The beauty of being a blogger is that I have a platform to share whatever noteworthy topic that pops into my head. Sometimes, the crazy stories I come across on the inter-web or the random thoughts that pop into my mind aren’t really noteworthy at all {on their own}. They usually make me pause, laugh, or just plain roll my eyes and I go on about my day. So, without further ado, here’s this weeks edition of Random Goodness from Around the Web:
I’m not a cat person but ohmygoodness I want this kitten right this second. Have you ever seen anything so magical? And it’s real! I thought it was some crazy Photoshop but this little chimera kitten actually exists, is named Quimera and is really this adorable. Quimera has also built up quite a following on Instagram, with over 36,000 followers. She’s kind of a big deal! She’s also super rare. Her half and half look is caused by cells from at least two different original eggs. They fuse together to become a single organism, whose DNA is from two completely different individuals. Whatever the reason, I think I’d become a crazy cat lady if I could have a bundle of these pawing around!
The Day Little Ramona Won the Internet
NPR editor Christopher Dean Hopkins is in charge of the NPR Facebook feed. He also has his own where he posts about his sweet almost-one-year-old child, Ramona. One day this fall he mixed up the accounts and posted the cutest little Ramona update accidentally on the NPR account. The Internet exploded with love for Ramona! I think the thing that sold everyone was the innocence of all of it when our world felt a little heavy. Plus, it was nice that Hopkin’s mistake wasn’t chastised but embraced. People even want continued Ramona updates because she’s become an accidental mascot for NPR!
Do They Make Bowling Shoes For Goldendoodles?
Meet Blake, the bowling Goldendoodle. Yes, BOWLING! He’s 8 months old and bowls better than I do {his high is 93!}! That cute dog loves to hang out at his owner’s bowling alley, KT’s Lanes, in Emmett, Idaho and has become somewhat of a pro doggie bowler. I mean check out those skills!
Defast Defrost
Okay this popped up on Amazon the other day and it looks too good to be true but the review seem to agree it works. It’s called a Evelots Rapid Defrosting Tray and claims it defrosts your meat without heating it, and it does it super fast {like in minutes}. So if you forgot to thaw that chicken for dinner this will be your new best friend. Not that I’ve ever done that {*cough* once a week *cough*}. It’s a much better alternative to microwaving which cooks the meat in the process of defrosting. The tray stays cool to the touch throughout its use, and there is no need for preheating or using hot water. Have any of you tried it? I’m thinking of buying it and giving it a try.
And that concludes this installment of Random Goodness from Around the Web. Please make sure to leave your random responses in the comment section.
~Mavis
Leslie says
My sister has the defrosting tray. Not miraculous, at all. It’s just an aluminum tray- so yea, if your counter top were warm, it would warm the meat faster. You could also just you an airbake pan.
KC says
So, the deal with fast defrost is that putting the meat on a heat-conductive surface makes it transfer temperatures faster (the same principle at work with computer heat sinks, just equalizing the temperature to the room’s temperature is “reducing heat” in the computer’s case and “reducing cold” in the frozen meat’s case). A solid aluminum sheet pan (normal half-sheet jelly roll pan, for instance) would probably do much the same thing (see: http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/09/the-best-fastest-way-to-freeze-defrost-food.html under the defrost section). If you do buy it, I’d love it if you could run a comparison of how long it takes to melt an (equally sized) ice cube vs. a plain ol’ aluminum sheet pan.
Knico says
I have one of those thaw trays and yes they do work, just not in “minutes”. The tray is made of aluminum which draws out the “cold” out of the frozen item and dissipating it over its surface allowing the room temperatures to work its magic. I always keep the frozen item in plastic wrap, never put a bare piece of food on the tray for multiple reasons. But, they also work wonders in reverse, just place the tray in the freezer and lay a bag of soup on it (or similar) and it will freeze faster than if you had just popped the bag in alone. Aluminum is a wonderful product and it does have a place in our homes, just not as a cooking utensil.
Kristina says
I use a cast iron griddle to similar effect. Also, thanks for all of the cuteness this morning.
Ginger says
My mom had one of those thawing trays back in the 90’s. It didn’t work all that well in that it took quite awhile for it to defrost meat.
Jennifer Meyer says
Love the sweet stories this morning! We need more of these stories! We have the defroster tray and I never use it now that we have an instant pot. You can put meat in frozen and I use it for most of my cooking. The defroster tray seems to take way longer than advertised.
Ramona says
Just stopped in to read and was reading about the cat, I do enjoy a good cat story. Scrolled down and say my name and got a little shock, I thought at first it was some weird add pop up you sometimes see while on the computer. Then the next story is in the town I live in Emmett. No I haven’t seen the dog bowling in person since I have only been there once.
Heidi says
Forget the defrosting tray. I had one a few years ago and it didn’t work any faster. What does work is filling a bowl with cold water and placing the meat (in a sealed plastic bag) in the water.
Becky says
I love that the NPR story was “indented” for a personal account. 🙂
Lisa MTB says
Maybe Lucy needs a BFF kitty partner-in-crime.