who's in the kitchen

The family keeps growing! Penny arrives at LGA

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Last time I wrote about our kids’ pets, it was about Abbey, the cat belonging to Jerry’s daughter, Elana, and Murphy, the dog belonging to my daughter and son-in-law, Jordana and Dan. Since then, there has been a new addition to the family. My son Jeremy and his lovely wife Darya are now the proud puppy parents of Penny (Pollack).

Penny arrived on a flight into LGA, and I met the kids and puppy there to drive them into the city. I was loaded with treats and toys from Petco along with the essentials that the kids didn’t have time to purchase the night before. They were given a 24 hour notice of Penny’s arrival, so I pitched in to help as much as I could.

I could see it was love at first sight. Penny couldn’t stop licking Darya and Jeremy’s faces, and the feeling of love was mutual.

I dropped the kids and Penny in front of their apartment and went to search for a parking spot. Who was I kidding? There are no spots on the Upper East Side. After an hour I gave up and parked in a lot.

I watched as Penny bonded with her new parent and I fell in love with her as well. Being that they are both attorneys and work full time, they realized they would have to put her in doggie day care, until she was used to be left alone. Problem was she couldn’t got to doggie day care until she had all her shots. That would be in about a week and a half. I volunteered to dog sit. It was actually fun. I would hang out with her in their apartment until Jordana came home from her teaching job, and we would head to the dog park. Whoever heard of a dog park when we were kids? Not in Boro Park! It was definitely a challenge walking together with two dogs. You see, these “cousins” are inseparable when they are together. Within two minutes their leashes are all tangled up. So I ended up carrying Penny all the way to the park while Murphy, knowing where he was headed, ran.

As soon as we got to the dog park Murphy was big man on campus. All the dogs ran over to him. Of course he likes to play with the livelier ones. At first I couldn’t look. It didn’t seem like playing. It was more like, “Let’s see who can bite each other’s face off first.” Jordana tried to reassure me, that if he’s not growling or barking, then they are just having fun. Once I was able to accept that, I started to take videos of Murphy, while Penny nestled in Jordana’s arms on a Bench.

As I was videoing, I saw the cutest white bull dog trying to play with Murphy and his “chevera.” A minute later I hear the owner of that dog say, “Come on Sandy, let’s find some one that wants to play with you, you don’t need them.” I was mortified. I actually heard myself saying,”Murphy, you and friends should really play with Sandy.” By then Sandy had found her way to the other side of the dog park.

Penny, meanwhile, had lots of fans in the park as there aren’t many English Cocker Spaniels in New York. Both cousins had a great time that afternoon. And so each day I drove to the city and watched Penny, then met Jordana in the afternoon for a trip to the park then back to Jordana’s apartment. It got a little tricky because Murphy is allowed to have people food at times, but Penny isn’t. They don’t want her used to people food. Murphy is fine with that, more prime ribs bones from Bobby Judy, for him. Yes, I know I go overboard, but, hey, they’re my grandchildren. Nothing is too good for them! I find myself gravitating toward the pet aisle in TJMaxx, Home Goods, etc.

Just last week I bought the cutest little jacket for Murphy. Penny already has an adorable pink parka that her maternal grandmother bought her (it matches her Chewnel — Chanel for Dogs — purse that a friend bought her). I used to make fun of people like this. Now I’m one of them. 

Hmmm, Jerry Joszef, there just might just be hope of a dog in your future after all.

Might, being the key word.

Meanwhile, I found this yummy recipe for peanut butter and applesauce cookies for dogs.

Peanut Butter & Applesauce Cookies for your dog

The Cookie Rookie

Ingredients:

3 c whole wheat flour

2 c quick-cook oats

1 c peanut butter (smooth or chunky, your choice!)

1 c unsweetened organic applesauce

1 t baking powder

1/4-1/2 cup olive oil or coconut oil, optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and cover 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.y are having. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface. If the dough is too loose and crumbly, you can add a 1/4-1/2 cup olive oil or coconut oil at this point.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to about 1/4 inch thick and then cut into shapes with cookie cutters. If you don’t want to use cookie cutters, simply make small dough balls.

Place cookies on baking sheet, approximately 1/2 inch apart. Bake in preheated faces over for approximately 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool and then serve.

Store uneaten cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week.

(NOTE: some dogs are allergic to flour/wheat. if you want to make these wheat free, you can use rice flour of coconut flour as a replacement. they will work, but might change the consistency a bit.)

Contact Judy Joszef: Columnist@TheJewishStar.com