My mother was not a great cook. I think she would happily cop to that. She made spaghetti, burnt steak, and stuck underseasoned chicken breasts in the oven until they turned rubbery. Her mother was not a great cook either. She was Irish, so I guess that was part of her legacy to boil everything until it fell apart and all the taste seeped out, or so she claimed. However, her father was French, so she inherited a different type of culinary genius: boy could she bake. If I had to choose one of ... Read more »
Cooking
Jerky Problems AGAIN: an infographic
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 »
The Long Dark Twee-Time of the Soul
As you probably know, I have a bit of a complicated relationship with the PTA moms. Not moms in general, mind you, just the small subset of Pinterest loving, glue-gun wielding domestic lifestyle experts whose expectations I can never, despite my best efforts, seem to live up to. It doesn't matter what school we're at, it happens every time. First it was the art project/pooper scooper incident in kindergarten. Then it was the Have a Very Agro Valentine's Day episode. And now it's crudite, crudite ... Read more »
3 ways to save money on pet care
If you were awake at 7:50 this morning and happen to have been watching San Diego 6, you'd have seen me trying with varied success to get a very sweet and nervous Saint Bernard to eat some treats. You know what they say about pets and kids. But that's OK, because Gabana was still a precious prop to our perhaps less entertaining but still very important topic, saving money on pet care. Here's the tips I shared: 1. Don't skimp on preventive care. Pop quiz: what is more expensive- Regular ... Read more »
Three things to know about the jerky illnesses
Let's imagine, for a moment, that there is a serial killer loose in your town. One by one, he picks little kids off from the local playground, and it's horrible and awful. The police are working around the clock, but the killer remains elusive. But he only ever chooses his victims from that one playground. You wouldn't take your kids there, right? Even if *most* of the kids who play there end up ok, even if the police chief says, well, it might be OK now? Why take that chance, when there ... Read more »
Puppy Cupcakes- now with video!
Shortly before we moved, I got to shoot a cooking series with the incomparable Robert Semrow of Pet World Insider. He was an awfully good sport since I made him bake for this one: For the original post, see here: Which reminds me I am over due for a new cooking piece, aren't I? Now that I have a kitchen unpacked and all. Hmmm....Easter.... ... Read more »
Buckets of food: GATOR!
I haven't been posting about Kekoa's culinary adventures every day, but trust me, she has turned into a regular Anthony Bourdain. When I first said I was doing this Foodie Bucket List for her, my good friend Annette at Biscuits by Lambchop decided to do something very special for us, and I wanted to share it with you all: It really meant a lot to both of us that you did that. Thank you Annette. :D And they smelled really good, too. ... Read more »
5 Ways to Celebrate National Dog Week
Well what do you know, it's National Dog Week. I know August 26th is National Dog Day, that little factoid is emblazoned in my memory, but I didn't realize that the fourth week of September is Dog Week and has been for 84 years. In a funny little coincidence, the mother is born on Dog Day and the daughter is born during Dog Week. Clearly this is in our blood. :) I am so pleased that I will be spending the next two days in the company of animal lovers from around the world at the ACES ... Read more »
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 »
The Pawcurean Presents: Super Simple Chicken Jerky
Chicken jerky is one of those things I had never even thought of trying to make until recently. I know my dogs love it, and until the FDA put out multiple warnings about how imported jerky was making pets ill it was something I included in their treat regimen. About a year ago I got a dehydrator, in one of my occasional crunchy fits of health (it never lasts.) I used it a handful of times and then let it sit on the counter. A few weeks ago, I thought I would try and figure out how to make my ... Read more »
Thanksgiving Food Dos and Don’ts for your pet
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days in the veterinary ER, which should surprise none of you. The very first Thanksgiving I had Emmett, he dug the turkey carcass out of the trash and settled down for a little leftovers. Luckily he left a disgusting trail of grease from the kitchen, across the living room and up the (carpeted) stairs so I managed to find him before he did too much damage, but Thanksgiving is a time of excess and gluttony for all of us, and for pets unaccustomed to the ... 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 »
