet food may drink less water than those eating dry nuggets.  Wet food may contain up to 80% water, while dry food only provides 7-12% water.  Particularly if your pet is eating dry food, make sure they have access to enough water to keep them hydrated.

Step 1: Find Water Bowl

Step 2 and 3: Dip paw into bowl and drink water off paw

The amount that humans need to consume depends on lifestyle, body type, and daily activities.  You might be familiar with the old adage of eight, eight ounce glasses a day rule.  However, more recent research suggests that women need to drink about 9 glasses a day, and men closer to 12 or 13 glasses.

I think humans sometimes count beer as their water consumption

If you're hesitant to drink the water that comes out of your faucet, consider that most bottled water is missing fluoride.  Fluoride was added to drinking water en masse in the 1940's.  Studies in the last fifty years have shown that drinking fluorinated water reduces the risk of cavities.  Most bottled water does not have fluoride, so if you're trying to prevent cavities and keep those teeth razor sharp, try to get some tap water into your life.

Yikes! Sharp teeth!

Stay hydrated and stay well this week!

Looking forward to a wonderful Thursday!

Back to Blogging on Miscellaneous Monday

Hello friends, and welcome back to Everyday Domestic Diversions.  I certainly have been diverted in recent months and not spending as much time as I should sharing recipes, helpful house tips, and of course, pictures of Pumpkin.

While I know don't want to hear my excuses, I feel my some of the reasons for my absence are worth sharing on this Miscellaneous Monday.

Excuse/Reason #1 for Blog Hiatus: No Internet!

You know that you are too dependent on technology when a month of internet outage causes you serious distress.  Case in point: when the internet in my apartment stopped in early February.  At first I thought the menacing red light on my modem might go away on its own if I restarted the modem and my computer enough times.  However, after a week of reading and typing emails on my smartphone, it was obvious I would have to prepare myself for the dreaded customer service call in center.

Hello, Customer Service...Help!

What happened over the next three weeks can only be described as insanely frustrating.  One to three nights per week I would ring the customer service/technical support service for help.  I found kind people at the other end of the phone, but they lacked something very important, the ability to solve my problem.

I'm a solutions girl, and I knew that there was no sense getting angry with the person at technical support. I waited patiently through the phone tree, and would sit while they tested my modem and asked me if I had tried restarting my computer...

A new modem and one failed service appointment later I was still without internet.  As a last resort I called in to the customer service center right when I got home for work and unknowingly uttered the magic words: "I just need this internet to be fixed or I will have to cancel my service."

Bam! I had a customer service appointment scheduled and a wonderfully knowledgeable technician came out to my house.  He fixed the telephone jack (I have DSL), fixed the box on the outside of the house, and even fixed the connection at the end of the street.  Customer service at it's finest!

My takeaways from this experience are:

1) Try to call the customer service center between 9 AM and 6PM.  Although many companies have dedicated call centers for after hours problems, they are typically in a different part of the country or world.  You have a better chance at getting a more regional representative by calling during the day.

2) Be nice to the people on the other end of the phone line!  I really tried to relay that I just needed a solution and was not angry at them.  Even if it didn't help me in a tangible way, I feel better knowing that I never yelled, and last,

3) When in doubt, tell the appropriate customer service agent that you are thinking about canceling their service.  Particularly if you are a long time customer, they might be willing to speed things up to help make it right.

How did my internet break in the first place?  I'm not completely sure, but I have my suspicions...

No, I did not sabotage your internet, I just chewed on this cord!

Now that we're back I wanted to share with you a new recipe I tried this evening.  I've been experimenting with plant proteins and new grains and decided to use the chickpeas I had stashed in my cupboard.

Below is my step by step picture guide (thanks Timmy!) for Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas (from Epicurious!):

First grab your ingredients, you will need:

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 cups low sodium broth (I used chicken, you can use Veggie Broth too)

1 15 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained

1/2 tablespoon curry powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 14 ounce can light coconut milk

1 cup cooked white or brown rice

Prepare your mise en place, i.e. chop up all your veggies:

I had a leftover half an onion and used another 3/4 of the new onion.

Clockwise from the onion, garlic, red bell pepper and jalapeno

I went outside the confines of the recipe and roasted the chickpeas before I put them in the soup.  I added a teaspoon of oil, salt, pepper and paprika and placed in the toaster oven at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.  (If you're looking for another recipe for roasted chickpeas as a snack, check out the Lean Green Bean)

Chickpeas plus oil plus spices

Roasted Chickpeas

Now that you have all your ingredients prepared, get out a pot and put in the canola oil.  Add the onions, peppers and jalapeno and cook until the onion is sweated down, about 5 minutes.

Then, add the garlic, and stirring often, cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Then add in your liquids, the chicken stock, tomatoes,  and chickpeas.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes.

Next add the coconut milk and rice and incorporate until warm.  Then serve with garnish, like cilantro. I diced some scallions very fine because that's the only real green garnish I had.

Has your latest meal been inspired by an item in your pantry?

So good to be back!  Looking forward to a lovely Tuesday!