Sorry, still fighting the cold/allergies from hell the last few days.
The lobster...yep, you probably could have made a dip from it...but I'm really weary of any seafood that just doesn't seem "right" texture or taste wise. I'd rather err on the side of caution and pitch it normally.
Any tips on making veggies taste good, using as little sodium as possible?
I like most of my veggies roasted, instead of steamed...they just have more flavor that way to me.
Asparagus, broccoli, I normally melt butter and add some lemon juice to make a simple lemon-butter sauce. Potatoes I will add a little butter, onion, garlic, and some cheddar cheese and roast in foil.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-and-Spicy-Green-Beans/Both the kid and the veggie hating SO will eat these....I use the low sodium, gluten free soy sauce.
Spaghetti Squash...cut in half lengthwise, clean out the seeds and pulp in the middle, put a little pat of butter in each half, sprinkle with garlic powder, and ground pepper...wrap each half in foil and bake at 350 cut side up, until tender (approx. and hour or so depending on the size of the squash), shred insides with fork, and sprinkle with parm cheese....this is my favorite.
Any ideas for keeping a cat away from the flowers?
They have repellants that work, but some of them like "shake away" (fox urine) smell worse than cat pee. Most (not all) don't like the scent of citrus, like orange or lemon. There is also the diversion tactic of planting catnip at the other corner of the yard, and letting them have that in hope they will stay away from the flowers.
If they spray your steps/porch, whatever you do, just don't clean it with an ammonia based cleaner (it actually seems to attract them more). Orange oil/lemon oil based spray seems to help deter them, either soap and water or bleach to clean. My former neighbor had a ton of cats and they just loved my porch.