In the kitchen: Making dog biscuits

I love baking! I find it particularly good for taking frustrations out as I beat the life out of the ingredients and of course there is the scent of the freshly made baking filling the house too…and usually, I do have the nanny aka, the dog, watching my every move. So, when a recipe for dog biscuits appeared in a recent mailing from Pets At Home’s VIP club, I couldn’t say no to making a homemade treat for the dog, could I?

 

I’m not going to lie. I hate the smell of peanut butter! And what was the main ingredient of the biscuits? Peanut butter! Not going to lie that the biscuits were quick and easy to make and didn’t take too long to bake either.

And the verdict? Well, we did have a wee nibble given that they did smell alright but the taste…it was bland! At least to us. To the dog, Meg…she absolutely loved them! As soon as she got one, she was gone in a trail of dust. Well that’s what it was like anyway. It’s probably something I’d consider making for her once in a while as a special treat. She’ll just have to make do with the usual inbetween.

On the big Screen – Kingsman: The Secret Service

So finally after months of waiting, I’ve seen Kingsman: The Secret Service. I first saw a trailer for it via one of these surveys things and instantly fell in love with it. But it’s seems like months since that happened but now that it’s finally out, I pop along to see it at the local Vue cinema, making use of their lovely Super Tuesday offer (thanks Vue!)

I’m not going to lie. It wasn’t to a certain extent what I thought it was going to be. I had initially thought that it was going to be some spoof of all those spy movies & TV shows that had gone before. And to some extent, for me, it is. But it also feels as if this fill a gap in the genre too. Making use of today’s issues such as climate change, technology & class divide give it that modern day approach but isn’t delivered in this ‘been there, done it all’ feeling.

Cast wise, I loved the almost chalk & cheese approach with Colin Firth & Taron Egerton’s characters (Harry Hart & Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin respectively) loveable given the posh, well spoken meeting the ‘streets’. Mark Strong’s Merlin (almost akin to Bond’s Q) complete with Scottish accent is brilliant too…ok so maybe I’m being biased here cause I’m Scottish but the delivery of one line near the end of the film just sounded like something that you’d hear screeched on the streets of Glasgow. The only issue that I sort of had was with Samuel L. Jackson. It just felt odd seeing him play a character (Valentine) who’s sick/scared at the sight of blood when we’re so used to seeing him being the kick ass and being the one causing the blood.

There is one scene that I did feel lowered the tone and was  felt not needed (again, near the end) not with how well everything had been going before now. Otherwise this was a fairly enjoyable film and not my usual outing. Wouldn’t mind viewing it again. There’s probably small things that I missed the first time round…now…wonder if we’d get a director’s or unedited version when it releases on DVD…apparently some scenes were dropped to get it’s 15 rating.

Slowly cooking – Coca-Cola Barbeque Ribs

Over a year ago, we bought a slow cooker.Three words: BEST.BUY.EVER! I love the idea of being able to throw items into a pot and just cook it over several hours. One issue that I have found is that looking for recipes online under slow cooker can be difficult. But look under crockpot and you’re laughing.

I’ve got pulled barbeque chicken well a truly down to an art. I’ve tried making honey chicken wings (not so keen on) and lemon chicken (again, not keen on). We’ve even tried making a casserole in it (the results were not great for a first attempt!). The latest attempt was making coca-cola ribs!

Wish this was smellavision

I originally tried similar ribs in Clydebuilt, the restaurant within the SECC in Glasgow last year and thought I’d have a look for a recipe to try at home. The one I tried was found on TheFrugalGirls.com. This first time I’ve made them (the last time they were made for me) I’ve tweaked it slight by adding more cola as it didn’t seem to be enough. But they’re absolutely gorgeous and just drop off the bone (that makes it for fun trying to get them OUT the slow cooker).

Maybe next time I might even have a bash at making my own barbeque sauce…anyone got a recommended recipe?

Bon Appitite!