Not long ago, Mateo turned 6 months old, so I thought to myself, what better way to spoil him than with a tasty treat?

I scoured the interwebs for some gourmet cat food recipe ideas, and did some research on home cooking for cats, before concluding that meatballs were the most nutritional and convenient option.

The Inspiration.

Taking closely after the traditional Swedish meatball, I used a combination of minced beef and pork. Of course, if your cat prefers other sources of protein, or if you simply have other alternatives at home, feel free to use those instead.

It yields 40 meatballs, which is enough to last for a good few days. But best of all, these meatballs are tasty enough to be consumed by humans, too. All you have to do is add salt and pepper to taste when cooking them for yourself.

The Ingredients.

Meat. Veg. Binding Agents.

Meat: Using a combination of two different types of meat is a clever way to effortlessly get your cat acquainted with a variety of tastes. You don’t necessarily have to go for beef or pork – your cat will be content with chicken, turkey, or lamb, as well.

Vegetables: Greens are not essential to the feline diet, so the add-ons are optional, but if you have any on hand, they can be an excellent source of vitamins and minerals. Just remember to (very) finely chop them!

I used cucumber for Mateo’s meatballs not only because it was what I already had in my fridge, but also because they contain a substantial amount of vitamins and nutrients, and are high in water content.

Binding Agents: To keep the meatballs together, a mixture of fresh breadcrumbs, a large egg, as well as small amounts of parsley and dill, will suffice. Note that because the recipe includes egg, it is crucial to cook the meatballs to at least a medium doneness.

The Recipe.

Disclaimer: Though I did do an adequate amount of researching, I am no food and nutrition expert, especially when it comes to cats. Note that your cat should not be placed on a perpetual home-cooked diet without a consult with your vet first.

So you’ve made the brilliant yet unfortunate mistake of trying fresh pasta. Because now, you’re addicted, and you can’t go back to the boxed stuff.

If you’re anything like me, you would’ve foreseen your fresh pasta stock running low within a matter of weeks and scoured the internet for homemade pasta tutorials, eagerly hoping to make some of your own. But as you watch more tutorials, your heart sinks, learning that most recipes call for some sort of pasta maker.

You battle with your mind for a second, debating if it’s worth the extra $60 at all. Eventually, you nearly abandon the idea, when suddenly it strikes you – what if I try rolling it out on my own?

1. Clean as you go

I’m fairly certain that I have the same issue as everyone else, whereby I cook up a storm – think chicken pot pie with a side of crispy cheesy garlic bread, and all the works. But what I’m left with is, as they say, worse than the storm itself; a mountain-high pile of dirty dishes in the sink, a greasy air-fryer, and a stain-filled stovetop, all of which are simply yelling, “THIS IS TOO MUCH HARD WORK!”

So believe me when I say that I. feel. you. Doing the dishes has and never will be on my list of “chores I’m surprisingly okay with”.

Recently, though, I adopted the age-old “clean as you go” technique, and I have to admit that glancing over at the empty kitchen sink, just as I’m about to finish cooking my three-course dinner, is beyond satisfying.