Life with Metsuki

Last summer (on July 4^th) our dear Tara Dog departed this planet.  It was a long tough summer without her.  Her spirit lives on and is ever present in our home and hearts.

In mid August, we decided to start the search for another dog, as our home seemed so empty without her, even with our lively kitties (Una and Taika).  After a relatively tedious 3 month search, John and I adopted a chocolate lab puppy (4 months old).   As a bit of historical, when we first started the search we had both agreed that a puppy was not in the forecast…. HOWEVER, after numerous visitations to shelters in the area, meeting dogs that seemed totally disinterested in us, and a few odd experiences with craigslist and owners seeking to find new homes for their dogs, we stumbled across “Suki” and pretty much were captured by her very amazing and magical eyes.  Yep, she lured us in.

Included in the adoption fee at the Humane Society (Bend) is a gift certificate for free kibble from the locally owned Pet Express.   So! In addition to bringing home an exuberant puppy, we also came home with offerings of dry kibble and a bag of meat and veggie frozen biscuits. I of course, being the label reader, decided that while I loved the concept of the frozen patty (chock filled with meat and other goodies), that I could also create a similar product for less money.  One challenge of course, that we are vegetarians (specifically, the odor of cooking meat in the house is not something John cares for).   Thus as an alternative, I came up with the solution of making veggie patties for Suki and inter-mixing them with the frozen carnivore patties from Pet Express.  Best of all, they are healthy for Suki.

Recipe as follows:

2 cups of brown rice (cooked)

1 large sweet potato baked (leave skin on)

1 cup of fresh cranberries

1 organic carrot (cooked)

1 organic Fuji apple

½ cup (maybe less) of veggie broth

In a food processor, mix up the brown rice with the baked sweet potato, adding veggie broth to mixture (will blend easier).  Add in the fresh cranberries, organic cooked carrot and chopped apple, process until smooth, no lumps.  Use the veggie broth while processing, for the consistency you desire.

Line a muffin tin with plastic wrap, and place a ¼ cup of the mixture into each cup.  Freeze.  Once the product is frozen, remove and wrap in wax paper and place in a Ziploc.  This recipe made 16 (1/4 cup amount) portions.    Amount is dependent on size of sweet potato etc. 

My next batch I am hoping to fire up the barbecue, grill a few chicken tenders and salmon and add that to the mix.   Stay tuned!

Woof Woof! (which means bon appétit! in dog language).