Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Do Squirrels Like Cupcakes?

First, before we get to the grey furries, some Asian food and an Asian-themed song that might hurt your teeth it's so sweet but I can't get it out of my head.

The Bird & The Bee - Love Letter To Japan


Before you become completely disgusted with my strange of late taste in music, I'm going to distract you with food pix and squirrel talk. ;) We've been eating lunch out a bit lately so not a lot cooking here (Why? Because it's that dreaded time of year..tax season..the nightmare of small business owners through the land..nooooo!!! okay, so I mean, I totally flaked out on matching up my receipts, reconciling statements, etc. since like July so I'm wallowing in self-pity right now..wah!! Okay..pity party is over..). I am finding some good vegan meals out though: here's a photo of Tofu Bi Bim Bob (or Bab or Bap or whatever variation you can find!) from today's lunch. It was super yum! We like this Thai restaurant in Inman Square in Cambridge..they are one of the few places that make this dish with a really savory sauce on the tofu and they never put egg on top so I don't have to remember to mention it. I love it. If you have a good recipe for this dish, please let me know..I'm looking!

Here's another recent lunch: Pho vegetable noodle soup from Le's in Harvard Square. Cheap, fast eats..H. gets what he calls soup belly from eating a big bowl of soup from this place but it's a good full feeling of warmness in the cold weather.


Finally, the one thing I did bake recently: chocolate raspberry fudgey brownies..dramatic display of my love for chocolate on Valentine's Day. Chocolate..my own true love...


Okay, that got old fast because H. isn't quite the chocolate fiend I am so the remaining four cupcakes I decided I just didn't want. So I thought: Do squirrels like cupcakes? Hum...

My first guess was yes. Rodents are actually just one family branch away from primates (that's us as you know) which is why labs use mice in drug testing experiments (sad..)..because they are so like us. So armed with this information and the following fact and by fact, I mean, my own observation that there are no humans alive who do not like cupcakes (well, at least I've never met one!), I concluded that yes, indeedy, squirrels do like cupcakes. Now to test my hypothesis, I went outside early in the morning (I was still in my jammies so dedicated I am to my squirrel research) , and hucked with those four chocolate cuppies into the backyard . I did two overhand pitches and two underhand..and I'm a lefty. Who throws with her right hand..go figure. Anyways, I cite these details only for the sake of science (ha!). What I didn't expect was the sound of little feet running from all directions. Yes, that's right..squirrels were literally coming from every direction! I counted four in a matter of seconds of those cuppies hitting the snow. Can you say cupcake feeding frenzy? And this time it wasn't even me eating the cupcakes (that was earlier in the week).

So my friend, I believe we can conclusively say, yes, squirrels DO like cupcakes. Note the cuppy on the right side below...this guy has already taken a bite:

I'm not sure how they manage to drag the cuppies up the tree since the treats are bigger than their heads but this little fluffernutter managed just fine!


Our squirrel research will continue and we will report back on the results of our scientifically based research methods coming to you live from the Squirrel Research Institute of Cambridge, MA (aka my apartment).

5 comments:

Tara said...

Yay for scientific squirrel research! Any science that involves cupcakes and squirrels works for me!
Your food looks good, too!
Good luck with your taxes.

Jes said...

Ahhhhhh! Squirrels eating cupcakes!!!!! Seriously, I'm trying not to squeee really loudly in the library right now. And you could even make them healthy ones, peanut butter cupcakes rolled in sunflower seeds maybe? They'd really run to you for that. So so so cute!

And your eats look yummy too! Good luck with tax season!

Anonymous said...

You didn't want your last four cupcakes?

Sorry, can't get my head around that.

Squirrels will neat nearly anything, especially in the winter. Growing up, we would set out so many things for them - even roasted veg - and they loved it. I used to roll pine cones in peanutbutter and then in birdseed and hang those around the yard - that was their favourite, but they loved everything.

For the Love of Guava said...

hahah... what lucky squirrels that they get to be involved in such cutting edge experiments! And that food looks delish... I've been meaning to find some good vegetarian pho... it's always sad when I have decline out with friends... and they're like just get it without meat... and guava's like... do you see the meat bits floating about in the broth???

River (Wing-It Vegan) said...

I don't like cupcakes... HA! Kidding! :)

OK - cutest squirrel testing ever! And how dedicated are you carrying out the test in your PJs! The things we do in the name of science.

I have a picture of a squirrel that was eating a doughnut we tossed in the backyard just to see what happened. I'll have to look it up and show it to you. You'll love it!

Your eats look delicious, especially the chocolate raspberry fudgey brownies. Next time you put goodies out for the squirrels, I'm getting a giant squirrel suit and stalking your backyard. Oh, I'm a lefty too by the way! :)

Thank you so much for your birthday wishes! I found a 30 second promo for Lost in Austen on YouTube if you want to check it out. Here's the video. There are other clips from the show on YouTube too, though some might have spoilers!