I’m TWO!!!
My Golden Retriever Corduroy turns two today. This dog has my heart, soul and all of my leftovers, forever. One of my earliest memories as a child is meeting my first Golden. I was seven. My “rich” childhood friend Jackie had a petting zoo theme party for her birthday, whereas I had a sleepover and watched Married to the Mob and played Ouija board!
This party has baby piglets, baby lambs, baby chicks and two Golden Retriever puppies, only 14-weeks-old. I remember this detail because they were for sale and the owner kept emphasizing how this was the best age for the puppies to bond with their new owners. It was love at first sight. I scoped out the scene and when no one was looking, I grabbed the more lethargic puppy and ran! Not far though, just to a private corner where I could pretend he was all mine, forever and where I snuggled him so tight, his smell lingered on my clothing for the entire night.
By the time my parents came to pick me up, I had spent a full four hours with this puppy and not my classmates or Jackie, the hostess. I begged my parents to let me take him home. I promised to wash him, walk him, love him and brush him among other things and of course, they shot me down right away. No Niccola. Not. Gonna. Happen.
You have to understand where I am and was coming from now and then. My parents both came from big Italian families that had many, yes MANY, dogs throughout the course of their young lives. I know this because I’ve seen the countless pictures of my them with their dogs, particularly my mom with her Saint Bernard named Wendy, who she toted around in a Volkswagen Bug back in the 70s. Cool huh?
So I was bummed when year after year, my parents vetoed my vote for a Golden and Santa Claus declined to make the situation right by leaving one under my Fraiser Fir tree, in a box, adorned with a big red bow. You can imagine my surprise, shock, anger and jealously when I moved to college and my mom went and bought my younger brother a Cocker Spaniel puppy! WTF??!!! Not fair!!!
Fast forward November 2011. On the eleventh, I lost my first dog, Irie, to a fast-spreading tumor. It was awful, and I won’t talk about it because it’ll make you cry! My other dog Sugar was, and is still, mildly depressed. She wouldn’t eat. Sleep. Accept treats. Play outside. It was sad. So two weeks later I found a breeder in Paso Robles, wine country over here, and went to FINALLY pick out my OWN puppy!
In honor of Cord’s second birthday, I made homemade dog treats that are cheap and easy to make and very healthy for your babies. Made mostly of peanut butter, Sugar and Cord eat these up fast and you can freeze them and pop them out the day of for a special treat! Most dog treats on the market have loads of by-products in them, but not these! Just four ingredients. Simple.
Even old Sugar got into party mode, if just for a sec!
Homemade Peanut Butter Dog Treats- makes 30 cookies
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup peanut chunky peanut butter
-1 cup rolled oats
-2 cups whole wheat flour
-1 1/4 cups HOT water
Knead the dough until it becomes tough.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix the oats and flour together. Mix in the peanut butter and HOT water. Add more flour if your dough is too sticky or too thin. Knead the dough. Put dough on a floured surface and use rolling pin to get dough to a 1/4″ thickness. If you have a fun dog cookie cutter, like a bone, use that!( I couldn’t find mine so I made circles and then used my fingers to indent little paw prints on the cookies. Unfortunately, you cannot see this detail in the photos, or on the finished product, for that matter! ) Put on an un-greased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes. Will last for one week, Freeze the rest!
The birthday boy licking the bowl… he didn’t leave any for his sister!
P.S. These are human-friendly too. I just finished my second one! Woof!
Finished Product! Mama Approved!
For those of you on two legs, here’s a little treat for your weekend or the BEST possible party dish you could EVER take to that Labor Day BBQ. I give you almond walnut brittle, like your Grandma used to make but better cause my husband made it! Sticky, sweet and mouth-watering, this almond walnut brittle will have you reaching to break off another piece… of dental floss! But well worth it people. This is all Andy by the way. I’ll just take credit for eating the lot of it!
Hot off the press!
Handy Andy’s Almond Walnut Brittle- makes plenty!
-1.5 cups granulated sugar
-1/2 cup water
-1/4 cup corn syrup, light or dark
-1/4 tsp salt
-1.5 cups combination of toasted walnuts and almonds , chopped
-1 tbsp butter
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions: Andy bases his ingredients off of this recipe but his take is much tastier!
1. Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place the sugar, water, molasses, corn syrup, and salt in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves, and brush down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Insert a candy thermometer.
3. Cook the mixture until it reaches 270 degrees F (132 C) on the thermometer. Once it reaches the proper temperature, add the butter and the walnuts, and begin to stir constantly.
4. Cook the brittle, stirring, until it reaches 300 degrees F (149 C) on the thermometer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the vanilla and baking soda. The brittle will foam up when you add the soda, so be extra cautious during this step.
5. Pour the candy out onto the prepared pan and allow it to cool for 4-5 minutes.
6. Once cool enough to touch but still warm and pliable, spray your hands with nonstick spray and begin to pull the candy gently between your hands, stretching it as thin as possible.
7. Allow it to cool completely, then break it into small pieces. Store Almond Walnut Brittle at room temperature in an airtight container for up to one week.
Well, I’m off to teach a double-header at the Yoga Centre in SLO. First up, Ashtanga Full Primary followed by an Intermediate Vinyasa class, inspired by the Ashtanga sequence. Later, I’m finally having new asana photos taken for my website by one of my students, Sarah. She is so talented and we’re headed out to the breathtaking Montana De Oro. Pictures to follow! Then it’s off to a concert in Los Osos with some girlfriends.
P.S. Did you know I run a dog-sitting business called Adventures in Dog Sitting? Hit me up for dog-walking and in-your-home and in-my-home dog sitting. I’m affordable, dependable and I do doga (yoga for dogs) with your buddies. I take care of your cats and horses too! Wag more, bark less!
I’ll leave you with some pictures of Corduroy, because that’s what any good dog mama would do!
Happy, happy birthday to Corduroy from Hamlet!
Cord says thank you!!!