Cat and quiche

Annette arrived without any problems last Monday. When the plane landed at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, I had to go through the luggage return to get to my next gate. My luggage was checked through to Berlin. All I had with me was the cat and my backpack, so I walked out the door and off to the next terminal without stopping. Only some meters into the main airport did I stop to think that I had just walked through customs without anyone asking me for cat papers. No one seemed interested, and of course the papers were all in order. So I just kept walking. In Berlin no customs officers were on duty -- it was an intra-EU flight.

Annette spent the first day hiding under the bed. An apartment with no rugs, no furniture and only stone floors was not her ideal. And she refused to use her cat tree until our friend and cat-sitter Elke suggested that I move it away from the window. Suddenly the tree became interesting, she moved into the cat cave, and even began using the scratching posts. ... If only I had known.

On an unrelated matter, I bought the ingredients for a quiche this week-end, but rather than make it with pie crust, I tried making a "crust" layer out of mashed potato (well laced with butter) that I also grilled a bit in the oven. Then I put normal quiche ingredients on top: onions, red peppers, swiss cheese, and a custard of eggs and milk. It was remarkably good, especially when served with "Weltmeister" bread -- a dark bread rich in seeds -- and a bit of cucumber salad.