FergusFood

Breakfast, Sept. 24th

2007-09-25T06:26:00.000-07:00

After a whirlwind month of nephews and foster dogs, we're back in the swing of things.
Breakfast is beef, yams & carrots, beets, pear and yogurt.

Tuna Deluxe

2007-08-06T07:28:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is poached albacore tuna, carrots, peas, kale & swiss chard, black beans and brown rice.

Cereal, Fruit & Yogurt

2007-08-05T08:30:00.000-07:00

Brown rice crispies, 1/2 of a peach, 1/2 of a banana, peanut butter and plain whole fat yogurt.

Chicken & Peaches

2007-08-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is a chicken thigh with whole wheat couscous, green beans, yellow squash, 1/2 a peach and 1/2 a banana in a light sauce of chicken-water. Delicious!

Steak smorgasbord

2007-07-31T06:27:00.001-07:00

Another steak breakfast... this time with a bit of whole wheat couscous, sauteed greens (beet greens, swiss chard and escarole), whole wheat penne with asparagus and red & yellow peppers left over from my dinner, and 1/2 a banana.

Cereal with Bananas & Steak

2007-07-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

Brown rice crispies with a banana, whole fat plain yogurt, and some steak!

Steak and Honeydew

2007-07-29T07:50:00.000-07:00

London broil was on sale at Whole Foods for $3.99 a pound, so breakfast is beef, whole wheat pasta, carrots and zucchini, and honeydew melon.

Veggie Burger with all the trimmings

2007-07-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Dinner is a grilled Sunshine veggie burger (many veggie burgers have lots of onions -- poison for dogs! -- but not Sunshine brand), whole wheat pasta, sauteed carrots & zucchini, garlic.

Rice krispies & Fruit

2007-07-18T10:45:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is organic brown rice crispies cereal with peanut butter, banana, apples and yogurt.

Chicken & Pumpkin

2007-07-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Dinner is chicken thighs, brown rice, some canned pumpkin, bok choy and carrots that I had in the freezer, and a dollop of yogurt.

Faux hamburger, kale & banana

2007-07-11T09:01:00.000-07:00

I formed some Gimme Lean (which is essentially textured soy protein) into a hamburger patty and fried it in a little olive oil -- it really looked and smelled like meat. Then mixed it with some brown rice, kale leftover from my dinner, zucchini, a couple of teaspoons of cream cheese, and half a banana. A few pistachio nuts on top (I was eating them), and breakfast is served to rave reviews.

Peanut Butter & Fruit

2007-07-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Peanut butter mixed with brown rice and a splash of soy milk, honeydew, apple, banana and strawberries (foraged from the reduced for quick sale bin at the co-op), and a pat of cream cheese.

Eggs and Apples

2007-07-09T07:40:00.000-07:00

For breakfast, a two egg omelette with some cheddar (I put about 1/3 aside for later), couscous with steamed carrots, yellow squash and yams, raw apple, and a sprinkling of pistachio nuts.

Sunday Morning Smorgasbord

2007-07-08T09:41:00.000-07:00

A little bit of (almost) everything that was in the fridge... Ground beef, a few bites of pastrami (I soaked it to remove the salt first), cheddar cheese, chick peas, whole wheat spaghetti, couscous, and honeydew melon!

Mixed Berries and Couscous

2007-07-03T09:10:00.000-07:00

The best thing about lending out your house to random people is that you never know what you might find when you return! One of our guests left a bag of organic mixed berries in the freezer, and F loves berries. Breakfast was couscous mixed with plain whole fat yogurt, tofu and slivered almonds, cherries (his favorite), one boiled egg, and the berries, still pretty frozen, for extra fun.

Raw beef and spaghetti

2007-07-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

More raw meat today, whole wheat spaghetti, sweet potatoes, carrots, snap peas and cream cheese.

Raw beef and cream cheese!

2007-06-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

We're at our place in the mountains in Arizona, and there's terrific organic, locally raised meat. Since I know its provenance, I feed it to F raw.

This morning's breakfast is beef, zucchini, sweet potatoes, and a few pats of cream cheese.

Cereal, Fruit & Yogurt

2007-06-25T05:25:00.000-07:00

Brown rice crispies, cantelope, 1/2 a banana, whole-fat plain yogurt, crumbled tofu, slivered almonds.

Vegetarian Blue Plate Special

2007-06-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading Paula Wolfert's "Mediterranean Grains and Greens" cookbook, and I ended up making Medley of Wheat Berries, Lentils and Rice with Fresh Herbs -- a delicious (and healthy!) Greek soup that also contains chick peas, anasazi beans (the recipe called for pintos but I subbed), fava beans, and lots of dill.

For dinner, F had a generous cup of the soup, plus brown rice, sauteed garlic, zucchini and celery, and grated cheddar (the end of the gift basket cheese, at last). A few chopped almonds on top made it extra festive.

Egg, Yogurt, Cereal

2007-06-20T05:52:00.000-07:00

Organic brown rice krispies again, with whole fat plain yogurt, tofu, 1/2 a granny smith apple diced, almonds, and a hard boiled egg.

Breakfast is a blur!

2007-06-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

I risked my life to get this action shot -- organic brown rice rice krispies, raspberries, granny smith apple, almonds, plain yogurt, flax seed oil.

Ahi tuna & swiss chard

2007-06-18T07:32:00.000-07:00

I poached about a pound and a half of ahi tuna, cut it into bite sized pieces, and put individual portions in the freezer for later. This morning F had ahi tuna with whole wheat penne, swiss chard & bok choy (left over from last night's dinner), and a dollop of plain, whole fat organic yogurt. If F's bowl-clanging is any indication, fish might be his very favorite meal. Even for breakfast.

Cereal

2007-06-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

This morning, F had cereal with honeydew, strawberries, avocado, 2 hardboiled eggs, and flax seed oil. It was devoured promptly.

Liver Surprise

2007-06-15T16:01:00.000-07:00

Liver (that I had cooked and frozen a couple of weeks ago), tofu, whole wheat spaghetti, celery, carrots, a few chick peas, cheddar cheese, a sprinkling of nutritional yeast, a drizzle of flax seed oil. F had a big day at the pool today, so I made him an especially hearty dinner.

Tofu, beans & veggies

2007-06-14T16:29:00.000-07:00

I had some leftover black bean, kidney bean, green bean and corn salad (with dill!), so I rinsed the dressing off of it for F. I added tofu, cooked carrots, a few strands of whole wheat spaghetti, a few almonds, a drizzle of flax seed oil, and a generous splash of chicken water. Dinner in 2 minutes.

Noodles in Peanut Sauce

2007-06-13T06:05:00.000-07:00

Whole wheat spaghetti (cut into short pieces), 1/2 of a banana, 1/2 of an apple (sauteed), flax seed oil, and about 3 tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter. I thin the peanut butter with a splash of hot water so it stirs in easily.

Tofu Dogs & Veggies

2007-06-11T06:50:00.000-07:00

A leftover-from-a-bbq tofu hot dog, veggies from the kabobs, some chicken, a slice of whole grain bread, peas, and flax seed oil.

Oatmeal & Raspberries

2007-06-10T06:52:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is oatmeal mixed with a few tablespoons of peanut butter, a little handful of chopped almonds, 1/2 a banana, and organic raspberries -- on sale for $1.50!

An Ugly Breakfast

2007-06-09T06:45:00.000-07:00

White rice, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1/2 a banana, a few tablespoons of frozen wild blueberries, a piece of leftover grilled tofu and a drizzle of flax seed oil.

Chinese "Chicken" & Broccoli

2007-06-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

I ordered dinner from the veg Chinese place last night, and F is getting the leftovers for breakfast: fake chicken (wheat meat) and Chinese broccoli, rinsed off well in a colander under warm water. I added brown rice, a few tablespoons of anasazi beans, grated cheddar, and finished with a drizzle of flax seed oil.

Pizza Party!

2007-06-07T06:57:00.000-07:00

F is having leftover thin-crust pizza this morning, along with roasted eggplant, green pepper and zucchini, peas, turkey, some canned pumpkin, and a couple of tablespoons of gelatinous turkey water to make it all extra tasty.

Wednesday Melange

2007-06-06T05:54:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is a few bites of everything in the fridge -- turkey, sweet potato, red potato, swiss chard (I cooked two bunches for dinner last night), a dollop of canned pumpkin, anasazi beans (cooked for humans but I put some aside for F, plain), cheddar cheese from a gift basket (thanks, I'm vegan!), and flax seed oil.

Turkey & Bananas

2007-06-05T06:42:00.000-07:00

Brown rice, zucchini, kale, 1/2 of a very ripe banana, turkey and some delicious turkey water.

Tofu & Pumpkin

2007-06-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

One friend says her dog gets too crazy when she makes her food. F did in the beginning -- his prior captors fed him Purina One (the horror!); for a while he was underfoot anytime I was in the kitchen cooking. The novelty wore off, but we also established his "spot". He's allowed to park himself on the threshold of the kitchen, and no further. "F! Go to your spot!" And he does. Mostly.

This morning I got up extra early, so I cooked a couple of turkey legs for later (in a pan with 1 1/2" of water, covered, simmer 30 minutes or so). When they were nearly done cooking, I added in a red potato, and a few stalks of kale, stems included. Breakfast was chicken, diced tofu, 1/2 red potato, sweet potato, kale, and a few tablespoons of canned pumpkin (unsweetened). Pumpkin is good for diarrhea and constipation, both.

I put the turkey in the fridge for later, and saved the cooking water too -- it's great to use for cooking grains, or just as gravy.

Chicken & Sweet Potatoes

2007-06-03T15:42:00.000-07:00

Chicken with brown rice, sweet potatoes and zucchini.

This morning's breakfast was not the least bit photogenic: liver, brown rice, bananas, flax seed oil.

Chicken & Rice & Beans

2007-06-02T06:25:00.000-07:00

Poached chicken, brown rice (I make a small vat of it at once -- it freezes well in individual bags, too), a few tablespoons of canned black beans, and mixed vegetables from a frozen bag (emergency rations!). Added a drizzle of flax seed oil and few spoons of gelatinous chicken cooking water, and bon appetit.

Liver & Miscellany

2007-06-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

F's shelf in the fridge had only a piece of liver and a boiled egg this morning. I diced up a slice of whole grain bread, and tossed it all with my leftover salad from last night: raw kale, romaine, black beans, yellow peppers, cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes and tofu. I grated in a bit of cheese to make the salad more palatable.

Chicken & Chick Peas

2007-05-28T06:37:00.000-07:00

F will eat around chick peas given the chance, but mashing them up a bit thwarts his efforts. Chicken, tofu, chick peas, couscous with cilantro pesto (leftover from my dinner). I diced up a bunch of veggies this morning and steamed them all together: sweet potato, carrots, celery, broccoli stems -- enough for a few days. And since it's a holiday, I threw in a little parmigiano, too.

Chicken Surprise

2007-05-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

Chicken thighs, tofu, potato, peas, carrots, honeydew, and a dollop of cottage cheese.

Tofu Special

2007-05-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

I diced up some super-firm tofu and let it soak for a while in the broth from the chicken I cooked this morning. I had a lone potato that was about to sprout eyes, and stems from the broccoli I bought today, so I diced them and boiled them for 10 minutes. Mixed it all together -- along with 1/2 a chicken thigh and some mesclun salad greens -- and I managed to get F to eat several things he usually dislikes (tofu, peas, broccoli) all at once! As long as it's bathed in some meaty gravy or a mixed with dairy, he's game.

Chicken & Garnet Yams

2007-05-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

There was no prepared food in the fridge this morning -- I put a couple of boneless chicken thighs in an inch of water, along with half of a yam, diced. Simmered (covered) for about 10 minutes, then threw in a handful of frozen peas for another 5 minutes. Let it cool, and breakfast is served. I was having some honeydew melon, so I diced up some for F as well.

Tuna, Pasta, Salad.

2007-05-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

The last of the tuna, whole wheat pasta tossed with a little cottage cheese, some salad leftover from dinner last night (I managed to pick out most of the capers), and collard greens.

Tuna, again.

2007-05-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Tuna, 1/2 hardboiled egg, sweet potatoes, collard greens, yellow squash, flax seed oil.

Here, F demonstrates a fine down-stay while awaiting the "okay!" to dig in.

Ahi & Sweet Potatoes

2007-05-23T15:44:00.001-07:00

F puked this afternoon, so I made him a dinner that's easy on the tummy. Sweet potatoes are very easy to digest -- I mixed them with poached ahi tuna ($4.50 a pound at Trader Joes!) and yellow squash.

Eggs & Toast for Breakfast

2007-05-23T06:35:00.000-07:00

Two cage-free hardboiled eggs, a slice of 9 grain bread, half a raw zucchini, and a dollop of cottage cheese.

I boiled 6 eggs at once to feed him during the week.

Tofu for Breakfast

2007-05-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

I've been researching vegetarian options for dogs, and it's quite do-able. I'm going to at least start mixing it up, and making more of F's meals non-meat.

This morning I cubed some super-firm tofu, and then dropped it into boiling water for a couple of minutes (which makes it firmer). I drained it, then mixed it with a few tablespoons of peanut butter while it was still hot. I added in some cooked oatmeal, and about 1/4 cup of blueberries. That's plenty of protein for him -- and he devoured it, which I take as a thumbs up.

Monday breakfast!

2007-05-21T05:54:00.000-07:00

Ground beef, quinoa, peas, cottage cheese.

Quinoa is nearly as easy to make as couscous, so when I cook it for myself I just double the amount.

Fergus used to eat around peas, but lately he seems to like them!

Sunday Dinner

2007-05-20T17:52:00.000-07:00

Ground beef, brown rice, peas and a dollop of cottage cheese.

Fish & Berries

2007-05-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Poached skate, brown rice with mixed veggies, a few bites of a vegan apple muffin, and wild blueberries that I buy frozen in bags at Trader Joe's. Before it was mixed, it looked fairly appetizing...

After, not so much. But blueberries are full of antioxidants!

Friday Breakfast

2007-05-18T07:54:00.001-07:00

Chicken, couscous, chick peas, collard greens, celery, carrots, snap peas, parmigiano reggiano.

Couscous is super-fast to cook: boil water, add couscous, remove from heat, cover and wait 5 minutes. 1 cup of dry couscous is enough for at least 4 meals for F. Easy!

Thursday dinner!

2007-05-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

When I come home late from work and there's not much prepared food in the fridge, it's great to have lots of little bags stashed in the freezer. Tonight I quickly defrosted some cooked, frozen chicken by running the ziploc bag under hot water, then dumping the contents into a pan with a little water set over low heat -- from freezer to bowl in just a few minutes!

Chicken, red potatoes, celery, carrots, snap peas & collard greens.

And more liver.

2007-05-16T20:01:00.000-07:00

Dinner tonight was liver, boiled red potatoes, collard greens, and 1/4 of a big avocado.

Pardon the vaguely green lighting!

Liver -- It's bowl-clanging good.

2007-05-16T05:49:00.000-07:00

F is currently attacking his bowl with such enthusiasm, the clanging may wake the neighbors.

Breakfast is liver, oatmeal, apples, and 1/2 a boiled egg.

The liver was frozen from a couple of weeks ago, oatmeal cooks in literally one minute, and the apples were out of the freezer, too.

Collards & Yams

2007-05-15T07:54:00.000-07:00

Breakfast: Chicken, garnet yams, collard greens and celery that I sauteed in a bit of olive oil, then added a splash of water to and cooked covered, over low heat, for 5 or 10 minutes. The gelatinous-looking bits are from the liquid the chicken was cooked in -- a little fat is good for him.

Salad again?

2007-05-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

Due to poor planning, we're low on rations (or at least rations that aren't frozen solid). So for dinner, Fergus had chicken, the rest of the leftover salad (in a nice chicken dressing!), and whole grain bread, our emergency standby. Tomorrow we'll do some cooking.

The wine pairing is a Foxglove chardonnay.
For the chef, silly.

Breakfast Salad

2007-05-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had some ground beef that wasn't enough for a meal, so I added some chicken to it. There was cooked whole wheat pasta at the ready, but only a few bites of kale and no time to cook. So I resorted to leftover salad: radicchio, snap peas, cucumbers, carrots, celery, red cabbage (no onions!). I rinsed it well to get rid of the dressing -- then I tossed it with some chicken broth. It's official: I can trick F into eating almost anything!

Sunday breakfast & dinner

2007-05-13T18:35:00.000-07:00

Ground beef, couscous, sweet potatoes, shredded and sauteed apples.

Chicken Dinner

2007-05-12T19:00:00.000-07:00

Chicken, Sweet Potatoes, Whole Wheat Pasta, Kale

Yesterday, I bought a whole Bell & Evans chicken and had the butcher cut it into pieces. I put the pieces in a pot with a couple of inches of water, and simmered it, covered, on low-ish heat until cooked through -- 30 or 40 minutes? The remaining broth is great for adding to food, or for cooking veggies in. F has been known to pick broccoli and peas out of his meal, but he finds them much more palatable (or just un-pick-out-able!) if I puree them in the Cuisinart with a bit of broth.

Chicken & Fruit Breakfast

2007-05-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

Poached chicken, some banana I shared, sauteed apples, a couple of tablespoons of couscous, sweet potatoes, and chopped almonds.

Friday dinner

2007-05-11T19:42:00.000-07:00

We have fruit at the office, and there were about 5 apples that weren't going to live until Monday. I brought them home, cored them, and tossed them (without peeling) into the Cuisinart shredder. About 10 to 15 minutes in a saute pan, and we've got apples for days! The photo is before they cooked down.

Fergus hangs out right in front of his bowl, awaiting dinner.

Dinner is served! Ground beef, a hardboiled egg, couscous, the last of the cauliflower, apples, flax seed oil.

Breakfast

2007-05-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

Ground beef, cauliflower, couscous, flax seed oil.

Beef: It's what's for Dinner, too.

2007-05-10T18:57:00.000-07:00

Dinner: Ground beef, couscous (whole wheat is best, but I was out), cauliflower cooked in the meat pan, and zucchini & yellow squash.

The current issue of BARK magazine has great articles on homemade food!

Beef: It's what's for breakfast

2007-05-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

Raw beef, whole wheat fusilli, snap peas, zucchini & yellow squash sauteed in olive oil and garlic, flax seed oil.

Skate again?!

2007-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

Tonight's bill of fare: Skate, whole wheat fusilli, snap peas, a few chopped almonds, and a few bits of parmigiano.

No photo documentation today

2007-05-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

2 hardboiled eggs, blueberries, oatmeal, flax seed oil.
It wasn't pretty, but F's purple beard was evidence that it was eaten with gusto.

2007-05-08T18:07:00.000-07:00

Menu:
Poached skate, Whole wheat fusilli, Asparagus, Cauliflower, Celery, Parmigiano Reggiano

F loves fish, so I buy whatever is around $5 a pound at the fish market. Sometimes it's blue fish, today it was skate. I bought a pound, threw half in the freezer, and poached the other half for just a few minutes and it's enough for 2 meals (skate and blueberries for breakfast?). The asparagus were remnants of last night's human repast, and I grated some cheese in due to doctor's orders -- F actually has low cholesterol. I usually buy a cheese that's less aged and more domestic for him, but this ended up in the fridge. Might as well use it.

Purple Breakfast

2007-05-08T08:08:00.000-07:00

I took the day off from work, so I cooked F a fresh breakast:
Two fried eggs
An eggshell broken into tiny pieces (ground is best)
Oatmeal mashed with banana and blueberries

It looked unspeakably vile once I'd mashed it all together, but F scarfed it down happily.

Dinner: Leftovers

2007-05-07T19:23:00.000-07:00

Finishing up some yummy leftovers -
Mostly turkey, a bit of liver
The end of the brown rice
A few chunks of yam
The rest of the apples
Celery

Breakfast: Turkey & Veggies

2007-05-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

Menu:
Turkey thighs
Yams
Spinach, cauliflower, carrots & celery
flax seed oil

Sunday Dinner: Liver & Apples

2007-05-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

Sure it sounds disgusting to me, but F thought he'd died and gone to Jean-Georges.

Liver is good for him, and it's inexpensive -- even at Whole Foods. I just throw it in an inch of boiling water and cover it; 10 or 12 minutes of simmering cooks it through. Today I cooked a couple of pounds, sliced it into chunks, and froze portions in zip-loc freezer bags.

Menu:
Ground beef (I had a bit left, but not enough for a meal)
Liver
Apple, sauteed in olive oil and garlic til soft
Brown rice (still leftover from Chinese food)
Flax seed oil

Keeping those teeth clean!

2007-05-06T17:45:00.000-07:00

Bones are great for keeping a dog's teeth clean. I get shin bones (of cows) from the local butcher or Whole Foods, and have them cut into about two inch pieces. Fergus is nuts for them! I just rinse them off, and give them to him raw (and I confine him to the kitchen, lest he hop up on the sofa).

By the time he's done with one, it looks cleaner than if it had been sterilized.

Sunday Breakfast

2007-05-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

Breakfast Menu:

Ground Beef
Garnet Yams
Grilled Zucchini & Yellow Squash
Flax seed oil

The squash is leftover from dinner the other night -- I usually make extra of whatever veggies I'm cooking for people.

Saturday Dinner

2007-05-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

Menu:

Turkey thighs
Brown rice
Garnet yams
Spinach & garlic
Flax seed oil

Whole Foods had boneless turkey thighs on sale, so that's today's choice. I bought a couple of pounds, put them in a pot with about 1 1/2" of water, and simmered them (covered) for about 25 minutes. I then used the delicious turkey water to boil a few yams, cut in chunks.

The spinach and brown rice were leftovers from our Chinese food delivery the other evening. I just put the spinach in a colander and rinsed it really well to get rid of any spiciness and extra oil.

Saturday Breakfast

2007-05-05T10:00:00.000-07:00

Menu:
Ground beef
A hardboiled egg
Whole wheat pasta
Vegetable Medley: Cauliflower, carrot, celery, spinach, garlic

Celery tops and leaves are just fine for a dog - boiled, steamed or sauted. I tend to cut the veggies up fairly small so the little darling can't eat around them.