Jack bravely volunteers to test the final product. Photo by JeffreyW
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From our Food Goddess, TaMara:
While I was debating between two topic requests for this week’s recipe exchange, a commenter at Balloon-Juice sparked a whole new idea. Pet Treats. So I asked for some ideas and those became tonight’s post. Thanks to ButchF, MattR, WereBear and JeffreyW for the ideas.
First from JefferyW – Cheddar Cheese Biscuits (recipe here)
And MattR gave us the recipe he uses for Peanut Butter Treats (recipe here)
Then I decided cat lovers needed equal time, so I contacted WereBear of Way of Cats, and asked for her advice on cat treats. Here’s what she told me:
Aw, so sweet of you to think of me and the kitties. Now that’s parity!
However, while dogs are gourmands, cats are fussy gourmets. So I can’t guarantee happy consumption. In fact, [here is] Why Cats Are Fussy (read here) …. because not all cats are going to like all things.
That said, here is my recipe for Chicken Liver Pate for Kitties:
1 cup chicken livers
2 tbsp butter or bacon fat
sprinkle of catnip (or parsley, sage, or basil, if cat likes the smell)Classically, pate includes onions, but these (and all bulbs!) are toxic to cats.
Melt fat in pan, and saute livers JUST until ALMOST done. Do not overcook or the pate will lose its silky texture. Then sprinkle the herbs of choice. (Test them via smell on our kitty, or kitties. A sharpening of attention is a good sign; aversion will be quite evident.)
Now cool a bit (livers will finish cooking here) and scrape all contents onto a cutting board (if chopping by hand) or into a blender or food processor. If our cat likes chunky, hand mincing is easy and quick; if our cat likes smoothness, we can blend.
Be sure it has cooled to being only warm before offering it to our cat. Part of the fun is making a fuss over how good it smells. Get them worked up! This is Dinner Theatre.
Leftovers can be dabbed onto a sheet of waxed paper or into ice cube trays and put in the freezer for an hour or so. Then they can be put into a freezer bag for easy treats next time.
So good, and so good for them!
Now I have to figure out how to explain to my cats that garlic is not good for them, because they go after anything I have that is extra garliky. Silly felines, garlic is for everyone else.
How about it? Do you make your own pet treats? Have any favorite recipes you want to share? But what I really want are lots of pet stories, because I know you have them! Hit the comments.
Now on to the featured recipe. This all started because ButchF said he makes dog biscuits every week for his dogs and they won’t accept anything else. I, of course, asked him to share the recipe.