HOMEMADE DOGFOOD: MEATLOAF FOR THE DOG!

This is Mr Big Ben (mostly called Benny). Meatloaf? Yes, please, he says. He can eat it every single day! 

I recently adopted a smol doggo from a local rescue who just happens to be the most finicky eater on the globe! That's the guy, Mr Big Ben, right there in the picture. 

I make this meatloaf for him and we do have success because he seems to like it and no longer goes without eating dinner. I've known and loved other dogs, not such finicky eaters as Mr Big Ben ... well, there was also Pericles, and I used to get down on my knees to beg him to eat ... 

I have made this meatloaf with ground turkey but Ben gave it 4 paws down! However, a turkey version is an option that other dogs may like. As for Ben, we moved on to ground beef. Low-fat ground beef. 

I am writing this post on New Year's Day. I would like to report that today, Ben chose to have grilled salmon for dinner because that's part of what I already prepared for the hooman population that will be having dinner in about an hour from now. I mean Big Ben does live with hoomans, therefore it made sense to him that he indulge in some salmon. Cooked to order just for him, plain but topped with a dash of olive oil and a sprinkle of rice, Benny loved it! 

I have not yet had that conversation with Big Ben where I inform him he is a doggo. I doubt this conversation will ever take place. As far as Ben is concerned, he's my son, and hold on, let me tell you, that little guy, I love him like a son!!! 

Big Ben's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs, beaten

2 cups mixed vegetables: use a combination of carrots, green beans, parsley, and peas. Don't use broccoli, it's not good for a dog's digestion.

1/2 cup  flax seed meal (it's a great source of fibre but don't use whole flaxseed because the canine cannot digest it)

1/2 cup unseasoned bread crumbs 

2 tablespoons olive oil

oregano and thyme to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Lightly pre-cook the vegetables. Pre-cooking will aid with digestion. Drain the vegetables and mash them. 

Mix all the ingredients.

Place the mixture in a lightly oiled pan. 

Bake for 45 minutes.  

Let cool, cut into serving portions and freeze. Use as needed. 

P.S. Sometimes I'll get a rotisserie chicken, remove the skin and the bones, chop the meat in small pieces and freeze it. I then combine a relatively small portion of the chicken meat with a serving of "Ben's meatloaf." He's very partial to that. 

No, Big Ben is not spoiled. He's so lovable, so endearing!

PUMPKIN CAKE

Ingredients   

     

3 cups/385 grams all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1  1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

the zest of one orange

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups/440 grams light brown sugar, packed 

1/2 cup/114 grams unsalted butter, soft but cool

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon maple extract

1 (15-ounce) can/425 grams pumpkin purée

1/2 cup Greek full-fat plain yoghurt

½ cup chopped walnuts, toasted 

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C.
• Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan. 
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, black pepper, orange zest, and the rest of the spices until well combined. 
• Add the walnuts to the flour mixture and stir until combined.        
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the brown sugar, butter, olive oil, and maple extract. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. This should take at least five minutes, or perhaps more. 
• Add the eggs one at a time, mixing between additions.
• Add the pumpkin purée, and yoghurt. 
• Mix until well combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary.
• On the lowest setting of your mixer fold in the dry ingredients. Fold only until combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure an evenly mixed batter. 
• Pour into the prepared pan. Firmly tap the pan on the countertop to cause the batter to settle and release any large air bubbles. 
• Bake the cake about 55 to 65 minutes until golden and puffed. The cake is done when a tester (such as a knife), inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. 
• Set the cake, still in its pan, on a rack to cool for at least an hour before unmoulding. Invert onto a rack and allow to cool completely.
• Before serving,  decorate the cake with your favourite glaze if you so choose.

This recipe has been adapted from one published in the New York Times.

    

FROM STALE BREAD TO DELICIOUS CROUTONS!

These croutons may be the reason to give up candy!!! 

Here's the ultimate way to use up one's leftover bread or rolls. Ciabatta bread will do very nicely as will French bread. How about a combination of the two? Go ahead and make these croutons well ahead of time. They freeze beautifully and will be ready to be used as a topping for that favourite salad or soup!  

The croutons are very easy to make, and what's more, this is a recipe without a recipe! Use the amounts you want; let your inner chef take charge!

METHOD:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
• Cut a loaf of bread into cubes of an appropriate size and place them into a large bowl. If you prefer to have rustic bread cubes, don't use a knife. Instead, use your hands to tear the bread into nice pieces. Either way will work, but make sure that whether torn or cut up, all the pieces are of similar size so that they cook evenly. 
• Drizzle the bread cubes with olive oil and melted butter. The combination of olive oil and butter is important because it gives an extra delicious taste to the croutons. However, you may omit the butter and just use olive oil. 
• Sprinkle some garlic powder, Italian seasoning, black pepper and a touch of salt over the bread. Toss until all of the bread cubes are well coated with the ingredients. 
• If you are an oregano fanatic, add some extra dried oregano to the Italian seasoning before tossing with the bread.
• Do you have some shredded Pecorino Romano cheese? How about adding a touch of it to the mix? Not too much, though. Just enough so that it will be absorbed by the oil and butter. 
• Do you have some roasted garlic or better yet some garlic confit in your refrigerator? If the answer is yes, use it. Forgo the garlic powder, mash some soft roasted garlic, mash it well, and mix it with the oil and butter. Drizzle over the bread. 
• Spread the bread cubes onto the prepared baking sheet, making sure the bread cubes are in an even layer and not touching. If they are too close and overlapping, they won’t cook evenly and won’t crisp up.
• Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until the croutons are golden brown. Check early to make sure you don’t burn them. The baking time will depend on how thick your bread pieces are and how your oven cooks. 

• Remove those golden croutons from the oven and let them cool completely. Do fight the urge to snack on them! It can be a strong urge ... Why fight it? Because otherwise, there will not be enough croutons left for your salad or for your soup, that's why!
• The croutons can be stored in an airtight container for a week or they can be frozen for about a month. 

WHOLE, CITUSY ROASTED TROUT (En Papillotte)

I've made this recipe a few times, either with the fish arranged in a baking dish or sealed up in parchment and aluminium foil parcels. There is something about the parcels which better seals in the flavour and enhances the taste of the fish. If you make the recipe in a baking pan, add a little water or wine to the pan and cover the top while cooking. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 whole trout cleaned by the fishmonger. 

2 Yukon gold potatoes 

2 cubanelle peppers (Italian frying peppers) 

two sprigs of rosemary 

1 orange 

1lemon 

1 lime 

1 onion 

olive oil 

dill leaves 

parsley leaves

2 cloves of garlic, chopped well, divided

freshly ground black pepper 

salt

 

DIRECTIONS:

·        Preheat the oven to 400° F / 200° C. Wash the fish thoroughly and pat it dry with paper towels.  

·        Prepare parchment paper and aluminium foil sections large enough to accommodate each fish. Spread out both sections of the aluminium foil and top it with the two sections of parchment paper. 

·        Slice the orange, lemon, lime, onion, cubanelles and potatoes into rondelles. 

·        Season the potatoes and cubanelles with salt, pepper, one chopped clove of garlic and two tablespoons of olive oil. Divide into two portions and place one portion onto the centre of each parchment paper. Top with a sprig of rosemary. 

·        In a small bowl mix the rest of the garlic, the dill, parsley, black pepper and just a little salt. 

·      Season the fish with the oil mixture, using it to cover both the cavities and the outside of the fish.   

·        Place the onion and citrus slices into the fish cavities. 

·        Place each fish on top of the potatoes and peppers. 

·        Make two well-sealed parcels by folding the parchment over the fish and then folding the aluminium paper over the parchment. 

·        Place onto a roasting pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes. The fish is done when its flesh appears opaque. 

·        You could allow the top of the fish to brown if you so wish. In that case, cook in opened parcels for a further five minutes (or more), depending on personal preference. 

·        Remove the fish from the oven and place it on a serving platter alongside the potatoes and cubanelle peppers. 

·        Drizzle the cooking juices and some olive oil on the top of the trout. Keep warm while allowing the fish to rest for five to ten minutes before serving. Allowing to rest assures that the cooking juices drizzled on top will be absorbed into the flesh of the fish.

Fudgy Brownies: The Katharine Hepburn Brownie Recipe

Baking in the time of the Covid-19 lockdown:

We had foxes roaming the neighbourhood! Most had red fur, and a few had white fur. The foxes were the only part of the lockdown I didn't mind. 

Today is 12 April 2023, and I am perusing this blog in search of my recipe for Greek Easter Bread, which I intend to make tomorrow. Easter is just a few days away. But I came across this post and clicked on it because I remembered when I had written it. Look at the date: 4/1/2020. That was the covid lockdown year and actually, it had been mere days since we had entered lockdown in our area (23 March 2020). What a surreal plight! We all did our best to keep busy, to understand what was going on, and to function as normally as possible under the circumstances. But we lived dystopian lives. Friends died, they left us, left the earth. As of this writing, more friends are dying. 

What did I do in 2020? I did what the New York Times wrote that everyone else in lockdown was doing: I baked things and cooked things. I read, pulling books from my bookshelves and ordering books online. I thought I was going to write but I didn't, although I tried. Unfortunately, one can't be forced into writing. I got depressed and felt isolated and hoped that when I drove to the supermarket or drove to see a family member (the latter being inadvisable according to the authorities), well, I hoped I was not going to be stopped by the police and asked where I was headed. I remember the police roadblock close to our local hospital ... I remember getting yelled at by a woman for forgetting to wear a mask. I remember how hot it felt to wear a mask and how difficult it was to breathe through it. I remember shopping for masks online, trying to find ones that matched my outfits. True, ridiculous, ridiculous, true, and we all did it, men and women. We were also wearing makeshift masks back then and let's admit it, all our masks were ineffective, which means they were useless, but we were ordered by a loud little fellow who lived in Washington DC, a Dr f something or other, we were ordered by him to wear them. And wear them we did. We obeyed. I saw all sorts of masks: Bandanas were turned into maks ... Fishnet stockings were turned into masks ... Good for Mardi Gras, those masks.   

Was I scared? I certainly thought the Covid-19 respiratory virus was one serious virus, but I didn't think it was as lethal as the authorities made it out to be. With good treatment, one could survive it.

I was more numb than anything else. I was in disbelief. I was in emotional pain. And yes, depression was always looming around, although I avoided acknowledging it because if I did, I was certain that living would become too difficult. Let me tell you something: depression knew how to make inroads into my soul whether I acknowledged I was depressed or not. It revealed itself in various ways. I found myself inhabiting an unending science fiction movie that had come to life. 

I hope neither I nor anyone else has to live under similar circumstances ever again. We are social creatures and we love freedom. Under oppression, while imprisoned, we change; we become diminished. Life is precious. Hug one another and remember what a gift it is we have, our life. Also, don't forget to love. Give it away, give love. Trust me, you won't run out of it; there will always be more of it inside you. Don't be ashamed or reluctant to show love, don't measure love, don't attach conditions to it, just give it, give love.

Here's the original post with its recipe:

This recipe has a well-deserved cult following, and might I add two more facts: it's a great recipe and it's definitely a recipe for chocoholics. Notice the scant amount of flour as compared to the chocolate! These brownies are gooey and fudgy! Whatever I’ve marked as optional is not included in Ms Katharine Hepburn’s recipe, but I have found that the few extra ingredients that I add give a whole new depth of flavour and they temper the strong taste of chocolate. If you crave the strong taste of chocolate, leave them out. I cut down on the amount of sugar used but the brownies are still sweet enough!  I use 3/4 of a cup, whereas Ms Hepburn liked 1 cup of sugar. Either walnuts or pecans can be used here, but I prefer walnuts (unless I am in the mood for pecans). Slice these brownies into small pieces — about twenty pieces per recipe — and keep them in the refrigerator; they do taste better cold. They can be frozen, too!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup good quality Dutch-process cocoa powder such as Guittard or Callebaut 

1/2 cup butter (115 grams or one stick) 

1 teaspoon instant coffee (optional)

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder (optional)

1 cup chopped or broken-up walnuts

1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (optional, sometimes I use it, sometimes not)

 1/8 teaspoon of salt

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 325° Fahrenheit / 160 ° Celsius. 
2.     Line an 8x8-inch (20x20 cm) pan with parchment paper. The brownies will stick and will not be easily removed from the pan without the use of parchment paper. Lightly grease the top of the parchment and set the pan aside. 
3.     Combine flour, nuts, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. 
4.     Bloom the cocoa: Melt the butter and cocoa in a saucepan, stirring until smooth. Add the coffee and stir. Let cool slightly. 
5.     Transfer to a large bowl and add the sugar. Beat with an electric mixer until the sugar is dissolved. 
6.     Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and the cinnamon. 
7.     Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture. Mix just until combined. 
8.     Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 minutes, but do not over-bake; the brownies should be gooey and fudgy. Let cool, then remove from the pan and cut into bars. 
9.     Cut into small pieces because these are rich brownies. I usually get 20 pieces. Place the brownies in the refrigerator. To me, they taste better cold. And yes, these brownies can definitely be frozen. 
10.    Sometimes I add the walnuts on top rather than mix them in the batter. Try it, it certainly makes the brownies look more enticing. 
11.     What is your favourite Katherine Hepburn movie? You can only pick one. What? My favourite? Bringing up Baby. That's the first thing that came to mind, so it must be Bringing up Baby. It's goofy, and she's fabulous in it, although when she eats, she goes for olives, not brownies.