Wish I could be there

The world's largest dog biscuit is set to be unveiled Saturday in Libertyville, Ill.

At 400 pounds, the biscuit will be on display during "Woofstock" at Lambs Farm.

The invite reads "Dogs and the people who live with them" are welcome.

If anyone is there and can take a picture, please send it in.

Kate's eating healthy

I was given a book by Catskill, N.Y., residents Corbett Marshall and Jim Deskevich called Eco Dog, which I will be doing a story about soon for the Life section.

The premise is healthy living for your dog using recycled materials, safe cleaning products and organic foods. The publisher is Chronicle Books.

They have a couple of recipes in the book, and, of course, I chose the simplest one to try.

It's called "Quick Dog Treats," and the ingredients, in their entirety, are wheat germ and two small jars of baby food — organic, of course. Mix the ingredients. Roll into balls. Put on greased baking sheets. Flatten with the back of a fork. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Give to your dog.

Never one to completely follow recipes, I did not use organic wheat germ. Didn't feel like paying an arm and a leg for it at a health food store, so I used the good old bottled wheat germ from the grocery store. And this time I didn't bother flattening with a fork; I used my fingers.

My treats don't look anything like the picture in the book. (Click on the picture to embiggen for a closer look.)


That didn't matter to Kate.



This is the second time I've made these. The first was with peas and brown rice organic baby food (OK, I panicked in the baby food aisle of Stop & Shop). Today I made it with sweet potato and turkey organic baby food.

Thanks, Theresa

My colleague in the newsroom — Theresa Marquez — made dog cookies over the weekend and brought some in for Kate. They are called Liver Chippers and look amazing like chocolate chip cookies.

If you or I ate one, we'd be in for a surprise though. The "chips" are chopped chicken liver.

Needless to say, for the intended audience, they went down smooth.

I'm sure her teeth aren't caps!

I know that on her new series, Damages, Glenn Close cannot be accused of chewing the scenery.

But on a recent Late Night With Conan O'Brien, the Emmy-award-winning and five-time-Oscar-nominated actress chows down on dog biscuit.

Here's the clip.

I've tasted the biscuits I've made for Kate, but I don't think I would dare — or my dentist would allow me to — try a boxed biscuit.

BTW, if you haven't caught Close's FX network show, there will be a marathon of all the episodes aired so far tomorrow, Labor Day, from 3 p.m to 8 p.m. EDT. An all-new episode will air Tuesday at 10 p.m., which is its regular time-slot.

Be aware, dog lovers, there are some disturbing scenes in the show.

Kate's a lucky girl

I ran across The Ultimate Dog Treat Cookbook: Homemade Goodies for Man's Best Friend on Amazon.com the other day and it seemed to have some pretty interesting recipes in it.

Author Liz Palika has concocted dog biscuits, some of which can be cooked in the microwave, that sound tasty.

There's a recipe for Chunk Chicken and Sweet Potato Treats, Peanut Butter-Honey Nut Cheerios Balls (you can use creamy or chunky) and Taco Treats, made with ground beef, cheddar cheese, mild salsa and avocado.

Mmmmmmmmmm, Taco Treats.

I just whipped up a batch Microwave Oatmeal Balls (here's the link to the Amazon.com page for the recipe and I'm sure Palika wouldn't mind if you bought a copy of her book while you were there). They contained AP flour (you can make it with whole wheat or any other kind), flax seeds, quick oats, cornmeal, egg, butter, nonfat dry milk and beef bouillon powder.

As usual when I'm baking things for Kate, she's in the kitchen waiting patiently, guarding the oven and then guarding the table where the cookies were cooling on a wire rack.

When the first batch was cool enough, I gave her one. She held it in her teeth for a second and then started eating it. The cookie was a little crumbly, and some of the quick oats they are rolled in ended up on the floor.

But Kate managed to hoover all the stray bits quite nicely, thank you very much.

The second cookie was scarfed up even faster. The third was gone in a blink of an eye.

Weekend baking project?

I haven't made dog biscuits for Kate in a long time.

I started thinking about home-made biscuits since the recent pet food recalls.

I actually haven't made biscuits for Kate — and some of her friends — since I was living in Shekomeko. That's over two year ago.

I'd clean off my long, stainless steel dining table, scrub it good, and use it to roll out the dough after it was kneaded in a stand mixer.

Actually making dog biscuits satisfies the baking urge without risking the "eating all the fruits of your labors" urge. In other words, it's a lot safer than baking Toll House cookies.

While I was preparing the treats, Kate always seemed to know that something special was up. She seldom, if ever, would hang around the kitchen when I was cooking for myself.

Just like a kid, she would eagerly try the raw batter — if any just happened to fall on the floor.

The two recipes I have — Cinnamon Apple and Carrot-Oatmeal biscuit — smell really good while they are baking. I am told, though I've never tried them, that they are bland tasting (A friend of mine tried to eat one, at great risk to his capped teeth).

Even during the summer, Kate would lie by the oven until the biscuits were done.

Of course, the proof is in the eating and Kate would gobble up as many of the biscuits that I would give her. I would even give some of the home-made treats to friends for their dogs. One guy sniffed, "Oh, my dog would never eat anything with cinnamon." Boy was he wrong!

I think I just talked myself into making dog treats this weekend.