Doggie Biscotti

There have been so many scares about food and product sources lately that I have been working on making more of Claris' food and snacks at home with fresh ingredients (and from local sources wherever possible). I made two batches of Peanut Butter Oat and Chicken Biscotti which have been a real hit here at home and with friends' furry buddies. I am working on new recipes, including breath biscuits with mint and parsely, anti-allergy treats and sensitive stomach biscuits as a result of the many requests that have been made... Once I get those down I will post them so everyone can bake their own specialty snacks for their canine companions, too!

In a Pickle

I just tried making my first set of pickles, and in a few days I will see how things went. The lids popped down nicely, and things look okay (except I did not pack the beans in tight enough-lesson learned. Cram those veggies in!). I made the simplest recipe possible for pickling cucumbers and green beans:

Easy spicy pickles
2 1/2 Cups Vinegar
2 1/2 Cups Water
1/4 cup salt
Garlic Cloves
Chopped Peppers

Boil vinegar, water & salt. Clean veggies to be pickled and cut them as you want them to be pickled. Put at least one clove of garlic and chopped peppers into bottom of sterilized jars, then TIGHTLY put your veggies in. Pour vinegar, water and salt boil into jars, put on cleaned tops and rings, and process for 10-12 minutes in a boiling water bath (with at least 1/2 inch above the tops of the jars). Remove from bath after time so as not to overcook veggies, and wait for the lids to pop down. If they do not pop, refrigerate and eat in a few days (sorry, but they are not safe to put in the pantry if they do not pop, and do not re-boil, or they will be overcooked)!

I am going to give them a few days and try them, and if they taste okay, I will branch out to more complicated recipes! Thinking of bread and butter pickles (you know I love the sweet-stuff), and some pickled cauliflower...

In the Kitchen Garden

I have been working on a kitchen garden so I can have herbs for cooking (and a little mint for a Julep or Mojito) even after the warm weather has ended and the plant boxes in the front of the house have stopped producing for me.

I have been experimenting with fresh organic herbs and find that they really add a deeper, richer flavor to the dishes I add them to. The basil is so easy to use- roll the leaves, chop into thin strips and drop into marinara sauce (even the stuff in the jar is so much better with this addition), or on a pizza before you put the cheese on! Rosemary is great on fresh-baked foccacia, and along with the drinks, I am going to add mint to a dog treat recipe (for improving canine breath, along with the parsley).

The oregano is doing wonderfully, and the thyme at the top is also growing well. The mint is not too happy being cramped in the darker middle row, but I will probably swap it out for something that handles the shadier conditions and put the mint in the sunny laundry room. Not sure how the rosemary, sage and Italian parsley will do quite yet; only time will tell. The water globes will help me keep them in good condition, as watering can make a mess and they help keep things clean and healthy too!

Getting Creative

I have a nice planter of assorted herbs, and have been working on ways to use my organic produce for my new business. This week I put together some herb-infused vinegars with oregano, sage, rosemary and basil. In a few days I will test them out with friends at work. Perhaps a nice baby-greens salad with oil and vinegar dressing?

I also infused some olive oil with sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and red peppers, which will be ready in a few days as well. Tomorrow I will whip up some dog biscuits!

Claris makes an over-sized friend...

Claris is a very social creature, and is more than happy to greet almost anyone with a wag and a lick (Unless of course you are an avian-based species. In that case you are considered a meal NOT a buddy. It is in her genes...). Her newest buddy is Cinnamon, our neighbor's horse. They really seem to have fun together, and Claris is always trying to drag me down the mountain for a visit and a game of "run the fence". The progression of their play goes like this:

A Fungus Among Us

I have never really been much of a fan of mushrooms, fungi, slime molds or lichens but I am starting to reconsider my position after spending time in the forest in Floyd. The combination of shade, damp and food sources near Dog Days provides the perfect habitat for some very interesting species of the aforementioned life-forms. They have lovely shapes and colors and add some serious interest to the usually brown floor of the woodlands. I will have to spend some time looking up the names of these new-found neighbors!

A walk in the woods

Claris and I enjoyed a walk down our road last weekend and found all sorts of exciting things!
Having Claris with me usually means I get to see many things I would have overlooked had I not had her nose, ears and eyes on the job. She found this lovely male American Box Turtle in the weeds along our path and brought him to my attention. You know a Box Turtle is male if it has red eyes, more flattened topside and a more rounded underside, in case you wanted to know...


We passed through a gate in the road (from the maps the gate blocked an old public road so I only feel a little like a trespasser), and enjoyed a car-free walk!
Just passed the gate was a large meadow full of wildflowers and this old utility pole that now only housed a feathered occupant and not its intended wiring. All that was left of its former life was a glass insulator.

It seems not to be unusual to find abandoned houses, schools, barns and major appliances along the byways of the Blue Ridge, and this dirt road in the dead center of no-where was no exception. In fact, it had "all of the above" and then some...












These ghosts of lives past make the hike all the more interesting. Who left these things behind? How did they get to this point, and what will come next? They are vestiges of civilization, rotting back to wilderness, making for some deep contemplation while wandering with your best dog...

The wildflowers, birds and trees were especially nice along this road, and as they grow and change I will have new things to view unfold every time we take this walk.