A three-time winner of the coveted James Beard Award and the Julia Child Award and author of 17 cookbooks, West Eckhardt’s book, The Dog Ate It: Cooking for Yourself and Your Four-Legged Friends, features tasty, nutritious, and easy-to-prepare recipes for people and their dogs.
Pets Should Eat Healthy Meals Too
“I got my new puppy about the time that the news was filled with reports of mad cow and pet food recalls," says West Eckhardt. "I decided that my sweet little dog was not going to eat commercial dog food."
So she spent time in her kitchen creating and testing recipes, which lead to her first cookbook on cooking for pets and their owners. "There are a number of books out there with recipes for dogs," she says. "But this book tells you how to cook for yourself and your dog.”
Dogs Need Vitamins
“We know dogs need their vitamins as much as children and grown ups,” says West Eckhardt. “In these recipes, I try to incorporate as much vitamins as possible. One great source of vitamins can be found in pumpkin. It’s an unparalleled source of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that converts to vitamin A in the body to promote good circulation, a healthy heart, eyes and lungs. The additional presence of alpha-carotene, which comes from the pumpkin, interacts with other key nutrients that may help to slow the biological effects of aging in both you and your dog."
Recipes from The Dog Ate It
West Eckhardt developed and tested the recipes on her dogs. Her book includes a variety of foods including meats, fish, chicken, and vegetables. Here she shares two recipes from her cookbook.
Pup Cakes
Makes 12 regular sized or 48 mini Pup Cakes
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned uncooked rolled oats
- ½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons dry milk
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup water
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries)
Arrange 12 muffin cups (or 48 mini pans) with paper liners and spray with Pam. Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Combine the dry ingredients flour, oats, sugar, dry milk, baking powder, cinnamon, soda and salt. Stir to combine. (Set aside 2 tablespoons for topping.)
- Make a well in the center and add the pumpkin, water, oil, and egg. Stir and add the Craisins. Transfer the batter to the prepared cups, about 1/3 cup for each regular cup, about 1 tablespoon for each mini. Sprinkle the tops with reserved dry ingredients.
- Bake the muffins until golden, about 20 minutes for regulars, and 10-12 for the minis. Cool to room temperature before serving. They may be frozen in plastic bags and thawed to room temperature.
Super Crab Salad
“Serve on a lettuce leaf with fresh bread along with wine, fruit and cheese to top it off.," says West Eckhardt. "The pet gets served in her little bowl. No lettuce because dogs can’t digest lettuce. No extra bread because you don’t want to overfeed your dog. It’s not healthy, and no wine because grapes or anything made from grapes is harmful to dogs. Dogs can develop kidney failure if they drink wine. So leave the lettuce, extra bread, and wine for you and your human guests. Chicken or tuna can be substituted for the crab."
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups jumbo lump crab meat
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
- A little yogurt to taste
- 3 tablespoons minced parsley.
Combine crab with celery, yogurt and parsley. Toss lightly and serve at once.
The Dog Ate It is available at bookstores and at amazon.com.
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