For the love of the dog and up-coming projects.

My heart sank last week when we found out our dog is seriously ill.  It was much unexpected as she is still so young.  Having lost pets before I know that this is a dreadful moment you need to consider before bringing home a puppy.  I also know that my life and family would never be complete without a family dog.  I think that it is the simplicity of our relationships with our pets that make it so difficult for us to cope with their loss. 

For now though, my dog is still alive and well.  You would think, someone forgot to tell her she is terminally ill, as she is running after her ball and lounges around in the backyard.  All we can do for now is making sure she eats well.  So now, I am not just cooking for the family and for the fun of it, I am cooking for the dog as well.  Having researched commercially produced dog food, I am not sure it is not the culprit of the illness in the first place.  We decided to try and give her the best possible end-of-life care, so for as long as she lasts, I will feed her what the dog food should really be made of.

And if you are a dog lover and are caring for a puppy or a sick dog, or just want to make your critter’s day, try the dog food recipe at the end of the post.  It is my version of the cure-all chicken soup for the dog.

On a happier note, I have a whole bunch of new food projects coming up, such as starting my natural sourdough bread cultures, which came with 40 pages worth of instructions ( God help me!) and trying out my new pasta machine.  The pasta machine was the only thing standing between me and absolute happiness, or so I thought.  I waited patiently for it to become available for over five months and now that it is finally here, I have not had a chance to try it out.   So in the next few weeks there should be a lot to write about, like home-made sourdough pretzels, grilled pizzas, pear and pecorino ravioli, all kinds of crazy burgers and raspberry beer glazed doughnuts.  The summer is only starting … the possibilities are endless.

Feel Good dog food

Makes about 5 cups (increase as needed)

1 lb ground chicken or beef

¼ lb chicken livers or other organ meat

1 cups of rice (uncooked)

2 cups of instant or quick cooking oats

1 medium carrot

1 small zucchini or squash

½ cup of peas

4 cups of water

In a large pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add meat and boil for 5 minutes.  Add rice and oats, stir, reduce heat to a simmer and cover.  Cook for about 15 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked and is beginning to fall apart, most of the water should be absorbed at this point.  This is not the case when you want a perfect consistency, al dente rice.  The mixture should be of a very thick soup at this point.

Add shredded carrot, zucchini and peas.   You can substitute with other vegetables, but stay away from anything having a high acid content such as tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, etc… 

Stir and cook for another minute.  No salt needed (the dogs do not even posses the ability to detect it).  No spices or flavoring is needed. 

Serve at room temperature.  Can be stored in the fridge.

A very satisfied and fed customer.