Tasty Tuesday: Cooking with Sister

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Thanks to Sugar and Kol for initiating Tasty Tuesdays, today is our eleventh participating post!

On Friday, my human sister Rachel offered to make dinner for her friend/boy (she’s a teen; you’re not supposed to ask a lot of questions!).  She made steak and sweet potato fries.

Little Miss JJ Homemaker, offered to help, take notes or sous chef!

Remember, K9s can have sweet potato and most of us REALLY like them. Mom would recommend salt free for us (many humans too).  Here’s the recipe for:

Easy Peasy Sweet Potato Oven Fries

(We were tempted to call them Miami Heat Fries because Game 4 of the NBA final is tonight and the fries fit Heat Colors!)

Preheat oven to 400.

• Peel a few large sweet potatoes.
• Slice into matchstick or wedge style fries.
• Sprinkle with olive oil and massage. (You can do this on the tray or in a bowl and then place in one layer on tray.)
• (If you’re making separate batches for humans and K9s then you can spice up the human batch with cumin, chili pepper, coriander, garlic powder, onion powder or a Cajun blend, bbq blend, salt and pepper, have fun)
• Place in oven for about 10-15 minutes.
• With tongs, turn the fries over and/or move them around.
• Bake for another 10-15 minutes (depending on their size, you may need to adjust) until they crisp up.
• Remove, let cool if you can resist!

Another great, and sweet day!

CORRECTION: ON SATURDAY’S POST, SNOOPY’S SPONSOR IS PETSMART, NOT PETCO… Sorry, guess Mom was tired!

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Mischief Monday – Almost 100% Sure…

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Oh gosh, you’re not going to believe this…

Remember when the mischief was No On/No Off?   Well, Mom handled that obstacle fairly well; she turned the box on by standing in front of it and touching a magic spot.  The spot would light up and say POWER.  She did the same when she wanted the box to go to sleep.  Many of you suggested that perhaps the box had celebrated so many birthdays, it no longer could function.  We crossed our paws and fingers that you were mistaken.

Last week, Mom tried the magic spot and noises occurred, however, a second sign lit up; STAND BY.  Mom has this thingie called U-Verse which allows us to watch Tanked, Mr. Caesar, The NBA Finals, etc.  In the tropics, when we receive lots of storms, U-Verse can go kaplooey for a while and has to do this reboot thingie.  Mom tried all her tricks and this blue screen with AT &T stayed put with an arrow going round and round and round until it made us dizzy.  After a really long time, it said, quit client?  We said yes.  Mom tried a few days in a row, hoping that the box and Sir U-Verse would chat and make up.  No such luck.

Do you know what it’s like to share a tv box with a teenager on summer break hooked on something called TLC?  Thank heavens for that TIVO stuff or Mom and ol’ Jetty boy would be up a creek without a paddle I tell ya!

So… Mom is trying to wrap her head around (strange phrase you humans use…) the idea that we need a new box.  She told me she has to save up biscuit money because right now, the jar is a wee bit low (ok… empty)… she said we’ll take this opportunity to catch up on our reading.

Another great, except for the tv box, day.

Thanks to Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, My Brown Newfies and Luna, A Dog’s Life…for sponsoring the hop!  Click on any of the sponsors to join the hop.

I Flummoxed (Vocab Builder) Mom!

Hey It’s Jet Here.

 

Last night, the streaky lights lasted for hours.  Mom returned home around 9:30 p.m. and our last empty the tank happened at 6:00 p.m.  Mom fully intended to carry out our evening constitutional, except due to the storm, there was no chance in you know what that JJ and I had any intention of leaving safe, secure, Casa Jet. 

 

Mom completely understood and suggested we snuggle in for the second game of the NBA finals, which she had on “tape delay.”  Little Miss Barkarooni has now showed her full storm behavior and barks EVERY time a streaky light or boom occurs, while shivering like a leaf.  Mom considered putting those soft eye covers humans use to block out light for a good night’s sleep.  My human sister, Rachel, used them when she was little. 

 

JJ enjoyed bursts of distraction fetching her toys a few times in a row before catching on to Mom’s strategy.  Mom hoped JJ would tire and poop out from exhaustion… REALLY?  Have you not noticed we call her Jumping JJ for a reason?  Anyway, Mom thought it interesting that I acted more mellow than usual.  Her conclusion: while the streaky lights were constant, the booms were few and far between. 

 

We thought the streaky lights set the perfect backdrop for the White Hot Heat theme/flame motif etc… and wondered if the HEAT organization ordered streaky lights on purpose.  We concluded they did not because those naughty streaky lights interupted the tv reception and made lots of fans mad!  BTW, Mom hugged me hard the last one minute, peeking through my fur until the Heat won! 

 

Anyway, this morning, Mom thought JJ and I would do our business quickly and efficiently because we had to (excuse the boldness…) “hold it” all night.  We left the garage to the right.  I sniffed:

 

• The corner street sign surrounded by oodles of firecracker plants… not the right vibe,
• Crossed to the other side and sniffed two tall trees surrounded by tall, dark green spider plants… almost assumed the empty the tank position and changed my mind…
• Trotted to the next lawn, onto the sidewalk, onto the grass by the next street sign (a Jetty fave) paused… took in the scents and … nope, nothing…
• Skipped the swail by 2 houses because of Buddy, the golden’s barking across the street.
• Passed the next corner’s street sign and the wall (both concrete and bush) shielding Max the Beagle’s house from the world.
• Turned another corner and got distracted by Max the Beagle’s feline brother, Salem,
• Finally found the small island at Miss Mary Ann’s house, investigated the first area with spider plant, dismissed the location and selected the rocky area instead. (Yes, this is the area where Miss Mary Ann told Mom two days ago a racer snake had wriggled from.)  He had to know Jetty was there! 

Mom had that flummoxed face the whole time.  She couldn’t understand why I needed to study, investigate, observe, examine, explore, check out, look over, probe and reconnoiter (vocab builder) all my favorite spots without emptying my tank!  Mom, Mom, Mom, you poor human with a pedestrian (vocab builder) olfactory system… you cannot imagine the subtleties I sniffed out this morning.  Selecting a tank emptying location requires finesse Mom… it’s one of those things…

 

Another great, selective, day. (we’ll add pictures a little later…)

Tasty Tuesday – Tail-gating

Hey It’s Jet Here.

Thanks to Sugar and Kol for initiating Tasty Tuesdays, today is our tenth  participating post!

The NBA Championship begins tonight between our Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Here at Casa Jet, we will tail-gate… RIGHT MOM?  In case Mom needed some K9 inspiration, I shared the following link from Rodale for 5 healthy treats.  HINT, HINT!   What?  These require a dehydrator? Hmpf… this will not do… at least for tonight…

What Mom? … Mom asked me, one of her Kitchen K9s,  to share a human recipe capturing the Miami Heat theme as well as the backyard mangos which have started to drop. Then she requested a K9 recipe capturing the Miami Heat theme, however, with different fruit, since mangos are not the best for K9s. Scooby Doo Academy trained Investigator Jetty on the job!

Pineapple-Mango Chili Popsicles

Makes 6 popsicles

• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup mango, chopped
• 1 cup pineapple, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions:

• Start off by making simple syrup – bring water to a boil, add sugar and stir until completely dissolved.  Set aside to cool.
• Add mango and pineapple to a blender or food processor and puree.  Mix in simple syrup, chili powder and cayenne pepper.
• Pass the mixture through a strainer, and discard all solids.
• Pour into Popsicle molds, and wait patiently while the freezer works its magic.  (Mom, The Kitchen Counselor, says you can make a granita if you do not have molds!)

Smoothie Dog Treat

• 1 cup melon (no seeds) – (Jet: must be cantaloupe for Heat colors, unless you find a deep reddish color watermelon!)
• 1 cup strawberries
• 1 banana

Directions

• Puree the fruit together in a blender to make a smoothie.
• Once you have made the smoothie, you can either serve it straight away, (freeze in ice cube trays – our idea!) or freeze in containers to make a special fruit Popsicle. .
• Don’t forget that you can stir in applesauce instead of pureeing apples for your smoothie.

Another, Let’s Go Heat, Let’s Feed Jetty, day!

My Triple Crown Day

Hey It’s Jet Here.

While no horse won the Triple Crown yesterday, (the contender horse got hurt and had to withdraw,) my day had triple terrificness!

First crown:  My young neighbor friend, Ruby, popped over to give lovies to JJ and me before dinner time. Mom then invited her to join us for our evening constitutional. Ruby just completed first grade and felt like she could hold on to JJ for the whole walk, which she did. She shared lots of fun stories, asked Mom lots of questions and even scooped my poop!

Which brings me to the second crown of the day… Ruby asked Mom if she could come in really fast (her parents needed her home) and give us our after constitutional treats. Mom said yes and mentioned that our special meaty bones were on the menu. Ruby thought having bones in the freezer was a weird idea, however, when she saw how excited we became, she reconsidered.

Third Crown: After JJ and I worked our gnawing magic on the bones, Mom invited us next to her on the couch for the HEAT game. She did her usual 30 minute tape delay for the first half and watched most of the second half, live.

During the second part of the fourth quarter, she clapped, cheered, wished, and screamed so much that I thought for a second, something might be wrong. When I barked to protect the family, she reached over and hugged me and told me to keep barking to cheer on the team! Huh? Ok! As the minutes and seconds ticked off, Mom kept telling the TV, “You can do it!” and told JJ and me to keep sending the HEAT our special good luck. By the end of the game Mom gave JJ and me a family hug and thanked us for doing our part to help the team become the Eastern Conference Champions.

We stayed up extra late to watch all the post game hoopla and interviews during which Mom hugged us more. She complimented the Celtics and told us what great champions and sportsmen they are, particularly Coach Doc Rivers and Mr. Ray Allen.

Mom said JJ and I can now cheer on our team for the final series against the Oklahoma City Thunder. We’ve already got our HEAT colors on … we’re ready for Game 1 on Tuesday night!

Another triple great day!

Good Sports-Dog-Ship

Hey, It’s Jet Here.

Sorry for the late post, however, the electrical poltergeist visited our house again.  Yup, Mom told us (including my human sister, Rachel) that this thingie called a server fell down, went down… something like that.  So for almost a day, we couldn’t post for you.  Mom went into ESI (Electrical Scene Investigation) mode this morning, and discovered: THREE wires mysteriously were unplugged.  She plugged them in, waited a bit and voila – we’re back!

We want to publicly congratulate Malachy, the Peke, on his Westminster win Tuesday evening.  That little guy entertained us as he trotted around the ring.  We enjoy watching the two night contest (via tivo) and cheering for our favorites.  Mom says it’s sort of like watching the NBA playoffs and finals packed into two nights.  Mom really pays attention to the announcer when he details the heritage and the characteristics of each breed.

Now, if you will permit me to break down the contest from my point of view:

Night One selected the first four group winners:

Hound Group – We like the array of body shapes from sleek to low lying.  Of course we rooted for the three dachshunds in Dixie’s honor and the wire-haired guy won!  We can’t wait to chat with Dixie about this.

Toy Group – Rachel would usually find this group most appealing as she is a “small dog” person, however, she has the flu and stayed under her covers all night.

Non-Sporting Group – First of all, this group needs a much jazzier name, any suggestions?  How about the cool breed name group?  We like this group for their diversity.  The Dalmatian win reminded Mom how popular Dalmatians were when she was a little girl.   Celebrating wrinkles made Mom smile (aka the Sharpei winning 2^nd place.)

Herding Group – Since I joined the family, Mom pays much closer attention to this group.  We try to find similarities to my “Mr. Handsome” looks and the breeds in this group.  Mom also listens extra carefully to the breed descriptions to get a better sense of what comes naturally to herders like me!  Who doesn’t love the German Shepherd?  The Garden went nuts.  Our only curiosity, why German Shepherd Dog? We do not call JJ Golden Retriever Dog?  Hmm… will have to investigate.

Night two commentary tomorrow.

Another great day.