Dog Poison Cookies

"What are those?" you ask? Why, they are my first cookie invention, a variation on chocolate chip cookies with macadamia nuts and raisins added. I thought of them after discovering that grapes (and thus, raisins) are bad for dogs. I then did some research to see what other foods could harm dogs, and the confirmed list also includes cocoa (chocolate, as we all know), onions, and macadamia nuts. Aside from the onions, the list of food that is harmful to dogs sounded like they could make up quite a nice symphony. Thus, Dog Poison Cookies were born.


I do realize that the name is pretty rough, perhaps causing people to think I hate dogs, or, if in the wrong hands, would inspire people to harm a dog, but seriously, I love dogs and these cookies are not intended for them even as a joke.

I'm going to change things around a bit the next time I bake them, but just so I can keep track of things easily, here is the recipe I put together:

Dog Poison Cookies (more PC name: "Not For Dogs Cookies")

Dry:

• 4 oz whole wheat flour
  
• 5 oz AP flour
• 2 oz flax meal
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 t baking soda

Creamed:

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 stick butter (softened)
• 1/4 c canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 T (1 1/2 t) vanilla

Extras:

• 3 oz raisins
• 3 oz chocolate chips
• 3 oz macadamia nuts (chopped coarsely)

1. Preheat to 375F
2. Mix the dry stuff.
3. Cream the creamed stuff.
4. Mix both together, then add the extras.
5. Drop hunks of dough onto greased/parchment lined baking sheets
6. Bake 12-15 minutes or until they look good.

Oh, and, I should mention that they're incredibly tasty. I feel very, very guilty.

(EDIT 7/31/2009: See new and improved version of my Dog Poison Cookies here)

BRIAN OUT.

Song from the Tail of the Tidy Cat

On a visit home this past weekend, I found a childhood friend of mine.

A shabby little black cat that just happens to look very similar to my first and only pet cat Jokey (no pictures available... yet). It came in the mail one day, and I don't know why. I'm guessing my mom ordered it with proofs of purchase for Tidy Cat kitty litter. I know it was part of the promotion of Tidy Cat 3, information I was able to confirm by two eBay listings for the same cat. The ones on eBay are in much better condition:


But mine is still better. Now, you may be thinking, stuffed cat? So what? Everyone has favorite stupid stuffed animals from their childhood and they don't bother talking about it. Well, this cat's true significance comes from its tail, in the form of a song. You can hear it if you squeeze this little box device thing at the end of the tail.

When I was about 7, I would squeeze the tail and press it against my ear and listen over and over, getting some sort of comfort from the fluffy tail against my ear and the swinging tune. It is really one of the defining things in my life. Even if I haven't heard the song in years, I can always find the tune in my head if I want to. I know it better than Jingle Bells, or any other song, for that matter.

The crazy thing is, as far as I can recall, the battery in the little tail device wore out at least 10 years ago. Probably more like 15. But when I pulled it out of a box I found in the attic and pressed it, the song played without issue. I got two more plays out of it before it seemingly died. I got back to my apartment and set up my microphone to record it, but couldn't get it to play, but after waiting a few days, I was able to get it to play the song all the way through if I held the button down the whole time.

For your entertainment:

Now I have it preserved forever, and I am going to listen to it on repeat for the rest of the night. I really might do that.

BRIAN OUT.

Look at these towels

Seriously, look at them.

BRIAN OUT.

The Windowpane Test

I finally baked a sourdough that actually came out sour! As of yesterday, I have a detailed, day by day blog showing the complete sourdough process as I chose to do it, from start to finish. Check it out: http://windowpanetest.blogspot.com. I will update it as I bake more bread.


In other news, I built an antenna to get OTA digital TV, and it worked! Here are a few pictures from the building:

Taking pictures of a TV is kind of difficult, but as you can see I do have a clear picture. After experimenting with different locations and pointing the antenna in different directions, I found that I can only get two networks, NHPTV and ION. Each network can have a few channels, so I actually get 7 unique channels. I'm going to make some adjustments to try and reach futher and possibly get signals from the regular networks (ABC, NBC, FOX, CBS), but I don't know when. Tomorrow? In a month?

Okay, with this weak entry and all of the blogging I did for the sourdough, I need a break from writing. It's like a workout or something. For my brain.

BRIAN OUT.