Kitty Dining Recommendations

I didn't mean to leave kitty out of the picture, but you've gotta know that cooking for cats is a lot harder than cooking for dogs. For one, they are more selective, to say it nicely, and secondly their dietary needs are very different. It's higher protein diet with different levels of vitamins and minerals - it really is a more delicate balance. It's a lot more common to find people who cook for their dogs than people who cook for their cats. With that said I have had this book recommended to me and it's also gotten a five star rating on amazon.com. I haven't tried any of the recipes myself, but if I do I will be sure to let you know how it went and what the critics had to meow about it!

The Kitty-Cat Cookbook: Special-Occasion Recipes to Brighten Your Cat's Life (Paperback) $10.36

This is just a great book on cat care in general:

Whole Health for Happy Cats: A Guide to Keeping Your Cat Naturally Healthy, Happy, and Well-Fed $11.99 (Paperback)

Recipe for You - Quinoa Salad

This salad is made with one of my favorite grains, quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wa), known as a super-grain because it contains all eight essential amino acids, more protein than any other grain. Quinoa is also higher in unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains.

Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons minced red onion
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups water
2 cups quinoa, rinsed
1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
Black pepper

Stir together lemon juice, onion, and salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Boil water in a medium saucepan and add quinoa. Reduce heat and gently simmer until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain any excess water. Spread quinoa on a baking sheet to cool.
In a serving bowl toss together quinoa, cucumber, celery, mint, lemon juice mixture, and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Serves 6-8 as a side dish. Enjoy!

Doggie Dining Recipe

As promised:

Cinnabark Rolls
3 C Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 C Honey
1/4 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 TBSP Vanilla Extract
2 TBSP Cinnamon
3/4 C Water

Preheat oven to 325. Mix all dry ingredients except cinnamon. Add wet to dry and mix thoroughly. Knead the dough and roll it out to 1/2" thick square. Sprinkle cinnamon over entire surface and roll into a tight log. Freeze for 30 minutes. Remove from freezer and cut into 1/2" thick slices. Bake for 30-45 minutes. Makes 12-18 Cinnabark Rolls...

Email me and let me know how it goes!

@#$*%!

Okay, so maybe that's a little extreme but I just found out that John, the South Pasadena market manager is not going to let us back in the market! Bastard! We had to take the quarter off because of my traveling and what-not...some of the merchants there were not happy when I told them and are going to say something to him....how could you not want the best coffee and most luxurious tea there at the market? Obviously, he doesn't care about the success of the market or the market patrons!

Doggie Dining Recipes

Because of the recent pet food recall and a lot of concerned pet owners, I have gotten quite a few emails and inquiries regarding cooking for doggie! Of course I have doggie dining recipes! And I would be happy to share them with you...actually we have quite a few in our repertoire. Just email our general mailbox info@luciaandcompany.com and we'll send them out to you. They are not hard to make. And the vitamin/mineral powder mix that you make and add to the food you are cooking lasts a while. Just let me know! (Because of the mineral/vitamin content, the recipes are too long to post-otherwise I would).