SUSTENANCE: Smoked Salmon Snacks, and Spent Grain Dog Treats
Opened the last of the self-indulgent birthday lox for breakfast, on sourdough English muffins with cream cheese, capers, cracked black pepper, and some rain-wet chives from the garden… Hence the fabulously dark and moody light today. And later, will use the rest for some deliciously trashy maki with cream cheese and pickles (postscript: I did not get around to making the maki, and let the fella finish off the fish, which he ate unceremoniously from a plate, plain, with his fingers, while standing by the sink. Definitely not a modern-day Viking, nope, not at all).
And because I am a giant sucker, a canine crudite for the most spoiled, fancy dog (homemade spent grain, peanut butter and pumpkin dog cookie, the crusty bits from the cream cheese wrapper and the tiniest taste of fish. Hold the chives and capers, please!). I unfortunately didn’t get a picture of him eating it, which because he takes treats so delicately, would have been cute? Oh well.
Canine Crackers
These spent-grain cookies are so easy, and our dog LOVES them. A good way to use up your leftover spent-grain from brewing, and spoil your pooch- and there’s nothing yucky in there, so you can feel good giving them these treats.
It’s less a recipe than a basis to improvise. Put your fresh spent grain in a food processor, and puree the heck out of it. Add a scoop of peanut butter, and process some more. You can add an egg and some oats or flour, or pumpkin puree if you like and any additives like nutritional yeast, fish oil, or kelp powder.
Line a sheet pan with parchment or a silpat and spread the mixture in a uniform layer, no more than 1/4″ thick. Score with lines so they’ll be easy to break into portions later.
Bake in a cool oven, 250-300. When they’re sturdy enough to handle, flip over to dry out the bottom. It’s ok if they break- your dog doesn’t care. You can turn the heat down as low as it will go (170 F in my oven) and leave them until crispy.
Let cool, and store in an airtight container (I use ziplock bags). That’s it! These are very high in fiber, so don’t give too many per day (or you’ll need more bags for your walks?).