Everyone knows the great tradition of the Fourth of July is barbecue. Skittles and I are no exception: he just loves to take a little catnap in the sun while I fire up the grill and make our favorite salmon burgers. Oh sure, we have normal burgers and hotdogs for the humans at our party, but the good stuff we grill all secret-like to one side. Try this recipe for a real treat:
Savory Salmon Burgers
Ingredients:
2.5 pounds salmon fillet, minced
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup minced red onion
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp horseradish
2 eggs
1 tbsp rosemary (fresh, if possible)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For grill: 2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix ingredients in a large bowl, seasoning with herbs. Chill for at least a half hour. Grill to medium-high heat. Form mixture into 8 patties, coating each lightly with olive oil. Cook each patty for 4 or 5 minutes on each side. Serve on a bun with lettuce for humans, or alone and slightly cooled for kitties!
Activities
While they are pretty and mesmerizing, fireworks can be traumatizing to your cat. (They give Skittles flashbacks to his darker days on the streets.) Therefore, I suggest enjoying celebratory festivities earlier in the day, while covering your windows with heavy drapes and putting on soothing Enya at night to muffle the sounds of the explosions outside.
For our personal, joyous celebration of independence, Skittles and I have a terrific tradition of blasting Beethoven’s 1812 Overture while we play a rousing game of Chase the Laser. Skittles speeds around our house like Paul Revere on his midnight ride!
(We used to also reenact that famous scene, but often Skittles would wander off in his tricorne and I’d find him hours later, napping in the laundry hamper, while all this time I was waiting for him with my “one if by land, two if by sea” lanterns. Silly kitty!)
Costume
Skittles’ kitty-sized tricorne comes from my American Doll, Felicity, whose wardrobe I like to borrow to build his authentic revolutionary American wardrobe. For something less elaborate, I suggest a red or blue cat collar with a little bit of ribbon tied on in the other colors. Of course, red, white and blue clothes are a must!
Here’s wishing you an ameowzing 4th!
Lucille and Skittles
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