I’ve been known to be a bleeding heart when it comes to animals.  I have a major soft spot them… I’ve even stopped several times to remove turtles from the road.  I just feel the need to do what I can for animals.   A friend of mine came across this little tiny (5 pound) chihuahua a few days ago.  Stephan and I just couldn’t let her go to animal control.  She looked as if she had been well fed, but had not been to a vet (or bathed) in many years.  She was quite the stinker.  Its sad that someone can neglect such a precious creature.

We’ve named her Chica temporarily because it seemed wrong to keep calling her “the other dog.”  She is an absolute sweetheart…. but definitely categorized as special needs.  She is partially blind and has difficulty walking due to hip dysplasia, but she hobbles around.  Her disposition, however, is very sweet… and I’ve done some unspeakable things to her like forcefeeding her pumpkin and yogurt with a syringe. I won’t go into why I was doing this… after all this IS a food blog! lol!

We currently have her in our home in Ft Lauderdale.  We would love to keep her, but we already have 2 chihuahuas and just don’t have room for another. Also, with our busy schedules and traveling, we don’t have the time to give her the attention she needs.  If you know someone who would like to adopt a special needs pet, please email me at candace at maloman.com.  She would be the perfect lap dog for an elderly woman or man who needs companionship. 

I’d like to give a big thank you to Dr. Loeser, my fantastic vet, who donated her time to run tests on little Chica.  Check out this beautiful image Stephan took of little Chica.

Just when all of you think I’m perfectly sane, I go out and bake a cake for my dog.  This is a special day for Rocky, our 2nd born.  He is a rescue, and since we don’t know his actual birthday, we celebrate the day we adopted him… two years ago today.  He’s been a bit of a problem pooch as he has some slight behavior issues… I refer to him as five pounds of raw aggression.  However, once he gets to know you, this little guy doles out big buckets o’ love.  That’s how he got the nickname Bucky, but he also answers to Rocky and Stinkster.

This is not just a boring cake, but a savory one flavored with pureed chicken and… yes… that’s real bacon lining the sides.  Carrots add sweetness and a nice fleck of color.  The frosting is simply yogurt and cottage cheese pureed with a dab of swiss cheese (for extra stinky factor) and cake crumbs to make it stiff enough to be spreadable.  The candles were Pupperonis cut in half.  Good stuff.  I’d almost eat it… ehhhh almost.

{ Read the rest }

When I first started this blog, I really didn’t know what to expect. I figured I’d blog for a little while until I ran out of recipes and/or time. Instead, it has become a part of my everyday life. I find it to be a fabulous creative outlet, and blogging pushes me to think about what I’m making for dinner or dessert. I started out doing mainly dinners, and it has evolved into more desserts and baking, as that is where my true cooking passion lies.

Although my husband is one of the biggest fans of my blog (and food) he is not my most discriminating taste tester. That would be my pooches, Sushi and Rocky. I posted a while ago about one of their regular dinners. They are probably the most spoiled animals on the planet. They get to eat what we eat, minus the un-doggy friendly ingredients, of course. The lucky dogs have even traveled to Germany twice. Although I assume they have no idea they are not in Florida… other than the fact it is cold and my father in law sneaks them German sausage for breakfast.

This is a sweet chocolaty cookie that is only for the dogs. Before you panic about me feeding the dogs chocolate, the ingredients are all natural and are doggy friendly. There is neither sugar nor chocolate in it. Instead it contains honey and carob powder. But shhhhh… don’t tell them, as I think I may have fooled them!
{ Read the rest }