Subtitle: 24+ Recipes for Easy, Delicious Dog Treats
56 p.
Publisher: Beachbrights Publishing
Published: 12/01/14
Source: from Net Galley and publisher for review

Now you can make your own healthy dog treats without spending a fortune. All the recipes in this book have been developed and made in my very own kitchen. There is a recipe for every special taste and sensitivity. Also, most of the ingredients can be modified. Have some fun and play around. Your four-legged friends will thank you. 

Most of these recipes are fast and easy to make. They also make great gifts and are perfect for bake sales raising money for animal rescue organizations.

A portion from every sale of this book will support animal rescue.

My thoughts:
First, I have to say that I love a book that gives back. I love that a portion of this book supports animal rescue. I also found the recipes in the book very easy to do. While I don't like to cook I will cook for my dogs. Perhaps that can be seen as animal cruelty but luckily they haven't complained. :) Oh and trust me, they can complain without using words.

While I couldn't use all the recipes in the book (I have one dog on a special diet) several of them are easily changeable. There are even recipes in the book that are extremely simplistic that anyone can use. For example, her ingredients for the kong toy. I feel that for some that was almost too simplistic and obvious while other people might like the suggestions. For me, the best recipe was for the sweet potato crisps for one dog (although I may omit one ingredient) and salmon patties for another. I have no doubt that my malamute will love the salmon one. She just loves fish.

I give this book 3 stars. I recommend this book for those that are just starting out wanting to make treats for their dogs at home. They are easy to follow and easily changed.

From Mike's Stinkin' Good Chile

From Mike's Stinkin' Good Chile

When several notebooks were recently discovered among Frida Kahlo’s belongings at her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City, acclaimed Mexican novelist F. G. Haghenbeck was inspired to write this beautifully wrought fictional account of her life. Haghenbeck imagines that, after Frida nearly died when a streetcar’s iron handrail pierced her abdomen during a traffic accident, she received one of the notebooks as a gift from her lover Tina Modotti. Frida called the notebook “The Hierba Santa Book” (The Sacred Herbs Book) and filled it with memories, ideas, and recipes. Haghenbeck takes readers on a magical ride through Frida’s passionate life: her long and tumultuous relationship with Diego Rivera, the development of her art, her complex personality, her hunger for experience, and her ardent feminism. This stunning narrative also details her remarkable relationships with Georgia O’Keeffe, Leon Trotsky, Nelson Rockefeller, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Henry Miller, and Salvador Dalí. Combining rich, luscious prose with recipes from “The Hierba Santa Book,” Haghenbeck tells the extraordinary story of a woman whose life was as stunning a creation as her art.

I became interested in Frida Kahlo when I was first introduced to Diego Rivera in an Art History class. I admit, I did not care for Diego's murals as much as I did Frida's honesty. I didn't understand why we didn't go more into Frida as we did Diego. To this day I still do not. I think she was actually the better painter of the two. Her work which has a surreal quality to it, often shows her pain in which she was plagued all of her life.

This book did remind me about the movie made of her life, Frida. So, you know that it kept close to her biography. What it also contained is some recipes. All delicious and tied to the chapter. You not only get authentic Mexican food, but a couple of Italian dishes as well. I can say, I would love to try some of these dishes... now I just need to find someone to cook! Trust me, Frida would throw me out of the kitchen and laugh at my feeble attempts at food. :)

I have to admit, I was hoping for a bit more of her philosophy. She was a woman of contradiction and I was wanting to see this within her head as we traveled with Frida in life. Although we do get a bit of philosophy, we do not go very deep. It skims on the surface of someone who dealt with death, pain, and betrayal on a constant basis and yet still found a zest for life. Still, I found the imagery within interesting and taken from her paintings.

I give this book 3 stars. If you are curious about her this is an interesting work of fiction about her life. I also think that it is worth the recipes within. I showed it to my mom and she just kept saying that everything looked so good. Just don't read it on an empty stomach. :)

My aunt just visited and I got my first taste of the Holidays! She makes Christmas potica every year and I just ate a big ol' piece! This holiday treat is a tradition in the area where I live. It is delicious and converts anyone who tastes it into wanting it every year. It is a Slovenian dish which fits perfectly in the multicultural area I live. A common recipe from Cooking.com is as follows:

Total Time:  3 Hours 40 Minutes Yield:  Makes 2 loaves (8 servings each) From central Europe, probably Yugoslavia, potica is a dense, sweet nut pastry cut from tightly rolled loaves. Small cracks often appear on the surface of the loaves as they bake, but they in no way detract from the beautifully golden brown crust or the mouth-watering flavor.  INGREDIENTS For Bread: 2-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 package active dry yeast 1/3 cup milk 1/4 cup butter or margarine 2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 eggs For Filling: 3 cups ground walnuts 3/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened 1/4 cup honey 1 slightly beaten egg 3 tablespoons milk 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon or orange peel (optional) 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS FOR BREAD: In a medium mixing bowl combine 1 cup of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat 1/3 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, 2 tablespoons sugar, and the salt till mixture is warm (120 to 130 degrees F) and butter or margarine is almost melted. Add to flour mixture. Add 2 eggs. Beat with an electric mixer on low to medium speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes total). Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn once. Cover and let rise in a warm place till double (1 to 1 1/4 hours). FOR FILLING: In a large mixing bowl stir together walnuts, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter or margarine, honey, 1 slightly beaten egg, 3 tablespoons milk, peel (if desired), and vanilla. Set aside. Punch dough down. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly grease two 7 1/2x3 1/2x2-inch or 8x4x2-inch loaf pans. Cover a large surface (at least 3x3 feet) with a floured cloth. On the cloth, roll dough into a 15-inch square. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Then roll dough into a 30x20-inch rectangle. TO ASSEMBLE: Put dough in half lengthwise, forming two 30x10-inch sheets. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough, keeping to within 1 inch of the edges. Using the cloth as a guide, roll up jelly-roll style, starting from one short side. Pinch seams and ends to seal. Place loaves, seam-sides down, in the prepared loaf pans. Cover and let rise in a warm place till nearly double (45 to 60 minutes). Bake in a preheated 325 degrees F oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or till golden brown. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.
Reprinted by permission of Weldon Owen. All rights reserved.

Now all I need is some homemade tamales and I'm set. :D 


I also got something in the mail from StephanieD, at the Misfit Salon. I had won the Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book 10 3/4 Anniversary Edition! Thanks! It also has a DVD I'll have to fire up now that the snow is falling. Just cuddle up and watch! If you love faries like I do, then this is one you will enjoy. And don't worry, if you haven't seen the book there is a forward by the RSPCF (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Faries) which assures that no fairie was hurt or injured by the making of the book. The prints were psychic impressions done without injury to the farie. So, no worries. :)


Well, I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. If not, bake some potica and have some hot chocolate. Even if it doesn't help, I assure you, your stomach won't complain! :)