dog snacks

these guys

enjoy staying with their 'grandparents,' who, luckily, live very nearby. likely the best part about staying with the grands is the spoiling they get in the form of milkbones. a glut of milkbones. at the drop of the hat. and this novelty is probably contrasted all the more because no such nonsense exists in our house. not because we do not love to dote on them (they get spoiled in mileage over here) but because there is something decidedly unromantic (the mass production of dog treats), exorbitant (paying upwards of ten dollars for animal by products and the flattering of the Corn Industry), and downright confusing (what, exactly, goes into these things?) and so, because there is ample time and the ingredients are simple and because those guys are so deserving a little guidance from this lovely blog the long talked about task of "making dog biscuits at home!" has finally come to fruition...

      

           

         

       

they do not, of course, look particularly appetizing to a person, but the dogs seem more than pleased to come sliding and clattering over the slate floor to receive them. the novelty! cookies at home! they say.

homemade dog biscuits

(adapted from 17 apart's master recipe)

preheat the oven to 350 and paper a baking sheet

in the bowl of a food processor grate:

1 apple

2 medium beets

3 carrots

and set aside.

wipe out the processor and process until smooth

1 banana

1/4 cup of peanut or almond butter

add the grated mixture as well as

3 cups of flour (i used half buckwheat half wheat)

1 cup of cornmeal

1/4 cup neutral oil (i used coconut)

and pulse until the dough forms a ball and begins to roll around the inside of the food processor.

if the dough is too sticky sprinkle in more flour or cornmeal by the tablespoonful, if it is too dense and floury add warm water.

roll the dough out (i did this between two sheets of parchment as the beets made the dough fairly sticky) and cut into desired shapes.

bake 30 minutes and turn the oven off. turn the biscuits over and let sit in the cooling oven another 30-45 minutes. biscuits are done when they are dry to the touch. don't rush this part as the dryness of the biscuits allows them to keep without furring over with mold.

et voila!

desert times

thanks to some generous donations of time and effort (and expenditures!) the residents of this humble residence took up to explore the southern part of our dear state (in ways previously unmapped) to celebrate the general goodness of being in love, having time off, wanting to indulge the inexhaustible dogs, etc.

such an equation resulted in the perusal and exploration of the quaint town (...) of Escalante (pronounced es-c'l-AWNT by the locals and/or practiced visitors from nearby) as well as the unbelievably kind, delicious and quaint services rendered by the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch (which, in truth, should include the words "tipi" and "well-dressed-up-with-acoustic-equipment-and-attractive-moss-and-desert-plants-but-nevertheless-an-ill-disguised-bomb-shelter-slash-bunker) if it seeks to do itself justice. see also an on-site organic garden replete with earth-maidens swathed in head scarves and treading about on slightly (likely?) substance-induced wobbling legs and something called a cowboy breakfast which included a hamsteak so large it draped, stately, over the rim of the plate.

needless to say we enjoyed ourselves fully, never mind the almost-silly low rates charged to us and the very excellent broad, velvety egg noodles (made in house but of course) dressed with various things we saw snipped from the patio garden much to our gastronomic delight.)

we also undertook to trudge down into the dusty depths of a canyon that was crackling with the excessive and histrionic lack of greenness (to make it plain we were in a seasonal drought) for the pure sake of swimming in one of the lovelies, most crystal clear swimming spots known to man. (drive past Boulder, over the Hog's back and turn at the oreo rock...)

yes the equation of quietude + sage + bird abundance + tipi + lovely dinner + battling hummingbirds + cowboy breakfast and grits + extra whiskey bottle + swimming hole + tired and exhausted dogs cannot help but = delirious and grateful humans BUT we do feel all the details made a difference and we wouldn't have wanted to be anywhere else.

the opposite of bon voyage

whew! a welcome return after much traveling, eating, visiting with friends and sleeping in strange places. it is odd to ache for the mundane from afar, especially when in somewhat exotic surroundings, (see below...) but that is what summer is for

it is hard to come back to a series of note-taking with so many gaping yawns of time in between. therefore it is best, i think, to sum up images when words do not suffice and endeavor to reflect back and reference gypsy-time when present and future times permit.

let it be summed up that while there was much of this...

(ok i can't really contain myself: yes, we stayed in a TIPI)

 

(pinxto boquerones)

we were really, quite swiftly, aching for this

very very grateful to renounce sealegs. hello mountain midsummer!

living the...

the blessed life is luminous and flourishing over here. spring is Springing, truly. warm winds are rounding the sharp edges of everything. everyone nearby is nourishing and even braving the mud into work has offered up little altars of goodness to take home.

thanks goodness the Waxing part of the year is nearly upon us, all starved for abundance after subsisting on bravery and stoicism for the last long while.

gifts at school...

...and the gifts at home

solstice

flurries today in honor of the solstice. very fitting. we went out into it, soaking up the faint blue light that abounded.

after a celebratory breakfast of course. whole milk yogurt, bitter orange marmalade, chia and hemp seeds. shirred egg with thyme asparagus and gruyere topped with a challah crouton. whole wheat and foraged raspberry scones (raspberries held over from a summer-end-pick.)

\

made the list, snipped the braid tassel and made a bit of indulgent cocoa. all and all a good holiday. now for the snow- come on! we're ready.

plans

one last day (today.) and all this craziness will be over. until march. when the Decisions come rolling in.

the whole thing has been exhausting beyond words, the preparation for the graduate records examination, the cost of said examination, the duration of said examination (5 hours?!), the infinite emails, replies, forwards, meetings, notes, lost notebooks, library materials, drafting hours, flashcards, lugging-about-of-too-may-things miles, abandoned teacups, mold rinds on coffee mugs, sleepless nights, night terrors, black circles under eyes, the lack of bikram yoga classes, the re-writing of whole portions of the applications, the put downs, the following ups, the cropping, the composing, the re-reading. UGH!

but. tomorrow. the end. thank goodness.

i am looking forward to a number of things, maybe:

1. more narcissus bulbs (hyacinth? daffodil?)

2. more bread dough in bowls

3. nurturing my new kefir grains (eep!)

4. taking more photographs

5. chopping lengths off my hair

6. working up a good sweat more often

7. getting on some new telemark skis

8. spending more time with the Men in my life

()

9. trying to sit still with an emptier mind

10. relenting

it is true the highest standards imposed on us are often our own. for me, that is certainly the case. luckily, these things are catalogued all the time, maniacally. 

fingers crossed tomorrow will come, shining, open like a blade and then snap closed swift like.