Healthy Vegetables For Your Dog. . .

Vegetables are an excellent addition to your dog's daily diet. However - NEVER GIVE THEM ONION OR GARLIC and do some research to be sure to avoid other foods that can cause them harm.

Typically, I feed my old pup, Oliver, twice a day. His first feeding, around 7am consists of meat plus a little 'healthy' dry food. Later, usually around 3pm, he gets a little more dry food with lightly steamed-sauteed vegetables added.

Chop everything well, add a little of the rendered chicken fat removed from the top of the chilled bone broth on day 2 of making that and also some bone broth. Simmer this just until the carrots are crisp tender.

When feeding this, I'll add a little warm water or heated bone broth to his bowl with the dry food.

He loves all three of these: carrots, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts! Oliver turned 14 in July. His hearing is mostly gone, and he has some arthritis, but I'm convinced keeping his diet healthy and his weight appropriate has added years to our time together. A big win for both of us! . . . Lin

Healing Chicken Vegetable Soup

I bought some BBQ seasoned chicken leg quarters a while ago. Roasted them, then made bone broth, which is the darker jar shown in this photo. I had also made another batch of bone broth using plain chicken legs. Both of these jelled perfectly, indicating a lot of natural, healthy collagen. For this recipe, I used all the darker bone broth and about half of the lighter jar, so about 40oz. total.

For both of these bone broths, I just simmered the skin and bones with a splash of apple cider vinegar in a couple quarts of cold, filtered water. No additional spices, seasonings or other vegetables added. I might just keep it simple like this in the future. This way, with no onion or garlic, the bone broth is good for humans or my dog and cat. Roasted legs and thighs have made the best bone broths.

I chopped-sliced-cubed the vegetables and added them to the pot according to cooking time needed. The 3 carrots need the longest, so they went in with a couple tablespoons of Ghee and a tiny big of onion. I sauteed these a few minutes, then covered for a bit longer over low heat.

Then I added some bone broth, 8oz. of frozen green beans and the Yukon Gold potatoes, cubed. This was covered and simmered about 15 minutes. Then more bone broth and all the chopped garlic, onion, 2/3c cooking Sherry and 10oz. of roasted chicken. Cover this and simmer another 15 minutes.

This turned out really well, with no additional seasonings! Just plain, healing chicken and vegetable soup! . .Lin

Chicken and Vegetables with Buckwheat

Did you know buckwheat is gluten free? The name is certainly misleading in this regard. I decided to toast some in the oven to use as a healthy grain in this casserole sort of chicken, mushroom and zucchini dish.

First, measure out the buckwheat you want to use, on a flat baking sheet. Toast this at 350° for a short time. Maybe 10 minutes, but stay with this, the buckwheat I finally used was my 3rd attempt. The first two went from light to dark and unusable, in no time.

The first photo shows bacon pieces frying. This is sort of an optional incidental. I just happened to be making that to transfer to paper towels, then to containers, just to have in the 'fridge. It sure tastes great as a crunchy topping to many things.

Once the buckwheat is toasted, transfer it to a pot with a lid and cook it like rice, with a buckwheat-to-water-ratio of 1 to 2.

Sauté the mushrooms in a couple tablespoons of the bacon grease until they start to brown. Add zucchini chunks, mix gently, cover and let cook over low-medium heat for several minutes before adding the chopped onion and mini peppers. When everything is crisp-tender, stir 6-8oz. of roasted chicken meat. Serve this with or over the buckwheat. After the first serving, I combined them in a casserole dish. It would travel well and be a unique addition to any potluck.

~ ~ Don't forget the bacon! . .Lin ~ ~

Crunchy Tuna Salad

Whenever possible, I buy tuna packed in Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Then I use it, without draining, for a healthier version of tuna salad. This minimizes the amount of mayo you need to hold everything together.

Use 2 cans with all the chopped vegetables and drained, diced water chestnuts shown in this photo.

Use about 2T each of a good, seedy, brown mustard and mayonnaise. This EVOO might take a little getting used to, but it really is a healthier way to make tuna salad.

If you like the combination of tuna and eggs, add a couple chopped hard boiled eggs for an added protein boost.

This went great with those corn muffins I made the other day. . .Mmmm! . . Lin

Turkey and Brown Rice Dog Food

Today, being a bit incapacitated due to a weird fall in my living room last night (I tripped over my pup, Oliver!) I decided to find some way to be productive in spite of my hobbley knee and achy body.

I cleaned out part of the freezer in my side-by-side 'fridge. There were 3 packages of turkey parts and pieces. All freezer burned, so they ended up in the garbage. . .for about 10 minutes. Then I decided they'd make great dog food and also bone broth for Oliver. (Remember no onion or garlic for animals - ever!! It's toxic to them! Simple is best, you can always add some raw, finely-chopped animal-safe vegetables as you fix their food each day.)

I roasted everything at 375° for about an hour until the turkey legs were cooked and nicely browned. Smells a little like Thanksgiving here!

When everything cooled a bit I separated the edible parts from the skin, bone and cartilage, with the latter staying in the roasting pan. I added 2-3 quarts of water and simmered that for a couple hours. Then strained and chilled it.

Tomorrow I'll scrape off the fat, into another container, to give him in small amounts, mixed with his food. The rest will be heated and poured into Mason jars, sealed and put in the 'fridge for use within the next couple weeks to heat and add to his food.

The edible parts - turkey meat, gizzards, hearts and livers - were chopped up while making a recipe of brown rice - 1c rice + 2c water. These were combined and almost filled my 4 quart bright yellow vintage Pyrex mixing bowl.

I'll put all this into containers that hold 3 days worth of food to mix with his dry food each morning and freeze them. It'll be nice to continue with the freezer clean out once this food is gone. I know Oliver will love it!..Lin

Corn, Oat, Chia and Flax Muffins with Chopped Walnuts

I gathered ingredients this morning for healthy muffins.
I'm not a big bread and grain person, but this sort of thing goes so well with soups and chili, that I'd love to create a go-to recipe that I know works. An interesting one that I really love serving. So. . .I'm on a quest for that. Then I Googled everything and let A.I. put together a recipe for me. Of course I added a couple things, and this is what I got. 

Wet Ingredients:

1 lg. pasture raised egg

1c whole milk plain Greek yogurt

1/4c single source EVOO

1/4c Maple Syrup
1t± pure vanilla

~ add ~

1 can drained, whole kernel corn

4oz. bone broth

Dry Ingredients:

1c corn flour

1c organic quick oats

2T ground flax seed

2T chia seeds

2t baking powder

1/2 baking soda
2T Everything Bagel seasoning

4 oz. = 1c chopped walnuts

1t cinnamon -or- pumpkin pie spice

Mix each set of ingredients well, with a whisk or a silicone spatula. Don't combine the two bowls until your oven is hot - preheated to 375° - and you're ready to bake. Using a big serving spoon or small ladle, fill each paper-lined muffin cup 3/4 full. Bake until they pass the toothpick test, or about 22 minutes. Cool a half hour before serving.
These turned out well textured, grainy and good! . . Lin

Lemon-Ginger-Pepper-Honey Cleansing 'Tea'

I think a lot about food ideas that are healthy and taste good.

I saw an ad about a ginger drink today that didn't look quite right to me, so I decided to experiment. This one would be great if you're trying to cut down on caffeine or alcohol, or just want a good cleansing drink to keep you on track with healthier lifestyle and food choices. 

4-6 cubes of candied ginger

½-1t ground cinnamon

½t finely ground cayenne + black pepper

1-2T local honey - optional

½-¾c fresh lemon juice

filtered water

Heat several cups of filtered water in a stainless steel pot. Chop the candied ginger and add that to the hot water. Stir and let stand to soften the ginger. Pour this into a blender and blend on high for a minute. Add the rest of the ingredients plus more filtered water - enough to fill a glass pitcher, and blend again. I'm thinking a couple mugs of this each day could be helpful in ridding our bodies of toxins. . .Lin

Beefy Chunky Vegetable and Bean Chili

Aside from a very occasional grass-Today's chili will be a big pot for several people I'm cooking for, and me. beef  inburger, the only thing I use ground meat for is meat loaf. For that I use beef, lamb, venison, elk, chicken, turkey. . .whatever I can find that looks good and healthy. Usually a mix of at least 2 of the above. I loosely follow my mom's meatloaf recipe, and it always tastes great. I'm planning to make more of those this winter, so those recipes will be appearing here.

This big pot is for several people I was cooking for, as well as for me. I've finally discovered that my beef-of-choice for chili is beef stew meat. It always turns out great whereas a roast or steak can be tough. Since the pieces are usually about 1¼" cubes, I cut each one into quarters. This way, in the browning-deglazing process, they get well browned, tender and develop really good flavor.

While the meat is browning in single source EVOO, chop the vegetables. Today I used 2c celery, 1 big onion, 1 lg. green pepper, 3 mini red peppers and the celery tops will go in during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

Brown the meat until it sizzles, then add liquid and simmer again until it sizzles. Do this 3 or 4 times to bring out all the great flavor of good quality meat. Season it lightly, during the last browning.

To deglaze the pot, you can use water, cooking sherry, Vodka or beer. Beer is the best with red meats. I no longer drink alcohol, but love the way certain ones interact with animal protein to enhance the flavor. Most of the alcohol evaporates by the end of the cooking process.

This time, I used water, then - since I didn't have beer - I poured in a splash Marsala cooking wine at the end. If you take the time to do this browning-deglazing with a liquid, you'll be surprised at how little seasonings you need to add!

Pour in the 28oz. can of stewed tomatoes, and the smaller can of petite diced tomatoes with all the juice. All the chopped vegetables along with a cup or two of water if needed, and a big spoonful of beef Better Than Bouillon. Simmer everything together on low-medium heat, covered, for about a half hour. Next add the drained-rinsed black and garbanzo beans along with the chili beans - but do NOT drain or rinse those. Just pour both cans right into the pot. If you like corn in your chili, now would be a good time to add a couple of cans of drained whole kernel corn (not creamed corn). Now the celery tops also go in the pot.

Simmer everything together another 10-15 minutes. Serve it now, or for best flavor, chill and reheat it several hours later.

I had a bowl with a double corn muffin I made to go with the potato corn chowder. This time I cheated and used a jiffy mix to which I added an extra egg, EVOO, 1t baking powder, 1/3c ground flax seed, 1 can drained corn and some quick cooking oats. . .Lin

Potato-Corn (+ Lots of Vegetables) Chowder

I always love making soup. All kinds of soups. . .
However, Chowders and Bisques are especially interesting to me ever since my first Crawfish Bisque. I bought some crawfish recently, so another big pot of that'll be happening again soon. . .

This was a good combination of ingredients, but of course, if I make it again, I'll add and subtract various things - usually depending on what's in my 'fridge. 

 

Today I started by sauteing 4# of scrubbed, rough-chopped potatoes in some of the rendered bacon fat, but there wasn't much. Then adding the chopped carrots and celery and a big spoonful of ghee. 

Later I also poured in about 1/3c of cooking Sherry.

It was soon clear to me that this wasn't all going to fit in one pot, so after the chopped onion, garlic and mini peppers were added, I divided it between 2 big pots. Then to each pot I added half of the total: corn with the liquid, cream of mushroom soup, coconut milk.

Simmer about 15 minutes before checking the flavors. I added garlic salt, smoky paprika and my mix of cayenne + black pepper, then finished with a big spoonful of chicken Better Than Bouillon. Top with a little crumbled bacon for texture and great flavor.

This turned out really well. . .Lin

Healthy-Healing Colorful Vegetable Soup

Beets are amazing! I bought some about a month ago and forgot about the 4 small ones that just sat there, waiting, in the bottom corner of my vegetable drawer. I scrubbed and cut away a little bit of outer dried area at the top, but they were just great, without being peeled!

Slice or chop everything shown. Melt some of Costco's amazing Kirkland brand Organic Ghee in a big pot, then start with the scrubbed, unpeeled vegetables that require the most cooking, the Brussels sprouts and carrots.

Then the can of tomatoes, cauliflower, beets and green cabbage - (tucked in there at the top center) - about 1/3 of a medium head. I omitted the onion, (shown in the photo) to make it a healthy meal option for my dog also.

After all this sauteed until crisp-tender, I added the chopped fresh spinach, seasoning, some filtered water and a big serving spoonful of chicken Better Than Bouillon, but if you want this to be vegetarian, use the vegetable version. Obviously, the beets have done their thing with their pink carotene. . .but. . .who doesn't love bright pink soup? . .😃. . .Lin

An Eggy Breakfast Idea That Took A While To Hatch 😁

I thought of this a long time ago, but often it takes a 'sick day' for me to actually slow down enough to bring an idea to creation. Yesterday I had to push myself to do everything and had a fever for a while. At 2am this morning I woke up sneezing. So. . .now it's a sneezy, sinus cold. No church today!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 sm. Yukon Gold potato

1/3 lg. Vidalia onion

1 raw pasture raised egg

 a little canned coconut milk

1 slice Black Forest ham

1 hard boiled pasture raised egg

crumbled bacon

shredded Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a pan. Add the potatoes and a little of the chopped onion. Let sizzle-saute until these are lightly brown and scenting your kitchen. Turn down the heat and cover.

After a few minutes add the ham. Beat the raw egg with the coconut milk and add that to the pan. Keep things moving just a bit, so it doesn't stick in one place.

When the egg is about half done, sprinkle on your favorite seasonings.

Chop the hard boiled egg and add that, the bacon and the cheese. Lightly stir everything together, cover and remove from the heat.

Serve with some fruit, or vegetables. . .AND. . .coffee, or tea. . .Mmmm. . .Happy Sunday to you. . .Lin

Strawberry-Banana 'Bowl'

Wash and slice some strawberries into a pretty little glass bowl. Add half a banana. I almost chopped in a whole, (including peel) Cutie mandarin, but decided this was enough with just these two fruits. It was delicious! I was going to drizzle this with fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of crunchy turbinado sugar. Instead, I put a big splash of dark raspberry Balsamic over all of it. OHhhh!! - Try it, it was awesome! The acid and the natural sweetness of this type of vinegar awakes all the flavors in the fruit.

Also - Try some dark, syrupy, fruity Balsamic on your favorite vanilla ice cream!! It's a game changer! . . Lin

A Quick Crunchy-Healthy Salad 'Bowl'

Oh my. . .This was nothing short of excellent! Everything fresh, crunchy and very healthy! Often I'll top this with a truly healthy dressing. My favorite is till my very own Lemon-Olive Oil Salad Dressing. Today I went a different direction. . .

Lately I'll buy a large bottle of an Aldi's brand Ranch Salad Dressing. As soon as I've used about 1/4 of it, as is, I then make additions. Sometimes basil pesto, or curry paste, or horseradish and seedy mustard. .  .this time it was tomato pesto. In addition to that, I also drizzled right onto the salad, some toasted sesame oil and white Balsamic vinegar. Lots of people still seem to be stuck in the 'low fat' mentality of the '70's. This thinking has been proven wrong for most healthy people. . . We don't have health or weight issues because we eat fat. Simple carbohydrates are the true villains here!

Today the vegetables in this bowl are:

1 sm. avocado

3 green onions

broccoli florets

1/2 med. tomato

sugar snap pea pods

1 mini English cucumber

many stalks of chopped cilantro

And remember, Soup Season is a bogus term - this also applies to Salad Season. Both should regularly be part of our daily food plans — All Year 'Round! . . Lin

Delicious Sweet Potato 'Cookie' Bites

I came across an inspiration recipe for these online and was intrigued. I've changed several ingredients to make a healthier version. This goes together quickly and is really good. If you can find smaller diameter sweet potatoes, this would make a gorgeous little tray of appetizers. I'm thinking especially pre-dinner, while the turkey is roasting on Thanksgiving or Christmas, or take them to a friend's party on New Year's Eve.

2 sweet potatoes
toasted sesame oil
Everything Bagel seasoning

6oz. cinnamon-craisin goat cheese
raisins - enough to top each 'cookie'
pecan halves (1 on each cookie bite)
honey to drizzle over the top

Preheat your oven to 375°. Scrub and clean up the skin, shaving off any bad spots, on the sweet potatoes. Cut the ends off the unpeeled potatoes and slice the rest into about 1/2" slices. Drizzle a cookie sheet generously, that has sides, with toasted sesame oil. Rub each side in the oil, flip them over and sprinkle with the Everything Bagel Seasoning. Roast for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, slice the goat cheese log into as many slices as you have sliced sweet potatoes. (I kept 5 small ones plain to give to my dog, Oliver, mashed with a bit of hot water and dry food for several of his next afternoon feedings) Poke with a fork to see if they're done. Don't let them get mushy, but they shouldn't be too crispy either. Remove from the oven and let sit for just a few minutes. Put the goat cheese slices on and use your thumb to push it in place. Next lightly push on about 5 raisins to each 'cookie' then push in a pecan half. Drizzle all of this with some good quality honey.

Mmmm, these are SO good, warm or cold. . .Lin

A Quick Salad and Mini Wonton Bowl. . .

This is half fresh and healthy, with the other half - more a craving quencher! I'm not huge on pasta, but every so often I really want some! 

Today this was just what I needed! I love these! The pasta isn't overwhelming and the flavor and texture of the chicken and vegetable stuffing is so good!

Steam-sauté a few Costco Chicken & Cilantro Mini Wontons. I did this in a pan with Toasted Sesame Oil and a little water. Serve with a drizzle of sweet chili sauce. 

Rough chop some tomato, cucumber and avocado, sprinkle with your favorite seasonings. . .Dig in! . .Lin

Shrimp, Sweet Potatoes and Green Onions

I try to always have a 2# bag of wild caught Argentinian Red Shrimp, from Costco, in my freezer at all times. I love it and crave it regularly. It can be quickly made into a healthy lunch or dinner. . .or have it for breakfast!

2T good quality ghee (clarified butter)

1 med. sweet potato

3 or 4 lg. green onions

8-10 shrimp - thawed

2-3T lemon juice

Seasonings: red and black pepper, Lawry's Garlic Salt

Peel and cube the sweet potato and rough chop-slice the green onions while melting the ghee in a heavy-bottom frying pan over low-medium heat. Add the vegetables to the pan, stir a little then cover. After a couple minutes, stir in the lemon juice and the shrimp. Cover and simmer a few minutes until the shrimp curl and brown a bit.

Dinner is ready 😃 . . . Lin

Coconut Tomato-Vegetable Bisque (with compound butter parmesan biscuits)

SO many vegetables!

This is what I started with. If you substitute English cucumber for the squash, it's very similar to the ingredients for my Gazpacho!

I only roasted those shown on the cookie sheet: squash, purple onion, carrots, cabbage, small tomatoes and garlic. The others have more delicate or fresh flavors, and are best with minimal cooking. 

Drizzle with single source EVOO, season with your favorite vegetable seasonings then roast until golden at 350° for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut up the other vegetables and saute on low heat, starting with the green pepper and celery.

Saute in 2T each:
Better Than Bouillon-vegetable, EVOO, water. After about 10 minutes, stir in the cut up grape tomatoes and green onions. When it begins to bubble again, cover and move off the burner.

Stir in the rough chopped roasted vegetables, the can of stewed tomatoes, 1-2t coconut or brown sugar.

Simmer everything an additional 10 minutes. Blend with an immersion blender until it reaches the smoothness you want. At the end, blend in some fresh basil, then stir in 1 or 2 cans of coconut milk. I used 2 cans this time.

I made some biscuits, in a muffin tin, to go with this. Crack open a can of 8 jumbos, cut each biscuit in 4 pieces putting 3 in each paper-lined muffin cup in a 12 tin. 8 will be bigger ones with 4 being smaller, having only 2 biscuit pieces.

Top each with about 1T grated parmesan-romano cheese. Drizzle with melted butter seasoned with garlic salt, pepper, Italian seasonings. Bake until the tops are nicely browned. If there is extra butter, butter the tops when they are cooled a bit. . .Lin

Asian Kale Salad

I've had some really good kale salads over the years, as well as a few that were pretty awful. My favorites have always had a similar dressing, with the distinctive flavor of toasted sesame oil. 

I saw only one package of locally grown, very fresh, dark green, curly kale at the 'fancy grocery store' I go to occasionally and snapped it up - determined to create a recipe that I might actually make again. This might be the one.

Kale is fun to work with. Pull or cut all the dark green leafiness off the center rib. Throw that away, outside for the bunnies, or - as I do - give it to your dog to eat 🐶

Slice the kale into thin ribbons. Put it in your salad spinner, rinse and drain the water. Salt it and give it a nice massage. This breaks down the tough cell structure, tenderizing it a bit as well as helping it to absorb the dressing better. Rinse and drain it well, then wash and spin it dry in your salad spinner. Use lots of cold water to wash away all the salt.

Put the kale in a big glass bowl, add the rest of the ingredients shown. Chop or slice the vegetables:

1 celery heart + green tops
2 scrubbed carrots
1 med. purple onion
2c± purple cabbage
3/4c sunflower kernels

Drizzle all this with equal parts of toasted sesame oil and a simple, mildly-sweet vinaigrette - either your own or try this one from Costco. 

Toss and chill a couple hours before serving. Check the flavors and add a little garlic salt or pepper if needed.

I felt this needed beans. Black beans would work, but I opted for garbanzos since they're sturdy little protein and fiber nuggets that never get mushy. Drain them and rinse well, then let them drain again before adding.

Toss and serve with grilled chicken, shrimp or steak. . .or just by itself with some crusty garlic bread. . .Lin

Walnut Basil Pesto

Using the amount of Basil shown here, with stems removed, I added a generous amount of Moroccan EVOO, 2 handfuls of chopped walnuts, about 1-1/2c grated parmesan-romano cheese blend, about 3/4c chopped chives, cayenne and black pepper, and a good sprinkle of Lowrey's Garlic Salt. 

Blend all this well in your food processor. 

I didn't do actual measurements since I wasn't planning to blog this. It turned out well though, so I'm at least sharing the idea behind the adventure.

I had some of this last night with steamed shrimp over angel hair pasta. Ohhh, it was so good!

Have fun and be bold with your cooking. . .Lin

A Scandinavian Woman's Version of Pho. . .

In a 3-4 quart pot, saute these two in 2T TOASTED sesame oil:

4oz. mushrooms
2 ribs of celery

When lightly browned, add:

3 sliced green onions
1 grated carrot
3oz. roasted chicken (cut up dark meat)

When this sizzles, add a little water, cover and let simmer a few minutes. Next add:

A bouquet garni of Pho seasonings
~ I used a coffee filter and stapled it shut
6c cold water
2T chicken Better Than Bouillon

Simmer this on low heat for 15 minutes.

At the very end, bring to a nice bubble, then turn off the heat. Remove the spice packet, squeeze out the broth, and stir in:

2 big handfuls of fresh spinach - sliced

2/3c rough chopped cilantro

4-5oz. rice noodles

Stir gently just to combine. Cover and let stand, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Soup's on!! . . .or. . . Pho is ready 😊. . .Lin