Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Last year for Thanksgiving we made our first "from scratch" pumpkin pie. It was a fun experience. We purchased a special "pie" pumpkin. With no clue how to proceed, we just quartered the pumpkin, cleaned out the seeds and other "pumpkin guts" (to quote Connor) placed cut side down on a cookie sheet, and baked until soft. Once cooked, I scraped the meat into the food processor bowl and pureed until smooth. Not happy with the not-orange-enough color of the puree, I added a cooked carrot to the mixture. It didn't change the flavor, but made the color more appetizing. I actually ended up with more than I needed, so I froze the remained to use in future pies or pumpkin bread.

My plan was to use the puree in place of canned pumpkin in my favorite pie recipe, but thought it deserved a homemade crust. Since I rely on frozen pie crust, I called on my son James, the chef, to make the pastry. He made a rustic, French style crust, rich with butter and sugar. It was delicious. We will definitely be doing this again.

This is my old "go to" recipe. Adjust accordingly if you bake your own pumpkin.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Heat oven to 425°

2 Crusts for 9" deep dish pie

16 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 ½  cup firmly packed brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 can pumpkin (29oz.)

Whipped cream for garnish

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Beat cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

Stir in cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin until smooth. Pour mixture into prepared crust. Place on cookie sheet in preheated, hot oven.

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Immediately lower temperature to 350°.

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Bake 35 - 45 minutes or until center is almost set

Cool completely on wire rack. Serve topped with whipped cream

 

Homemade Dog Treats (Back to My Roots)

It's been almost a year since I started my job as a bather at Cooper Mountain Kennel, and I still love it. I actually get paid to do something I used to do for free. Not always for free. I worked for a summer in Bend, at Lucille Cosby's, until the work dried up during the last recession. So, here I am, over 30 years later, gone to the dogs.

A lot has changed since then. Not only is the equipment far more efficient and ergonomic, but toy poodles, which were the backbone of the business back then, are much less common today. At CMK we groom all variety of dogs, from Chihuahuas to Tibetan Mastiffs and everything in between. By my non-scientific observation, Labs and Labradoodles seem to be the most popular large breeds, Shih Tzus and Lhasa Apsos the small. We also board and groom cats.

I'm not naturally a morning person, but I've found that the 7:30 start time has not been a problem for me. My husband says it's because I'm happy. I think that's true. Standing on a lush green lawn as the sun warms the air, watching a dog or two exercise before their bath is not a bad way to begin a day. In what other line of work can you snuggle your clients without getting into trouble?

The kennel is located on Farmington Road, just west of Beaverton. Hours are 7:30am - 6pm, Monday thru Saturday, and 10am - 6pm on Sunday. For an excellent boarding or groom experience for your pet, please come see us.

It's been nearly a decade since our German Shepherds crossed the Rainbow Bridge, so I haven't had a chance to make these treats myself, but I intend to make some for my new friends.

Everyday Biscuits*

2 teaspoons dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water

2 tablespoons dry parsley

2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons honey

1 egg

5-6 cups whole wheat flour

Preheat oven to 350 ° F (180 ° C).

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Stir in the parsley, garlic, broth, honey, and egg. Gradually blend in flour, adding enough to form a stiff dough.

Transfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth (about 3-5 minutes). Shape the dough into a ball, and roll to 1/4-inch (6 mm) thick. Using small bone-shaped cookie cutters, make biscuits! Transfer to ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/4 inch (6 mm) apart. Gather up the scraps, roll out again, and cut additional biscuits.

Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and turn over. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on both sides. Let cool overnight.

(After all batches of biscuitsare finished, turn off the oven, and spread all the biscuits out on one baking sheet. Set them in the oven to cool overnight. The extra time in the cooling oven helps make the treats crispier and crunchier.)

Makes several dozen small bones that keep and freeze well.

Birthday Cake for Pups*

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup corn oil

1 jar meat baby food

4 eggs

2 strips beef jerky
 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x5x3 inch loaf pan. Cream butter until smooth. Add corn oil, baby food, and eggs. Mix until smooth.

Mix dry ingredients into beef mixture until batter is smooth. Crumble beef jerky and fold into batter. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes. cool on wire rack 15 minutes. Ice with plain yogurt or cottage cheese.

Store uneaten cake in refrigerator

*For more homemade treat recipes, visit www.bullwrinkle.com