Saturday, December 18, 2010

Blessed Beast Recipes!

Bad Dog has zero sense of humor when it comes to Christmas preparations.

A gentle snow falls outside my window, muffling the sounds of passers by. Everything feels prettier, and infinitely more magical, when fresh snowflakes decorate the garden.

A holiday gift of winter white Hydrangeas.

I suppose it seems strange that a passionate planter, such as myself, would have a love affair with winter but that's probably because my winters are milder than most.

Stepping outdoors is not a death defying act as it sometimes was in frigid Minnesota. Utah winters are downright balmy. Plentiful snows come as quiet decoration vs. the arctic blasts and bitter winds, common in the Midwest.

Gifts of Paper Whites grown for my gardening friends.

And, I'm particularly loving this morning's snowfall because it coincides perfectly with my own self-prescribed break in the action.

It is the Saturday before Christmas. And where are YOU with YOUR to-do list?

I hate to make you all jealous and such but mine's done. Because this is just how weird I am ~ I set myself a deadline that's a good week ahead of the real one.

Normally, I'm a red purist but this peachy keen Poinsettia was irresistible.

The gift I wanted to give myself this year may seem kind of silly. Possibly even selfish. I wanted some quiet time to focus on the wanna dos vs. the gotta dos.

To bake some cookies for the horses. And, maybe for the humans, too. To try my luck at a few homemade bath products for skier friends. To take my poor, neglected Bad Dog up to the top of Round Valley for our first snowshoe of the season.

To have some time to simply.... Goof. Off.

Here's hoping you can find some time to do that, too. :D

~~~~~~~~ 'Tis the Season: Meg and Bad Dog Approved Recipes ~~~~~~~~~~

Oat and Molasses Horse Cookies
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 2 cups grated apples or applesauce
  • 4 tablespoons corn oil
  • 1/2 cup molasses
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
*Your kids might not like these but my 'kids' jump for joy.
Bake @350 for about 20 minutes


Bad Dog's Bacon Biscuits
Roll into bite-size balls and bake @350 for about 45 minutes.
  • 4 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup skim milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups crumbled bacon bits
  • 1/2 cup corn oil
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup water

And, for the kitties? Save yourself the trouble! Nothin' beats a fresh container of cat nip...

31 comments:

Lona said...

Hi Kate. Oh, I love your peach poinsettia. How gorgeous! I have never saw an peach colored ones.You white hydrangea is just so pretty too. These pets just do not get it. LOL!How cute.
Wishing you a Wonderful Christmas.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Merry Christmas to you, too, Lona!

I'd never met a peach Poinsettia until that fateful morning marching into the flower shop. I'm nuts over this new color..

Unknown said...

I love the flower photos but the kitty with the catnip is priceless. I never heard of the cookies for a horse before (Of course, I don't have a horse...) - I bet they smell good while baking.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Season's Greetings, Tufa!

Well, Christmas is coming... Perhaps you should ask for a pony? :)

Unknown said...

Thank you for the wonderful post... I needed the smile that the baleful look of Bad Dog brought. (I could see my Coco's face there in the photo, the first time we tried to put her in costume!)

When you make those bacon bites, do you freeze the extras? (Or does Bad Dog just get lots of treats that week? :)

Hope you enjoy your time, and get recharged!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Holidays, Kim!
I'm glad Bad Dog brought a smile to your face. He's still pretty peeved about the antlers but he'll wear them, grudgingly. Hence the plentiful cookies...

KC said...

Loved seeing Bad Dog, I've missed him despite feeling overwhelmed with puppies....the third R white dog is back making trouble;-)

Love my paperwhite too, delivered and all. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy, happy, dear Karen!

I'm so glad you liked your little gift. Wasn't that nice of them to bloom on time for a change?

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Kate girl we are using the same background on our blogs ! Now how Twilight Zone is that I ask you !
I love white flowers and yours are beautiful : ).. I would love a poinsettia but then . so would the girls, it would be DE-leafed ? in no time and that bit about being poisonous is a little scary ?? LOL
Those cookies sound wonderful .. and cat nip, hell YES !! haha
Have a Merry Christmas and very HAPPY New Year girl !
My Halloween count down disappeared, so I am not sure how many days are left but LESS than 365 !!!!! hehehehehe
Joy : )

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Great gardening minds think alike, Joy! :D

Do you put Halloweeny ornaments on your tree? That would be so cool...

Merry Christmas to you and the girls! Hope you have a simply fabulous celebration.

Shady Gardener said...

Merry Christmas to you! Cute post for the pets. The recipes look as though they'd make your beasts happy! :-)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Merry Christmas, Shady!
Yes, they love it. And, I love spoiling pretty much everybody during the holidays... :)

Tatyana@MySecretGarden said...

Kate, I started to laugh when I saw the first picture. My boys just asked me to get a raindeer costume for our german shepherd. I need to show them your dog. Look at those eyes! Love your paperwhite picture. They are not easy flowers to photograph. You did great! Have happy holidays!

Wendy said...

ha ha! looks like Bad Kitty is having some fun!

I'm glad you have time for your wanna dos.

I'm right there with ya - I had my gift done (mostly jam/apple gift bags) done, and cards done just before Thanksgiving. I haven't thought about my wanna dos. Now that I have some time, I might want to make a little list...

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Merry Christmas, Tatyana!

Or, should I say.. С Рождеством Христовым!

Hope yours is a super happy holiday. :D

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Hi, Wendy!
And, Happy Holidays! :D

Yes, Bad Kitty opened the special present 6 days early. And, he was having a ball...

Marguerite said...

Having time to goof off sounds like an excellent idea! Unfortunately I've left a lot to be done yet. Only just put up my tree and decorations, presents yet to wrap. But I'm looking forward to a few days of quiet time after Christmas.

Rose said...

Lol, Kate--I took several photos of Sophie with similar "antlers", thinking it would make a good Christmas card. She had much the same disgusted expression Bad Dog has:)

Good for you for getting things done early and taking time to do what you want! I finished shopping yesterday and have most of the presents wrapped. Still a little bit to do, but I'm setting aside a day to make cookies with the grandkids--my special time with them.

Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday and a very Merry Christmas!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Holidays, Marguerite!

Cheers for down time between the two big days. Hope you have loads of lazy, relaxing fun.

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Feel free to send me some of those cookies, Rose! :))

I wish Sophie and Bad Dog could have a play date sometime. But then... they'd probably spend half the afternoon complaining about antlers and Halloween costumes... I know BD has strong opinions about that jazz.

Merry Christmas!

lostlandscape (James) said...

I hope you get to the baking for the rest of the family as well as the four-legged members. That might be a tough one to explain otherwise..."I made the horse some delicious biscuits but oops I didn't have time to make the gingerbread for the humans..." But it sounds like you're so ahead of the game that won't be a problem. Have a warm and safe holiday!

Melanie J Watts said...

Merry Christmas Kate. I love the view from your deck, in the previous post. What a beautiful place to live. If I had that view I would spend most of my time staring at it. I too enjoy your blog and I look forward to coming back next year.

sweetbay said...

Bad Dog is adorable. I love the peach poinsettia.

My horses will probably have to make do with carrots, although I know they would love some molasses cookies.

Re: the castle... no we didn't trespass. I'll blame DH -- he's too much of a goody two shoes. ;) Anyway I'm not sure if anyone lives there or it's just used for the Order. Wouldn't it be wonderful to live in a castle in the middle of the woods?

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Amy Farrier said...

Love all the blessed beasts! That last photo made me pull out the catnip for my kitty, and she thanks you for it (or she will, after she gets down off her high). And merry Christmas to you, too!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Merry Christmas, James!
You're not the first person to notice that hierarchy - horsies first and then the humans. Those bipeds will probably get some goodies. That is... if I can refrain from eating all the cookie dough. ;)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Holidays, Melanie!

Thx. As a BC skier you'd be in 7th heaven out here. We had 3 feet of snow yesterday and they're forecasting another 2 feet for tomorrow!

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Seasons Greetings, Amy!

Glad I could be of service to your kitty. Mine weren't willing to wait until Christmas Eve so why should yours?? :D

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

Hi Kate, Your Bad dog picture made me laugh out loud! What a cute reindeer he makes. I love your plan to find a little time for yourself and goof off and do nothing. We always try to take a long quite walk with the dogs on Christmas day. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and very best wishes for the new year.

Dee @ Red Dirt Ramblings said...

I adore that first picture. Hilarious!! Your plants are so beautiful. They make my heart sing. Thank you and Merry Christmas.~~Dee

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Merry Christmas, Jennifer!

I thought BD would make a very precious reindeer, too, though he is most certainly not in agreement. Perhaps a little duct tape will keep those antlers in place. ;>)

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Happy Holidays, Dee, and thanks for paying me a visit.

Here's wishing you the Merriest of Christmases and much fun in the coming New Year.