Culinary Concoctions by Peabody

A few weeks ago my dog had asked you all for a couple dog bone recipes…we got over 50…so thank you. While my mom was here(also a dog owner) I mentioned to her that I wanted to start making my own dog bones. She was very much on board with this and also wanted to make her puppy some as well. So after the Easter dishes were done we set out to make dog biscuits. We originally were only going to make two kinds but then my mom realized that we didn’t use the molasses, and darn it all, we bought molasses just to use in these biscuits…so we made three kinds. As I suspected, the peanut butter kind were by far my puppy’s favorite…however, both dogs loved all three kinds and gladly ate them whenever they were tossed their way. I can not for the life of me remember who gave me what recipe so if you recognize one you submitted, please let me know…or if you know where it was from.
Quick Hockey Update: Calgary lost their first game…apparently they were confused and thought it was a scrimmage game and played like they didn’t give a crap. I cussed so much during that game that I was pretty sure the police would be at my door…my neighbors thinking domestic violence, not a hockey game. They play Sunday morning and they best pull it together by then!!!
My Sabres however, were indeed aware that they were playing in a playoff game and won. They play again in a couple of hours and I am hoping for the best.
In case you were wondering what I am stuck eating now that one of my teams has won…that would be quiche. Not a good choice for my waistline/heart…but I will hopefully not get sick of it as quick as I did with pea soup.

Note: Some people feel garlic is bad for dogs. Don’t use it then. My vet as well as two other vets(who are friends) said the small amount of garlic would do nothing. This person tells me by recommending these treats I could kill your dog. I got another email telling me that cornmeal and wheat is bad for your dog and will cause tooth decay. I also got reprimanded for using peanut butter because dogs might be allergic to nuts. So please, for the love of God don’t make these dog biscuits.

Molasses Dog Biscuits

2 cups cornmeal
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons molasses
2 cloves garlic
½ cup chicken broth
½ cup powdered milk

Preheat oven to 400º. In a large mixing bowl combine all the ingredients. Blend until smooth. Roll this mixture out  ¼ inch thick and cut into shapes or shape into dog biscuits by hand. Place 1 inch apart on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.

Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Dog Treats

2 TBSP flaxseed meal
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1 cup oatmeal
2 cups whole wheat flour

Mix all the ingredients together. Roll on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick, adding flour or water as needed. Cut with a cookie cutter(we just make squares). Bake at 300F for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the treats for several hours or overnight in the oven.

Soy Flour Dog Bones

2 eggs
2 TBSP soy flour
2 TBSP wheat germ
2 TBSP instant nonfat dry milk
1/2 tsp salt
4 TBSP water
1 tsp chicken flavored granules
2 cups whole wheat flour

Preaheat oven to 350F. Use ungreased cookie sheets.
Break eggs into a large bowl and stir until blended. Add the soy flour, wheat germ, dry milk, salt and water; and stir until smooth. Add the flour and mix into the egg mixture; you can do this with a spoon, but your hands work better. The dough will be stiff and dry.
Remove the ball of dough to a working surface; pat into a rectangle 3 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick, then cut itno bones 3/4 inch wide…we made smaller ones than that…basically cut those in half. Place 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes on one side then flip and bake for another 15-20. Remove and cool on racks.

So it is playoff hockey time. This year it is twice as nerve racking, for both my teams have made the playoffs(sorry Ivonne about the Leafs). Luckily, my teams are in separate conferences and really only have the chance of playing each other in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That would tear me apart.
This is the time of year that my husband says he has no idea who I am, he thinks I have been abducted by the NHL. I will admit that I tend to go off the deep end a little. I swear constantly like a drunken sailor. I throw things(mostly balled up socks). I only watch about half the game because I work my stomach into so many knots that the minute the other team gets in our zone and has a chance to score I switch the channel and scream, “BAD ZONE, BAD ZONE!” I also, out of superstition, eat the same thing over and over again based on what I was eating the first game my team had their first win. Last year it was pea soup(so not doing that again…my team made it all the way to the Eastern Conference finals…and that was a lot of soup). Two years before that it was sour licorice and macadamia nuts. If you are not a hockey fan none of this makes sense to you…and that is okay…you can go hang out with my husband.
Since my mind and body(if you ask my hubby) are otherwise preoccupied in the quest for Lord Stanley’s Cup I need to stick with simple food, as I am sure to miss a few ingredients if it is a complicated. Today I was at the store stocking up on rare types of flour(the Daring Bakers were talking about flour and I went flour buying crazy) but I also ran across key lime marmalade! I was so excited, for I am after all, on a key lime kick. I also found some luscious, red, ripe strawberries that wanted to come home with me too. This cake is super easy and I do love the addition of the key lime being soaked into the cake…really does give it a little something extra. If you can’t find the treasure of key lime marmalade like I did you can use an alternative jam.
All that being said…the race is on. GO FLAMES!!!! GO SABRES!!!

Basic White Cake 

INGREDIENTS:
2-1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
3-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
4 egg whites, at room temperature
PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9″ round layer cake pans and line the bottoms with waxed paper; set aside. Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder into a large mixer bowl. Add butter, milk and vanilla.
Beat on slow speed until blended. Then beat on medium speed for 2 minutes, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add unbeaten egg whites (yes, UNbeaten - that’s the trick), and beat two minutes longer at medium speed.
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until cake is light golden brown and is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Cool 15 minutes in pans, then carefully remove layers from pans and cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Adapted from busycooks.about.com

Other ingredients:

Rose’s Key Lime Marmalade(If you can’t find just use orange marmalade or a jam of your choice)
sweetened whipped cream
fresh cut strawberries

To Assemble:
Cut cake into three layers, try not to butcher it as badly as I did.
Melt marmalade in a saucepan until it becomes sauce like.
Place a cake layer on a plate and brush with key lime maramalade. Layer with sliced strawberries and then whipped cream. This really is just a matter of taste and how much you want of each ingredient.
Place second layer on top and repeat.
Place thrid layer on top, this time brush with marmalade and top with whipped cream and place some strawberries on top for garnsih.

Dear Mr. Peabody(first off Peabody is my first name and I am a woman…just want to clear that up),

I recently made your muffins that were so highly recommended. One blog even said they were the best muffins ever. Well mine turned out horrible. I am an excellent baker so I know that I did nothing wrong, it must be your recipe. I wanted to bring these to a pot luck and so I made a double batch. I wasted $7.30 on making these. Enclosed is my address, I would appreciate a refund for the money I spent on the ingredients. I will take a personal check if that would be easier.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

At first I thought this person was kidding…but turns out they were not. I told them they would get a refund as soon as every cookbook publisher gave me a refund for every recipe I tried and did not like. I haven’t heard back from them since. I have to say this is by far the strangest email I have ever received in regards to my blog. Keep in mind this is the second email like this from this individual….the first time they only suggested I should give people back their money and did not give a bill and an address.

So after receiving this let me be the first to say that if you try something and don’t like it or it doesn’t turn out…I am very sorry. I will be more than happy to work with you to figure out why it didn’t turn out right. Also realize that some flavors I like and you don’t…so somethings I say I love and I think is the best, you might not like at all. With that in mind I wish you all happy baking and I hope you certainly find something on my blog that you will like!

My mom and I talk a lot about food. I mean a lot. Sometimes my mom will list everything she ate that day or read me a recipe over the phone. She loves describing food to me, which I hate, because I usually become hungry by the time she is done. And since she does not live close to me I can not go over and get it. For months now she has been going on and on about these cranberry orange cookies….telling me over and over again how good they are(she keeps having senior moments and forgets that she has told me how good these are). So before she came here this weekend I told her, for the love of Pete bring the stinking cranberry orange cookie recipe. So as you can clearly see the cookies were indeed made and I must say that they are tasty and agree with my mother that they are good.  To me they say winter(they are from a Christmas magazine after all) but my mother makes them year round. The original recipe said macadamia nuts, but we make ours with pistachio because we both agree they go better with the cranmorange(see me use the word in everyday conversation) combo. My mother also is emphatic about them being better the next day and encourages anyone who makes them to wait till the next day because they are “that much better”…her words, not mine. She was a little shocked that I was putting them up on my blog. I think she too was feeling the pressure that well over 200 people would now be judging the cookies that she just kept telling me were the best. The “what if people don’t like them” panic hit her just a little. I told her the worst that could happen is that people would rally together and start a website dedicate to how much they hate these cookies and how evil Peabody’s mom was to suggest they were good. The movement would gain popularity and a cranberry-orange Peabody’s mom hating cult would form. They would hold secret meetings plotting her death until they finally killed her off while she was peddling her cookies at the local Farmers Market at the small community center her town has. I told her not to worry because the chances of that happening were slim. Moral of the story being, if you don’t like them, just say so…don’t go gun down my mom!

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Orange Sugar

1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp freshly grated orange peel

Cookies
1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter, room temperature
1 egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ cup sweetened dried cranberries, chopped
½ cup pistachio nuts
1 TBSP freshly grated orange peel

Heat oven to 350F.
Combine all orange sugar ingredients in a small bowl; stir until well mixed. Set aside.
Combine 1 cup sugar, butter and egg in a large bowl; beat at medium speed until creamy. Reduce speed to low; add flour, baking powder and baking soda. Beat until well mixed. Add all remaining ingredients. Continue beating just until mixed.
Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in orange sugar. Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten with bottom of glass to 1 ½-inch circles.
Bake for 7 to 11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.(DO NOT OVERBAKE). Cool 1 minutes; remove from cookie sheets.

Source: Adapted from Land O’Lakes Holiday Cookies  2005