Dog With A Blog
This post is not a journey into international cuisine, or at least not into any HUMAN cuisine. Instead, this is about something I “baked” outside of my (usually) fortnightly international food explorations.
It was our dog Bay’s third adoption anniversary recently, so I decided to make him something to celebrate! Although he wasn’t really aware, I thought it’d be fun to make him a birthday cake, a well-deserved treat for him to enjoy.
I double-checked that everything I was putting into the treat was canine-friendly before making it. I did have to substitute some things (i.e. squash for pumpkin since we didn’t have it around the house); otherwise, this was a very straightforward recipe. I combined a few other ingredients, such as peanut butter, whole wheat flour, and water to make the batter. Then I lined a small loaf pan with parchment paper, filled the pan with the batter and put it into the preheated oven to bake. After his “birthday cake” had baked, I took it out of the oven and let it cool before cutting a big slice to serve him.
I believe birthdays have to be celebrated in style -- whether canine or human. So I decided to make him a small birthday hat from cardstock and decorated it. But he moved around so much, it was difficult to get the hat on him. Even when I managed to, it did not stay on his head for more than 30 seconds.
Bay had already had his dinner, but that has never stopped him. He is happy to be showered with treats throughout the day. Bay’s one true love is, and always will be, food. So to say he was excited is an understatement.
Since we’ve had him, I’ve taken on the job of training him. He knows a few party tricks -- from a high five to an army crawl -- as long as the reward is a treat!. Even when we haven’t taught him to do a trick for a treat he’ll try to come up with something for a reward. He will bring up the mail and patiently wait for us to reward him. He’s also learned how to negotiate, like when we try to put his harness on before his walks, or when we try to brush and bathe him.
After he smelled the cake that was cooling out of the oven he could not stay in one place! So once it finally cooled I plated a slice for him to enjoy.
The cake disappeared in just about 2 seconds! But since it was his adoption day, after all, I did give him a second slice as well. He seemed to love it -- so much so that it made me want to taste the cake myself. So I tried a tiny slice to see how it tasted. Although it was pretty bland -- no sugar, salt or butter in there -- I think it was perfect for Bay.
All in all, it was a nice break to watch him enjoy his cake and celebrate his presence in our lives.
Photo Credits:
Maya Pandey
