Are you kidding me? After years of pressure, people finally get pet stores to agree to stop carrying treats from China only to have a new crop of cases of illness emerge in pets who ate jerky with a "Made in the USA" label. Is it sourcing? Is it weird contamination from aliens? Who cares! Just don't buy it. It's not worth the risk. Feed your pet an apple, or some of their regular food, or follow the link to where I show you how to make it yourself. Or watch the video: Any ... Read more »
recipes
Baking With Brody: Power Bars for Pups
Have you ever tried Gu when you're out exercising? It's like trying to swallow phlegm: pasty, sticky stuff that seals your esophagus shut with something that is supposed to be good for you. I don't care for it (obviously.) I think Brody feels the same way about biscuits. They're fine for home, but if you're out working up a sweat/pant/whatever, a dried out dessicated crunchy thing may not be the most appetizing choice. He doesn't care for them. So I decided it was my goal for Be Kind to ... Read more »
Cooking with Koa: Easter Eggs
Ah, the humble egg. Rarely does it figure so prominently in our culinary lexicon as it does at Eastertime. And as I'm working on a post about ways to fit the pets into your Sunday celebration, I decided it was only fitting that we do a little egg recipe in today's Cooking with Koa segment. If you're going to have a bunch of people around who are going to try to be feeding your dog any one of a number of wildly inappropriate traditional Easter foods, it's always wise to have a super special ... Read more »
The Pawcurean Presents Lazy Man’s V-Day Treats
I love making treats for the pets, almost as much as I love things that are easy to make. Sometimes I'm in a complicated mood, and sometimes I'm in a lazy mood. This month, I'm lazy. As you know, I've started a torrid love affair with my dehydrator, using it to suck the water out of everything I can get my hands on in the house like a hydrophilic vampire. The chicken jerky treats went over very well, so I figured, hey, let's make some Valentine's Day treats while we're at it where I don't ... Read more »
Game Day! With Pawcurean Dog Nachos
It's a big weekend for those of us who like to sit by the TV and eat. One, the AKC/Eukanuba show airs on Saturday, so I'll be glued to the screen jumping up and down every time I spot myself on TV. And of course, the next day is that most festive of sports events, the Super Bowl. It's fair to say I am ambivalent at best about football, so the question here is not so much "Team Pats" versus "Team Giants" as it is "Team Game" versus "Team Commercials." I for one, am of the latter persuasion. ... Read more »
Take a bite: Home Cooking and a BalanceIt Giveaway!
Lots of people like to cook for their pets, but most people don't do it every single day. Of those who do, most do so because they have to, a pet with kidney disease who also has food allergies and diabetes, that sort of thing. Occasionally there is the person who just likes to do it, like the chef who makes seared sea bass for his two incredibly spoiled schnauzers every day. I admire that dedication, which is significant. More common are people like me, those who do it every once in a while ... Read more »
Balls Done Two Ways: Schweddy Balls and Puppy Pops
Let me start with a warning: If you are in the camp that was offended by the legendary SNL Schweddy Balls skit, skip right on over the first half of this post and proceed straight to the G rated Cake Pops for Dogs portion of this post, because you're going to hate the first half. Still here? Good. I have been searching my local grocery establishments high and low trying to find this ice cream to no avail. I don't know if it's because they have refused to carry it in protest of its ... Read more »
Baking With Brody: The Puppy Cuppy
I am, to put it mildly, really into cupcakes. I think they are amazing. Adorable, teeny tiny little bites of cake heaven in a portable handheld form. When cupcakes started coming back into fashion a couple of years ago, I sighed, knowing my waistline was doomed. In their sugary clutches, I am powerless. I've sampled some of the wares from local cupcakeries, most recently the Sprinkles that opened up about a half an hour from my house- which is a relatively safe distance. This week, I ... Read more »
The Pawcurean Presents: Reese’s Peanut Butter Pupsicles
This whole thing started out simply enough. I blame it all on the Zoku, that instant popsicle maker that I finally broke down and ordered last week after coveting it for the good part of a year. ... Read more »
Happy Valentine’s Day: Bronuts Edition
Ever since I bought the original doggie donut for Emmett back in the day, I've been trying to figure out how to reproduce the results. Donut in shape but granola in texture, crunchy, dog-friendly perfection. I've done zucchini donuts and banana donuts and granola bars, but this latest incarnation is my closest yet to perfection. Here's how: ... Read more »
Pawcurean Literary and Hairball Society ebook is here!
Winner! Carla and Tino! Happy Friday! As we speak there are 22 of you out there busily working on your 12 Days of Petmas posts that will be starting in a week, which is pretty much my favorite thing ever. In the meantime, I have the last of the Gift Guide items, as well as a couple of gifts for you. My Pick: The 2011 Pawcurious Calendar is here! 'Words to Live By' Volume 2 is chock full of Brody and Koa. Like last year, all proceeds will be donated. What I decided to do this ... Read more »
The Pawcurean Presents: Peach Gobblers
It's been a heavy sort of week. Lots of seriousness and such in these parts. And though I have perhaps just a little more I should be saying, I'll wait until next week because I think everyone could use some frivolity to lead into the weekend, yes? I had a large box of produce I needed to use up this week, including a big handful of some truly delectable looking peaches. I had an epic fail earlier in the week with my Pawcurean Beety Treaties which failed to convince both humans and dogs that ... Read more »
The Pawcurean: Sweet Potato Salad
I think we spend so much time panicking about what not to feed our pets that we're forgetting to focus on what they should be eating. Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it? What should my dog be eating? It's not an answer you'll get a lot of agreement upon. In fact, if you're into trolling internet chat rooms and like to see bloody melees, I highly recommend going to a raw diet message board and posting how Old Roy rocks. Or vice versa. This is a topic people get downright ... Read more »
Baking With Brody: Doggie Donuts!
Today's recipe comes to you courtesy of one of my favorite blogs to peruse, Doggy Dessert Chef. You could easily spend days there perusing and making new treats for your pup! I found Tennille's site while looking for the holy grail of dog treats- at least in my book- the doggy donut. I love doggy donuts so much I am going to try to photograph an entire series of donuts on dog noses. As you will see at the end of this post, that may be harder than it looks, but we had fun trying. I adapted ... Read more »
The Pawcurean: Frosty Paws at home!
It's hard to tell from the gloomy grey skies outside, but theoretically, it's the height of summer. That means grilling corn, runny popsicles, and coming up with ways to help the fur-bearing house dwellers beat the heat. Linda over at the 7MSN Ranch sent me a link to her blog post detailing a way to make a homemade version of Frosty Paws, which I have shamelessly replicated here. Even if you don't want to make Frosty Paws, you should go check her blog out. It is awesome. It has a lot more types ... Read more »
Baking With Brody
I didn't actually set out to do a cooking segment here, but about halfway into birthday cake production I decided it needed to be documented, so there you go. Unfortunately I didn't come to this realization until the cake was already baked, but at least I got to photograph the fun part: decorating! Cake decorating is kind of like surgery, sort of. You need knives, precision, and someone else to help clean up the mess. It is a match made in heaven. I started with the recipe for Peanut ... Read more »
Thanksgiving treats
I'm kind of ready for Thanksgiving. I mean, sort of but not really, not the way I should be with the holiday just a couple nights away. I haven't even solidified the menu yet. I spent the weekend flipping though a library copy of the French Laundry cookbook looking for ideas for something a little extra special, but the idea of spending 4 hours on a crudite and having truffles fed-ex'd from Italy had me a little flummoxed, so I'm trolling the web for something somewhere between "instant ... Read more »
