The Book Tour Stops Here: A Review of "The Secret Language of Cats" by Susanne Schotz, Served with a Recipe for Baked Salmon (with Coconut-Tomato Sauce & Without)

Getting over that middle of the week hump can be hard for both the human when it is a busy work week and the cat, left at home for long days. I don't usually have challenges interpreting the meaning of my Max's many vocalizations--the plaintive mewling when I walk in the door is both chastisement for leaving him and demand for his dinner, but if you wonder what your cat is trying to communicate, the The Secret Language of Cats by Susanne Schotz is a good primer. I'm happy to be today's TLC Book Tour stop and I am accompanying my review with a recipe for Eric Ripert's Baked Salmon with Coconut-Tomato Sauce, sharing some of the plain salmon with my feline friend as a weeknight treat.

Publisher's Blurb:

Have you ever wondered what your cat is saying?

Cats do not meow randomly, nor do they growl or hiss because they have nothing better to do. Cat sounds have a purpose, and they can carry important messages, whether for us or other cats.


Susanne Schotz is hard at work on breaking the cat code. She is a professor at Lund University in Sweden, where a long-standing research program is proving that cats do actually use vocal communication—with each other and with their human caretakers. 

Understanding the vocal strategies used in human-cat communication will have profound implications for how we communicate with our pets, and has the potential to improve the relationship between animals and humans within several fields, including animal therapy, veterinary medicine and animal sheltering.


In The Secret Language of Cats, Schotz offers a crash course in the phonetic study of cat sounds. She introduces us to the full range of feline vocalizations and explains what they can mean in different situations, and she gives practical tips to help us understand our cats better.

Hardcover: 288 Pages

Publisher: Hanover Square Press; Original edition (November 1, 2018)

My Review:

Susanne Schotz is a definite cat lover and shares her house with her husband and five cats that are her "subjects" for the book and her affection for her furry companions and passion for studying how they communicate is fully evident in The Secret Language of Cats. The book is part science, part psychology and part tribute to her pets and is an interesting and fun read for a cat lover. There are times that the science gets a little dry and I confess that the phonetic descriptions don't do much for me, however going on her website Meowsic was the perfect companion as I could listen to her cats make many of the sounds in the book and that helped me interpret the phonetic transcriptions. My cat Max found the audio to be somewhat disconcerting as he couldn't see the cats making the noises I was listening too, which brought up some questioning mews and meows from him. I also found the sound and body language descriptions in the book to be very helpful in matching Schotz's interpretations of the sounds her cats make with mine of Max's vocalizations. There are charming illustrations of the author's cats in the books as well as pictures and videos on the website which are fun to look at. A quick read with tidbits of cat knowledge that i found to be very help and engaging, I enjoyed this book and plan to share it with a few cat-loving friends.

Food Inspiration:

Not much of a food presence in this book of course so I took my inspiration from the food Max enjoys most, fish, and the need to through a quick dinner on the table. Max is first and foremost a tuna fan--particularly raw ahi and will turn up his nose at raw salmon, but if I cook that salmon so that it is tender and moist, he is very much on board. I thought I could put together this Eric Ripert recipe from frozen wild salmon and cauliflower rice  (replacing the jasmine rice called for) and canned tomato sauce and coconut milk from the pantry. I'd share a little of the plain butter-baked salmon with him, then top it with the creamy coconut-tomato sauce for my own dinner.

Max was perfectly content with his dinner-time salmon treat and although not the most attractive of dishes (due to my "I'm tired, I'll just slap-it-on-a-plate" fault--not Ripert's recipe or plating suggestions) was a tasty weeknight dinner. 

Baked Salmon with Coconut-Tomato Sauce
Adapted from Eric Ripert via the New York Times
(Serves 4)

Coconut-Tomato Sauce:

1 1/2 tsp canola oil

1 Tbsp finely diced garlic

2 Tbsp finely diced onion

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk

Salt and ground black pepper

Jasmine Rice:

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup jasmine rice

1/2 cup whole milk

1/2 cup coconut milk

Baked Salmon:

Salt and ground white pepper

2 Tbsp butter

4 (6-oz) salmon fillets

salt and ground black pepper

Make the coconut-tomato sauce: In a saucepan, heat oil and add garlic and onion. Sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Add tomato sauce, coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Simmer until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Make the creamy jasmine rice: In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups water and the butter. Bring to a boil, add rice, and reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat, cover snugly with foil, and allow to sit for another 12 minutes.

Combine milk and coconut milk in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Stir into cooked rice, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Make the salmon: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place butter in roasting pan large enough to fit salmon fillets, and add 1/4 inch water. Place over medium heat to bring to a boil, then add salmon and cover pan snugly with foil. Place in oven and cook as desired, about 5 minutes for medium-rare. Remove fish from pan and drain on paper towels.

To serve, reheat sauce. Place an equal portion of rice in center of each of four plates. Top each with a fillet, and pour sauce around rice and salmon. Serve hot.

Notes/Results: Again, I didn't plate this the best way--making it look at bit like cat food--apropos for the book I suppose ;-) but the flavor was good with the coconut-tomato sauce rice and creamy and a compliment to the salmon.I used a bottled pasta sauce and liked the flavor and ease of that option. I would make it again and Max agreed that his salmon was tasty.

Linking up the recipe with I Heart Cooking Clubs where it is Potluck week--any recipe from any IHCC chef.

I'm also sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

Note: A review copy of "The Secret Language of Cats" was provided to me by the author and the publisher via TLC Book Tours. I was not compensated for this review and as always, my thoughts and opinions are my own. You can see the stops for the rest of this TLC Book Tour and what other reviewers thought about the book here.  

 

My Top 6 Favorite Eric Ripert Recipes for I Heart Cooking Clubs

I am sure it will come as no surprise that I am running behind as usual this month-end. I had a busy work week including taking two webinars that started at 6:00 AM HST and I after-work reunion of coworkers from my old company. I would have liked to have made an Eric Ripert recipe to send him off as our current featured chef at I Heart Cooking Clubs (we start cooking the recipes of Ruth Reichl next week) but it didn't happen. Instead, I bring you my favorite six Eric Ripert recipes from the past six months. I made lots of great recipes bu these were my favorites.

In no particular order:

Salmon Rillette: Big chunks of tender poached salmon, little bursts of smoked salmon flavor and a silky texture from the mayonnaise all on a crisp baguette. It is impressive enough to serve guests at a party, but simple enough to serve as a weeknight starter or even a light lunch of dinner.

Speaking of salmon, Seared Salmon; Sauteed Pea Shoots and Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette: Simple but really good! I love all of the health benefits of salmon and tend to usually have some in my freezer to supplement the local fish I like to buy, In this recipe it is cooked very simply and works well with the dressing. I've never cooked pea sprouts before--I've just eaten them raw in salads and such, and mine seemed really small and delicate so the snow peas were a great way to 'bulk out' the dish a bit more, along with the brown rice.

Garlic–Herbed Goat Cheese and Spiced Olives: I love pretty much any kind of goat cheese on its own but add herbs and garlic and I'm sold. This was a nice mix. The spiced olives were good with the mix of cumin and fennel--two of my favorite spices, rounded out by the lemon, garlic and slight kick from the red pepper flakes.

Salad with Curry Vinaigrette (Served with Grilled Curry Shrimp): OK, crispy curry croutons are a very good thing--especially enjoyed with salad with a curried dressing and the addition of lightly curried shrimp. It's like a one-two-three punch of curry, flavorful but not overwhelming. This was a quick and easy dinner--perfect for a humid Friday night.

Local Watermelon Soup with Feta and Mint: This soup is so refreshing and cooling that in addition to eating it, I wanted to soak in a tub of it. ;-) The lime, ginger, mint and salt keep it from being too sweet and I really liked the pieces of watermelon and cucumber and the crumbles of feta cheese that I added. Ripert doesn't mention chilling it in the directions but I liked it ultra-cold, after several hours chilling.

Seared Ahi Tuna with Sauce Vierge: OK, this sauce vierge may be my new favorite sauce--it's so good and simple--just olive oil with chopped sun-dried tomatoes, basil, green onion and capers. I made a full batch of it and just half the fish recipe. (I also noted: "This will end up being one of my favorite Eric Ripert dishes and I will happily make it again.") 

You can see what dishes everyone made this week and/or the recipes roundups on the post here: 

I'm sharing this post with the Weekend Cooking event at Beth Fish Reads, a weekly event that is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share. For more information, see the welcome post.

 
Happy Aloha Friday!
 

Eric Ripert's Simple Instagram Lentil Soup for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

Sometimes you just want something simple. In this case it was this simple Lentil Soup that I ran across on Eric Ripert's Instagram account.

It just said "Grey NYC antidote (Vegan) Lentil soup: 1medium onion & carrot split in 1/2, 2 cloves garlic,15oz lentils. Boil to tender w/1 liter water, salt, pepper..."

Picture from Eric Ripert's Instagram

I wouldn't be me if I didn't pump up the flavor a bit with dried thyme, parsley and a bay leaf and by using a combination of homemade garlic broth mixed with mushroom soup paste and a not-chicken bouillon cube. I also pulled out the onion and carrot after cooking the soup, chopped them, and stirred them back in. Finally, I added a little red wine vinegar at the end to brighten things up.

That's it. No other recipe needed!

Notes/Results: Just a great easy soup. Lentils are an ingredient I love--so healthy for the heart and body. I liked the changes I made as it really added some nice layers of flavor. I'm not going to lie, this weekend's heat and humidity are a bit much for this fall-feeling soup, but I am looking forward to bringing to lunch in my ultra-cold and air conditioned office. ;-) I would happily make it again. 

Linking up this From the Heart dish with I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week we are cooking up dishes with ingredients we love. 

Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here.

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor shared two sandwiches she enjoyed this week. She says, "The Before and After Sandwich is chicken and egg salad combined. We had a bit of chicken but not quite enough for two sandwiches. We also had farm fresh eggs so, why not boil some and mix them together. Cheap buns at Costco were handy so this made a great lunch for work."

Then Tina said, "This Cuban is from 4 Rivers BBQ in Tallahassee and it was a very good sandwich. Would I order it again? Absolutely! This packed pressed sandwich was so large that I wish I hadn't gotten the two sides. Next time I'll only order the sandwich. It has more meat than I am used to eating but I wasn't sorry - Smoked pork,  ham, onion rings, mustard, pickles, melted provolone and 4R signature sauce."

Judee of Gluten Free A-Z Blog brought this Victory Garden Soup she made from a recent book review and said, "I eventually selected "Victory Soup" from World War II section. I selected this recipe because I am a backyard vegetable gardner at heart and love a good bowl of soup. This is a simple vegan and gluten free vegetable soup that would be easy and fun to make with your kids or grandkids!"

 
Mahalo to Judee and Tina for joining in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Local Watermelon Soup with Feta and Mint for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

In need of another cold soup for a very hot and humid weekend, I stumbled across an Eric Ripert recipe from the Today Show. There were three cold soups in the article (Chilled Avocado Lemongrass Soup, Chilled Heirloom Tomato Consomme and Local watermelon Soup with Peekytoe Crab), but local baby watermelons were on sale this week so the watermelon soup won out. 

I replaced the peekytoe crab with feta cheese and chopped watermelon and cucumber as any kind of crab is so spendy here and I would prefer to use it to make crab cakes or top a Crab Louie Salad if I am going to splurge on it.

Local Watermelon Soup with Feta and Mint 
Adapted from Eric Ripert via Today.com
(Serves 4)

6 cups diced seedless local watermelon
1 Tbsp minced ginger
1/2 cup lime juice
8 to 10 mint leaves plus more for chiffonade garnish
6 oz peekytoe crab meat (I omitted and added feta, & diced watermelon & cucumber) 
4 Tbsp olive oil (I omitted) 
1/2 lime

Place the watermelon, ginger, lime juice and mint leaves in a blender container and puree until smooth and season to taste with salt and pepper. (I chilled my soup for a few hours.)

Lightly dress the crab meat with olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Plate 2 tablespoons of crab in the center of the soup bowls (using a ring mold if available) and pour the watermelon soup around the crab; garnish with mint and serve immediately. (Since I omitted the crab, I mounded the feta, watermelon and cucumber in the bowl and added the soup and garnished with mint. My mounding didn't really hold as well as crab would, so I ended up stirring it into the soup.)

Notes/Results: This soup is so refreshing and cooling that in addition to eating it, I wanted to soak in a tub of it. ;-) The lime, ginger, mint and salt keep it from being too sweet and I really liked the pieces of watermelon and cucumber and the crumbles of feta cheese that I added. Ripert doesn't mention chilling it in the directions but I liked it ultra-cold, after several hours chilling. If you like watermelon and feta salad, you should like this soup and it would work as a starter for a summer grilled dinner, or as a light lunch on its own. I would happily make it again

Linking up at I Heart Cooking Clubs where this week's theme is our From the Vine--Eric Ripert recipes from ingredients that grow on vines.  

 Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen and see who is here.

Debra of Eliot's Eats shared this Greek Garden Veggie Salad with Chilled Corn and said, "We had an impromptu cook out recently. We had family coming in a bit spur of the moment (which is fine because we always love to see them). I knew I wanted to grill but I didn’t want to do the boring fallback of burgers. I found this great sounding (and pretty simple) recipe online: Grilled Steak with Greek Corn Salad. I swapped out the called for cube steak (which I found really weird to grill) with some flank steak and I increased the veggie amounts for the salad and added some peppers. I have to brag and say that the tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and oregano all came from the garden."

 
Tina of Squirrel Head Manor made a take on Eric Ripert's Provencal Vegetable Soup and said, "Hot or cold weather makes little difference when we want soup.  It makes a good lunch. This is a vegetarian version with lots of lentils that I will certainly make again. The inspiration for this version comes from Deb's version  of Eric Ripert's Provencal Vegetable soup. She referred to it as summer in a bowl. So true!"

 

So nice to have Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen back at Souper Sundays this week. She brought Etsis Turlu --Rich Summer Vegetable Stew and said, "I've been cooking quite a lot of Middle Eastern recipes recently. It started with the  Iranian Pearl Barley Soup known as Ash-e Jo or Ash-e-Jow early this year when we had freakish snow and with the unusual hot weather continuing, now I have Etsis Turlu. According to the cookbook author this Etsis Turlu comes from Turkey. With the rain over the weekend, it was the perfect excuse to make a stew more suited for autumnal days and colder evenings, but I have lots of summer vegetables including courgettes, marrows and green beans coming from the garden that I wanted  to make the most of it, even if it is the height of summer."

Mahalo to everyone who joined in this week!
 
About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

Have a happy, healthy week!
 

Provencal Vegetable Soup with Basil Pistou: Summer in A Bowl for Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammie) Sundays

I was looking for a veg-friendly recipe this week to make the most of summer's bounty and remembered that I had Eric Ripert's Provencal Vegetable Soup with Basil Pistou tagged to try. From Food & Wine online, it uses ham rind and chicken stock, so I adapted it to be vegan. It's not heavy, but the white beans and the fiber from all of the veggies make it satisfying and the pistou or basil pesto stirred in gives it plenty of summery flavor.  

I really didn't measure my veggie quantities (just going with what I had from the market) and I used my entire package of Great Northern Beans, uping the broth and liquid. To get that smoky, meaty vibe, I used a mix of low sodium no-chicken and no-beef bouillon cubes and added a little smoked paprika.

Food & Wine says, "This vegetable-packed soup from star chef Eric Ripert gets exceptional flavor from pistou, the pesto-style basil puree that’s served with it. To make a vegetarian version, omit the ham and substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock."

Provencal Vegetable Soup
Slightly Adapted from Eric Ripert via FoodandWine.com
(Serves 4 to 6)

1/2 cup dried navy beans, soaked overnight and drained (I used and entire bag)

one (2-inch) square of ham rind or meat (I omitted)

2 thyme sprigs, 4 parsley sprigs & 1 bay leaf, tied together with kitchen twine (I doubled)

1 qt chicken stock or low-sodium broth (I used 2 qts-a combination of veggie non-chicken and non-beef broth)

1 medium tomato, cored

3 cups lightly packed basil leaves

2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

fine sea salt

pepper 

(I added 1 tsp smoked paprika)

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 medium fennel bulb—halved lengthwise, cored & cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice

6 oz haricots verts, cut into 1-inch lengths 

In a large saucepan, cover the navy beans, ham rind and herb bundle with the chicken stock and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer until the beans are tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a medium saucepan of water to a simmer. Using a sharp paring knife, score an X on the bottom of the tomato. Add to the saucepan and blanch just until the skin starts to peel, about 30 seconds. Transfer the tomato to an ice water bath to cool. Peel and seed 
the tomato, then cut it into 1/4-inch dice.

In a blender or food processor, pulse the basil with the garlic until finely chopped. With the machine on, gradually add the olive oil until incorporated. Season the pistou with salt and pepper.

Remove the ham and herb bundle from the beans. Add the tomato, carrot, fennel, zucchini, onion and haricots verts and season with a generous pinch of salt. Simmer over moderately low heat until the 
vegetables are tender, about 12 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper and ladle into bowls. Serve with the pistou, stirring it into the soup at the table.

The soup and pistou can be refrigerated overnight. Reheat the soup; serve the pistou at room temperature.
 

Notes/Results: Just a simple, summery vegetable soup on its own, but add the pistou and the flavor goes to another level. I cooked my beans about 40 minutes before adding the vegetables--just to make sure they were tender enough. I like the combination of veggies--especially the fennel and how they stay slightly firm because you only cook them about 12 minutes. I would happily make this soup and the pistou again.
  

This soup is linking up at I Heart Cooking Clubs where this weeks theme is From the Garden-Eric Ripert recipes with ingredients from the garden or grocery store produce aisle.

Lets take a look into the Souper Sundays kitchen.

Tina of Squirrel Head Manor joins me this week with a healthy Greek Chicken and Chickpea Salad. She says, "This recipe came from a book I checked out about Power Bowls.  The combo of these ingredients called out as something nice and cool to have during the steamy summer months.  It's actually meant to be combined together, without a carb, but I kept the salad separate from the chicken. And I served with rice and homemade bread so.......I broke the carb rule straight away. That was for a dinner. ... For lunch the next day we both mixed all the ingredients up as the power bowl idea, except we mixed in the rice too. Great lunch. This is fairly quick and easy, transports well if you keep the dressing separate."

About Souper Sundays:

Souper Sundays (going since 2008) now has a format of a picture link each week where anyone interested can post their soups, salads, or sandwiches at any time during the week and I post a recap of the entries the following week.

(If you aren't familiar with Souper Sundays, you can read about of the origins of it here. 

If you would like to join in Souper (Soup, Salad, and Sammie) Sundays, I would love to have you! Here's how...

To join in this week's Souper Sunday's linkup with your soup, salad or sandwich:

• Link up your soup (stew, chili, soupy curries, etc. are fine), salad, or sandwich dish, (preferably one from the current week or month--but we'll take older posts too) on the picture link below and leave a comment on this post so I am sure not to miss you. Also please see below for what to do on your blog post that you link up her in order to be included in the weekly round-up.

and 

On your entry post (on your blog):

• Mention Souper (Soup, Salad & Sammies) Sundays at Kahakai Kitchen and link back to this post. (Not to be a pain but it's polite and only fair to link back to events you link up at--so if you link a post up here without linking back to it on your post, it will be removed.)
• You are welcome to add the Souper Sundays logo to your post and/or blog (optional).

An InLinkz Link-up

 Have a happy, healthy week!