The dog's breakfast post! No, literally!
Make it for yourself and give it the taste test and tell me if you are not impressed.
Preparation time: A bloody long time, usually about an hour and a little. With other work during the day so that it all comes off smoothly.
Serving time: About an hour too, but your mileage may vary. :)
Ok, so I know it's been the longest time since I have even been lurking round here. I was told about elegance.blue/@spaingaroo yesterday, and posted a couple of images without too much ado.
I need to read up on the project to find out what to post and how.
But posting something broke the drought.
I would really like to write a post that explains the why and how of that absence I mentioned, and some of you may even have been conscious of, but this is not that post.
Instead I am going to post a recipe to be part of my friend 
One of my newer madnesses is, that, since the start of this year I have been making food for the dogs everyday, and eating the same thing myself. Well, really this is the topic for another post too, as it has been a saga, with its fair share of defeats.
But anyway, seven months after I started I am still making the dog's breakfast and eating it with them of course.
I was making the dog's breakfast and then a dinner and later raw meat and bones, but I have given up the second two things and they are eating dry dog food again, Luposan, and a cheap one too. I know, I know, but I challenge anyone to do better under the circumstances. I am eating the dog's breakfast and SFA else.
(also, I should point out as I use the term dog's breakfast decidedly, for it's loaded connotation, as this one meal per day is often served in the late afternoon. I does however break the fast, so there)
Anyhow, conscious of not letting this post get out of hand length wise, I will go straight to the meat, of which there is none. There is however a helping of two or three kinds of cheese, as that has made all the difference for the fussier eaters.
First you will need to get together a large bowl (in my case I use a six litre stainless steel saucepan), and a very sharp knife careful and a cutting board. I have been using a bamboo one and have been very happy with it. I use a different board if I ever cut up meat, although I am not too fanatic about it. But as I hardly ever eat meat and now these guys don't get real meat much either, I normally use the same board for most of my tasks.
I have an elevated platform for my board to sit on, which puts the board higher than the pot. Very handy.
I didn't really take a photo of my kitchen set up, as it's a bit on the unkempt side.
Anyhow, the ingredients. First into the bowl most mornings is about an eighth of a white cabbage, very finely diced. Dogs can (and do) eat veges, but they are deficient in enzymes to break down large pieces in time to assimilate the nutrition. So the really are best with plant food that has been cooked and vitamised, but I have been pretty happy with the salad digestion, if it is diced very finely, or grated, in the case of those ingredients that can be grated successfully.
This is followed usually by lettuce, normally about a quarter to a half an iceberg, depending on how much longer the remainder looks like lasting. Today, I have no iceberg, and instead have lettuce hearts, and put in half of one of those.
I also snaffled a bag of mixed leaves reduced to clear. I normally don't buy bagged leaf veges, but needs be when the devil vomits in your breakfast, as Edmund would say.
All of this is also cut up really really finely, passing it over again and again.
Then I put in a pretty generous helping of two type of greened sprouts. I have quite the sprouting set up, although I know restrict myself to a couple of types of super reliable seeds.
They are lentils, either the large green ones, or the smaller brown lentils, as today, and mung beans, or soya beans. I have never worked out if that is the same thing or not. The ones I buy are sold as alubias mungos so anyway. I let my sprouts really grow longer than many people do I think. I like the first leaves to be out.
Anyhow, the little I know about sprouting would be worth a post in itself, and once again, this is not that post.
But needless to say by now, these are also diced very finely. The dicing is where all the time goes.
Next to the board, red and green capsicum, depending on how many I have and their size.
Today half a big red, and a full medium green. Diced and into the mix.
And then three big champaign mushrooms, also finely diced.
Also today I had some plums, so one plum goes in too
Now the grater comes out. I grate the things that can be grated, as I mentioned.
First up cut off my chunks of cheese. Cheese wasn't in the original recipe, but it was in the dinner quite often, so it moved to the breakfast when dinner was discontinued.
I put in two of three types of cheese, depending on the specials and the bargain section at the supermarkets. I like to include a very tasty or aged cheese, as it really helps palatability for the fussier eaters.
Today we have a soft cheese and a hard aged cheese, mixture of goat's and cow's milk. I buy the full cheese and it works out not too bad per kilo. Takes up a lot of room in the fridge. My fridge is packed when I am finished putting away the shopping, for which I am always thankful.
I reserve the wax and dice it to use as a sprinkle on those last bowls, to encourage them to get it down them, as they say.
Grate the cheese first, as the other material cleans the grater for you as you grate it. For this reason I always end on the carrots.
Also it helps to mix the bowl at this point in the process, to help get the cheese well distributed, and because the bowl is pretty full buy the end.
next go the apples usually. I prefer the apples if I dice them with a very sharp knife, but it takes a bloody lot longer, so in the end I grate them. They need special treatment to grate successfully, with their skins. I quarter them, and then halve those quarters and grate these smaller chunks. Careful with finger tips.
Alba loves those cores
Lina isn't so keen
Still there is a general rising of anticipation levels
Then I grate one entire cucumber, skin and all, and lastly about four or five carrots, depending on their size.
now we are on the final stretch. I dice about three or four cloves of garlic very finely, and two bananas.
Because I had another rice disaster, I have to cut up into slices the huge glob of brown rice that's left of the failed lot, so that I can distribute it into the mix effectively.
Lastly, all needs to be mixed and mixed, and as I go I also mix in two or three more things. Turmeric, in powder form, as I have no other source, a bit of curry powder too, some black pepper, and a good heap of desiccated coconut too. A generous dollop or more of extra virgin , or in this case virgin olive oil and more mixing.
Now, doesn't that look good. It tastes even better. The guys go at it as that.
I add my special medicated oil and some Tzatziki salt and apple cider vinegar to mine.
So to recap,
ingredients
- About an eighth of a large white cabbage, finely diced
- About half an iceberg lettuce chopped fine
- big handfuls of lentil and mung bean sprouts, also chopped up finely
- Red and green capsicums, or peppers if you prefer to call them that. Even bell peppers. Diced very very fine
- Mushrooms, three or four big ones. Diced very finely.
- two or more types of cheese. Depends on what's available at a reasonable price point. Grated
- two or three apples, I like red, braeburn, granny, fuji, something like that. I find goldens to be very unsatisfactory mostly. Grated
- One medium to large cucumber, or two smaller ones, grated
- two to five carrots, depending on their size, about 250 grams, grated
- Two bananas, peeled and diced fine
- three or four cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
- turmeric powder, a generous shaking
- curry powder, a generous shaking
- ground black pepper, moderate amount
- desiccated coconut, generous amount
- virgin or extra virgin olive oil, say three tablespoons.
All to be mixed to an even consistency and served to the hungry crew. Both the dogs and the humans love it.
The two biggest bog in first
Others can wait
In the end the painful part is the small and fussy eaters.
There's a strong criminal desire in those eyes.
Thanks for reading if indeed you got so far. If you would like to comment please feel free