Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens!!!!

My friend Jenny Durbin keeps fancy show chickens as pets. Today I went to her house and played with them.

As a "city-girl" I had never held a chicken before. They are soft and even, dare I say, cuddly. You can sit and hold a chicken on your lap and it will coo and snuggle sort of like a dog or a cat. Who knew? One even laid an egg while I was there! It was magical holding an egg straight from the hen! It was all warm from her little body... Tonight I'm going to cook it for Tom!

My next "Marsie's Menagerie" column in the Community Press papers is going to be about Jenny's chickens. Perhaps you'll be inspired to build a coop of your own!

Until then...cock-a-doodle-do!!!!!!

Move Over, Benji... Nipper is a TV STAR!!!!!!

Nipper with Sheila Gray!

Nipper meets Rob Williams!

The ingredients all laid out and ready to go!

Nipper with Tracey Johnson!

Nipper and his very own "Mama Rose"... ;)

It really happened! Nipper made his television debut on FOX19's new morning program, "FOX19 Morning News Extra" on Tuesday, December 21st, and as dedicated "stage-parents," Tom and I couldn't be prouder. That little black and barely white fuzzy faced guy did his Mommy and Daddy proud, chowing down on those dog biscuits like nobody's business!

I demonstrated how to bake "Nipper's Favorite Chicken Liver Dog Cookies" along with the help of Tracey Johnson, the new co-anchor. (For all those who haven't met her yet, she's a delight!)

Doing cooking demonstrations is fraught with possible catastrophes. I've done dozens, yet once forgot the eggs for a demo at a library. It made it kind of difficult to make "Birdie Bread Waffles" as my big finish. *Sigh!* All those successful presentations and that is the only one I still think of first.

The hardest part is the prep-work, choosing a recipe, making lists, measuring everything out and putting it in cups and ramekens so all you have to do is dump everything into bowls, etc. Then, you have to make a finished product so you can show the audience how the dish is supposed to look. If this is for a morning news program and you want to serve something hot so the interviewers and crew can taste-test, this might mean getting up at 3 a.m. or even staying up all night so that everything is timed out perfectly. Thank goodness "Nipper's Favorite Chicken Liver Dog Cookies" can be made the night or even days before and don't have to be served warm!

Well, enough rambling... Needless to say, the whole thing went off without a hitch and Nipper's extended fan club gave him rave reviews. His eating technique was impeccable and his timing...awesome!

That's our boy!!!!!

Peanut Butter Doggie Biscuits Earn Rave Reviews! Nipper Gives Them Two Dewclaws Up!!!

Nipper getting caught with his head in the cookie jar.

I made peanut butter dog cookies today and Nipper couldn't be happier. Here's the recipe:

Marsie's Menagerie Peanut Butter Doggie Biscuits

(Makes about 2 dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutters)

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup water
• Cooking spray

Method

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Spray cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
• Combine ingredients in a large mixing bowl. (I do it with my hands and wear non-latex medical gloves.)
• Mix until ingredients form a ball.
• Roll out on a floured surface (about 1/4 inch thickness).
• Cut out shapes with cookie cutters.
• Place cookies on cookie sheet and place in oven.
• Bake for 25 minutes and cool on rack.

BONE APPETIT!!!!!!

I Died and Went to Doggie Heaven! Guess What? It Looks a Lot Like Mt. Adams!!!

Well, it finally happened... I officially died and went to doggie heaven at the 20th Annual Mt. Adams Reindog Parade yesterday. I was asked to represent "Marsie's Menagerie" as judge for the "Best Owner/Dog Look-a-like" category.

The Reindog Parade is truly one of the greatest events in the city of Cincinnati. Everyone there is happy and smiling; proudly showing off their dogs (who are dressed to the nines in holiday attire) and very chatty! It is a great big dog party and people are at their best. (If not goofiest.) I have always believed that dogs are an extension of their owners and taking them out is like walking your heart on a leash. The hills of Mt. Adams were truly awash in furry love.

All days should be as happy as Reindog Parade Day. Too bad it only happens once a year...

Why I Am The Way I Am...

MEXICO

TURTLE

My goldfish died last week. It’s not the first time this has happened or will it be the last. As I pressed the handle and flushed him/her to that great aquarium in the sky, I thought back on how my mother handled these situations when I was a child. Back then, I had dozens and dozens of fish and turtles, those types of pets that tend to give up the ghost on a regular basis; so I just know that she had to have been a mighty deperate woman.

Then as now, I was a great big drama queen. Age has only given me the gift of restraint, but believe you me, I feel it just the same. When I was a kid, I had no filters. That’s not to say that I can’t pitch a big old hissy-fit now and then, but I reserve them for the passing of warm-blooded creatures with fur. There’s a big difference and you have to draw the line somewhere.

One of the biggest lies that my mother told me was to stave off a “State Funeral” over my turtle Speedy Gonzales when I was five years old. I went to feed him and his bowl-mate “Slow Poke Slugger” and Speedy was gone. Now I was never the greatest at math, but I certainly grasped the concept that one was less than two. I checked under the plastic palm tree and on the table around the bowl. Getting down on my hands and scabby little knees I checked the floor. Realizing that he was well and truly gone, I shrieked so loudly that my mother had to think fast.

“Oh, Marsie…,” she said sorrowfully, “Speedy Gonzales is gone.”

“Gone?” I asked, wide-eyed, my chubby little chin beginning to quiver.

“Yes, gone.” She sighed dramatically for emphasis.

“Your Daddy and I found his shell in front of the kitchen door this morning.”

“His shell?”

“Yes, he ran away and the only way he could fit under the door was to take his shell off and leave it behind.”

Even at that tender age I had enough sense about me to not believe that a turtle could remove his shell. “

How could he do that?”

“Well, I don’t know, but he did,” she replied, summoning all of her “I’m the mother and know everything” authority.

She followed me into the kitchen where I was busily examining the small sliver of space between the door and the floor.

“He left a note,” she continued, lying through her teeth, probably hoping against hope that I wouldn't ask to see the evidence.

“It said that he was sorry, but he had to go home and visit his family in Mexico.”

“But what is he going to do without his shell?” I wondered.

“It’s warm in Mexico,” she said with a perfectly straight face, “So turtles don’t need to wear them there.”

That’s where my memory fades. Something tells me that Speedy Gonzales died and my parents found him first. But to make sure I’m going to Google “Naked Mexican Turtles.”

You just never know…

The Saddest Signs of All!

Cincinnati Observatory

Mt. Lookout, OH

Fitton Center for Creative Arts

Hamilton, Ohio

It's not right and when it's not right, it's wrong! Okay, okay...I understand why pets aren't allowed to run wild and free, but it doesn't mean I can't hate the signs!

More to come!

xoxo

M.

Nipper's Newest Favorite Doggie Snack!

Check it out...I've found a new homemade dog biscuit recipe! Nipper loves it and I'm certain that your dog will too.

These make great holiday presents for the dog lovers on your list. They are inexpensive and fun to make!

Do you have any pet treat recipes you'd like to share? Please send them to me at: marsolete@insightbb.com. I'll add more in coming weeks...

Nipper’s Bacon Barky Biscuits

(Makes approximately 2 ½ dozen depending on the size of your cookie cutters.)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups Whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Powdered milk
1 tbsp. Wheat Germ
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Beef Bouillon (Use granulated kind, not a cube.)
Four slices of bacon cooked extra crisp
1/3 cup Bacon Grease
1 beaten egg
1/2 cup ice water

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

After frying bacon, drain slices on top of paper towels. Reserve 1/3 cup of bacon grease. After draining bacon slices, place in food processor and reduce it to fine crumbles.

Combine dry items (including bacon crumbles) in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add bacon grease and flour, powdered milk, garlic powder, wheat germ and beef bouillon granules.

Stir in the bacon grease, egg and bacon. When these ingredients are thoroughly mixed, drizzle in ice water a tiny bit at a time until mixture is firm in texture..

Now comes the fun part!

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out with to 1/2 inch thickness and cut out biscuits with cookie cutters. (I use bone shaped cutters.) Place biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Allow to cool before serving.

Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.