Wednesday Night Dinner

Rosie has informed me (by turning her nose) that raw food is for wild animals. 

Okay, I can deal with that.  However, I have a freezer full of this mixture that I put together!  So I cooked the stuff and she said, very politely, "no thank you".  Luckily, the other two think that I'm the best mom in the world.  They love the stuff.  They also eat dirt...amongst other random things.

Rosie has decided that if it goes into my mouth, then it is good for her to have.  It can't just be on my plate.  She has to see me eat it.  Does this girl think that I'm going to slip her a mickey or something?

This means that I need to eat "clean". 

Tonight's recipe:  Barilla Plus pasta, cooked al dente (her preference, as well as mine).  Chicken cooked in white wine.  She likes wine.  I do too.  Asparagus, artichoke hearts and some Parmesan...all tossed together with black pepper and garlic powder.  It really was good and we shared.  She ate well and so did I. 

The Universe may be communicating to me through my dog.  It wouldn't surprise me.

I'm in Business!

Mama's Heart Cookie Company
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mamas-Heart-Cookie-Company/128229057187205?ref=sgm


Yes, I'm doing it.  I am baking dog treats for the rich and famous.

Okay.  Maybe not the rich and famous, but most certainly for those that love their babies as much as I do.

They (those that are smarter than me...I...me???) always say, "do what you love and you'll be a success".  So I'm doing what I love.  Baking.  Who better to bake for than my babies and all of their cousins?

I have one signature cookie.  Anise and Sunflower Seed.  The dogs just love them and it's a unique flavor that CAN'T be found at Costco in a 4 pound box.  Of course I love Costco, but I don't want to compete with them!  I'm going to do seasonal flavors, but will always have the Anise and Sunflower Seed. 

The process has been interesting.  The first batch took forever.  Hand formed hearts that I carefully pressed sunflower seeds into.  I baked them and then once they were cooled, all of the seeds fell off.  I had golfball textured cookies.  That sucked.  Trial and error got me to where I am.  The seeds are mixed in, I use a pan that has heart shapes molded into it and I now weigh my ingredients instead of measuring with cups.  That last part came from being tired of hand washing so many cups and spoons. 

I'm lazy.

Then there was the copyright issues that I was confronted with.  I wanted to use a picture that a professional photographer took 5 years ago...she wanted to charge me $175...I passed...and now my cousin, the graphic artist, is designing the logo for me.  Jennifer Harrity...I love you!

Let's see, finally, I realized that I can't bake and color my hair at the same time.  I'm afraid to see what this mop looks like when it's dry.

Moral to the story:  Do what you love, and you'll be happy.  If you're happy...you're a success.

Chef to the Dogs

Rosie has finally found something she'll eat.  Let me rephrase that, I have finally figured out what will make her tummy happy.  Raw food.

The discovery happened by chance.  I went to the market and purchased a frozen "chub" of dog food called CountryPet.  It's raw New Zealand lamb, with some other good things thrown in.  Sadly, about seven servings was costing me $7.50.  That would end up being a $60 per month expense for ONE dog.  Add in the kibble that I'm feeding the other two, and well...Houston...we have a problem. 

Being the resourceful girl that I am (armed with the mighty Google search), I found a recipe for a raw canine diet.  It was pretty simple and gosh, I love to play in the kitchen...a win/win.  Into the food processor:  meat, garlic, carrots, kelp, steamed spinach, apple cider vinegar, whole eggs with the shell, yogurt, olive oil, organ meat, and parsley. 

It smelled like I'd been coloring Easter eggs in a slaughter house.  Nice.

I offered some from my hand to Rosie, worried that she'd turn her nose at this mess that I'd created.  Nope!  She gobbled it down and licked my hand clean.  Ah...success!  The other two loved it also.  I've got a freezer full of this stuff now.

In addition, I introduced raw chicken wings.  I put two in Rosie's bowl, two in Bogie's bowl and one in Ellie's...Rosie knew what to do.  Slow chewing...crunch, crunch, crunch.  She had that for dinner with some romaine lettuce and shredded carrots.  Bogie only had to crunch his wing once and then...GULP...down it went.  Boys are just that way.  Princess Ellie reacted the EXACT way that I thought that she would.  Whenever she is suspect, she runs to her bed with whatever item she is questioning.  Sure enough, she pulled her wing out of her bowl and ran to her bed...dropped it...looked at it...licked it...looked around...licked it again...then laid down with it.  Chomp, lick, chomp, crunch, lick, crunch.  It took her about 10 minutes to eat that one wing and dang it, she liked it!  She came running back in to her bowl and finished her veggies.  All dogs were full and happy.

Best of all, I was happy to see my senior citizen dog with a full belly.