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Cute cooking requires a cute muse... and that would be my Scottish Fold cat, Basil Farrow! My flop-eared kitty's adorable antics inspired many of the recipe designs in Cute Yummy Time. He's also one of the main characters in the adventure story that runs throughout the book.

Basil Farrow is round for a reason -- he loves food. I made pecan pie for one of the book's recipes and left a piece on the table. My Scottish Fold stood up on his hind legs and reached out his big paws for a taste!

Basil Farrow was just as enchanted by my bird-shaped sushi rolls and egg shapers (a Japanese bento tool used to mold hard-boiled eggs into hearts and stars). He even joined me in one my cooking demos on YouTube.

My cookbook Cute Yummy Time truly would not have been possible without my furry feline muse by my side. If you'd like to see more of Basil Farrow and learn of his movie star origins, please visit his photo-packed blog. I also blog daily about Japanese street style and cute overload on my La Carmina blog.