You can make treats for your family pets
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2006
It’s conceivable that Kruse pets Scrappy, Badger and Magic have an ulterior motive here, but in addition to making up their own lengthy Christmas lists, they wanted me to be sure their special four-footed relatives and friends and yours, too, have plenty of homemade treat-gifts on hand this Christmas.
Accordingly, they have finally whittled the choices for me to pass on to you down to just two, both taken from that marvelous collection of recipes, “A Puff-fectly Wonderful Cookbook,” from the Peninsula Friends of Animals over there in Sequim.
The first concoction, cat crackers, was contributed by Marci Wilson of Sequim, who noted, “Give these to your cats and watch them gobble them up.”
Credit for the creation of the second pet goodie, a neat treat for our dog buddies, goes to the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine.
Cat crackers
1can (6 ounces) tuna, undrained
1cup cornmeal
1cup flour
1/3cup water
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Measure all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands. Roll out to 1/4-inch thickness and cut into treat-size pieces. Place on a greased cookie sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool. Give to your cats and watch them gobble them up.
Doggy banana bones
5cups all-purpose flour
1/4-1/2cup chopped peanuts
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1egg, lightly beaten
1/4cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup pureed bananas
2teaspoon vanilla extract (real, not imitation)
Water
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Set rack on middle level. Have one or two baking sheets lined with parchment paper ready to go. Mix flour, peanuts and baking soda together in large bowl. Gradually stir in the remaining ingredients, except the water, until lumpy but blended. Add enough water, 1 teaspoon at a time, to make a stiff dough. Knead by hand until thoroughly mixed (or blend everything in a food processor).
For large doggie bones, form the dough into 2 logs, each about 21/2-inches high, placing 1 log on each prepared baking sheet. Flatten each log so that it is 6-inches wide and 1-inch high. For medium doggie bones, form 4 logs, 2 on each sheet, and flatten each into loaves that are 3-inches wide and 1-inch high.
Bake bones for 30 minutes. Remove to wire racks and let rest for 10 minutes (but leave oven on). Transfer the logs to a cutting board and slice into 1/2- 3/4-inch pieces. Slice on the diagonal, using a serrated bread knife. Return the slices to the baking sheets and bake for about 20 minutes longer, turning once, until they are golden brown. Cool on racks. Store in tightly closed container at room temperature.
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