Category: Family

Love and Boundaries: Dog Lessons + Podcast

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Close up of a dog's nose and teeth
This picture by Sofia Oratowski of her golden retriever always makes me smile.

Love and Boundaries: Dog Lessons – Happiness Between Tails

#Dogs #Pets #Love #Boundaries #Joy Have your pets made you a better human? Share your thoughts, experiences, and questions by recording them on my Spotify for Podcasters page — or comment and email at HappinessBetweenTails.com. Like what you hear? Buy me a coffee. http://buymeacoffee.com/SupportHBT — Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/depe9/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/depe9/support

For a podcast/audio version of today’s post, click the podcast player above or click here for my Spotify for Podcasters page where you’ll find links to subscribe, hear, and share episodes of Happiness Between Tails by da-AL via most any platform; from Spotify and Apple Podcasts, to Google Podcasts and Pocket Casts, along with RadioPublic and Castbox and Stitcher and more, plus an RSS feed. The full list of 50+ places is at LinkTree.

Think my doggies are my surrogate kids? Think again. Great as humans are, dogs let me experience me a different level of  joy, love, care, and wisdom.

How I wish I’d  begun to become a student of dogs way earlier. Growing up, I learned to be too nice, too accommodating, and accepting of bad treatment. If only I’d had dogs as a child!

Since caring for them, I’ve learned how what’s good for them is good for myself, too. Daily, training them teaches me about happiness and healthy relationships. One overarching lesson is that we teach others how to treat us.

My dogs patiently show me about boundaries…

  1. What boundaries I need and want. It’s okay to need and want them.
  2. What makes a harmony family.
  3. What dogs are capable of and what’s reasonable to expect from them, in terms of trusting them to learn, remember, and do.
  4. That boundaries are best communicated clearly and nonjudgmentally. If they go unheeded, I can try other ways.
  5. Patience and consistency are essential.

Keeping them physically and emotionally healthy benefits both of us…

  1. Walking my dogs daily means I walk too. It’s a time to bond. For dog and human alike, walking and playing heals mind, body, and soul.
  2. Together, we meet our neighbors.
  3. It’s easy to think I’m too busy for play and walks. They’ve taught me I shouldn’t overextend myself.
  4. They’re always happy to see me! When I’m not thrilled to come home to loved ones and myself, I need to work harder to nurture social and personal havens.
  5. Angels exist, and they’re not just dogs. For all the times I worried that I wouldn’t have the resources to keep pets, people have stepped forward. Striving for independence is great, yet my dogs remind me that everyone and everything in the world are interdependent.
  6. Cesar Milan, a.k.a., The Dog Whisperer, often talks about the importance of choosing pets who match our energy levels. Appreciating compatibility affords me insights into myself and others.
  7. Trust requires time. Every day is another chance at building and rebuilding trust.

Few things can match how, when I leave my home for only a short while, my dogs’ eyes shine with pure joy when I return. We don’t have to be dogs to show appreciation.

Have your pets made you a better human?

Delish n Healthy Carrot Delight Cake by Khashayar + Audio/Pod Ver

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Photo of a slice of Khashayar's Carrot Delight Cake.
Khashayar’s Carrot Delight Cake is as Delicious as it is healthy!
https://open.spotify.com/episode/7KZgXfnefy7DCBjKSDIP7U?si=c5fd50930a104936
Want to listen to an audio version of today’s post? Click the Spotify podcast link above. And please give it a follow.

Ever crave a treat that tastes decadent but is a bit healthier? Get your veggies and good fats with this brownie-like moist loveliness. Khashayar infuses love into all of his vegetarian cooking…

Ingredients

2 pounds grated carrots
2 cups regular white sugar
2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon nutmeg
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Topping

2 cups greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup slivered almonds

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 farenheit degrees.

2. Mix together all the dry ingredients: carrots, sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and milk.

4. Combine all the above with the melted butter and olive oil.

5. Pour the batter into a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ baking dish.

6. Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted into it comes out clean.

7. Let the cake cool.

8. Stir topping ingredients together: yogurt, honey, and almonds.

9. Slice the cake and serve with a dollop of the topping. Garnish with fresh or frozen berries (frozen ones look tantalizing as they thaw, as if they’ve been powdered with sugar). It also gets a nice chewy crust when heated. If you prefer it warm, don’t add the topping until it’s out of the oven.

Hungry for more? Khashayar has lots of other veggie/healthy recipes such as a great hot soup, a crunchy salad, a fruity dessert, an entree, and this appetizer and this one.

Do you have a favorite healthier dessert?

Diana’s Tiramisu Recipe + Podcast/Audio Version

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Want to listen to an audio version of today’s post? Click the Spotify podcast link above. And please give it a follow.

Photo of tiramiso with post's title superimposed.
Want some delicious tiramisu? Here’s how to make it…

Do angels exist in everyday life? Indeed, Cousin Diana was one. Her life was far too short, but such can be the case with the sweetest among us…

Photo of Cousin Diana.
Cousin Diana.

Diana Ferretti Ruberti.
Diana Ferretti Ruberti.

Years ago, when my husband and I visited her in Italy, she prepared a fantastic multi-course vegetarian meal that ended with this nirvana-inducing tiramisu. Upon our return to the States, Diana sent me the instructions and helped me with it over the phone.

Recipe can evoke great memories…

Diana was lovely in every way and an amazing cook!
Diana was lovely in every way and an amazing cook!

Diana with her husband and kids when they were small.
Diana with her husband and kids when they were small.

Born in Argentina, she moved to Italy as a teenager and later worked as a teacher, married, and raised three great kids. Her son, Stefano Ruberti, generously lent us these photos of her.

Tiramisu Recipe

  • 8” x 8” x 2” serving dish or pan
  • 3 medium eggs, extra fresh
  • 2 cups strong coffee, either lukewarm or cold. Decaf and instant work great.
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules to stir into pudding
  • 8 ounces mascarpone, which tastes like an amazing cross between butter and cream cheese.
  • 3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chunks, 72% to 99%. Grated, or knife chopped, or put the chocolate into a plastic bag and take a hammer to it.
  • 24 regular-sized ladyfingers

Optional Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cognac or brandy
  • 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
  • unsweetened cocoa powder to dust over the final layer

Before You Begin

  1. Assembly takes anywhere between half an hour to an hour, depending on how fast you are around the kitchen. It won’t be ready to eat for another six to twelve hours, as it needs time to set in the fridge. I like to prepare it the night before, then serve it the following afternoon with milk or coffee — or wine!
  2. Review the recipe and visualize the best way to organize things.
  3. Then you’re ready to lay out ingredients and tools such as bowls, pan, whisk or mixer, and mixer or blender for pudding, stuff you’ll use to grate chocolate.
  4. Unwrap ladyfingers and put them into a separate bowl.
  5. Raw eggs are called for and chocolate melts when it’s manipulated too much, so I like to keep things cold and work steadily.

Mixing the pudding

  1. Egg whites: in a separate bowl, whip until stiff.
    Bowl of whipped egg whites.
    Bowl of whipped egg whites.
  2. Yolks: in a separate bowl or a blender, beat in 1/2 teaspoon instant granulated coffee, mascarpone, and sugar. Now’s the time to add any “optional ingredients.”
    Egg yolks beaten with marscapone, sugar, and a little coffee.
    Egg yolks beaten with marscapone, sugar, and a little coffee.
  3. Fold egg whites with egg yolk mixture.
    Egg whites folded into egg yolk mixture.
    Egg whites folded into egg yolk mixture.

Layering into a pan (you’ll be making 2 layers)

Layer #1

  1. One at a time, dip 12 of the ladyfingers into the coffee liquid and use them to line the bottom of the pan. It’ll take a little practice to figure out how long to let the cookies soak. Too little, and they’ll stay stiff. Too much, and they’ll dissolve. Either way, though, it’ll still be tasty.
    A lady finger being dipped into coffee.
    A lady finger being dipped into coffee.
  2. Top the cookies with half of the pudding.
    The 1st layer of cookies covered with half of the pudding.
    The 1st layer of cookies covered with half of the pudding.
  3. Finish the first layer by sprinkling half of the chunked chocolate over it. Now it’s time to do everything the same for the second layer.
    Finish the first layer by sprinkling half of the chunked chocolate over it. Then do everything the same for the second layer.
    Finish the first layer by sprinkling half of the chunked chocolate over it. Then do everything the same for the second layer.

Layer #2

  1. Same as above, dunk another twelve cookies in coffee and layer them across the first layer, all in the same direction as the first bunch.
    Dunk the rest of the cookies in coffee, then layer them in the same direction as the previous ones.
    Dunk the rest of the cookies in coffee, then layer them in the same direction as the previous ones.
  2. Fold any loose sugar from the cookies into the remaining half of the pudding, then spread everything over the top.
    Cover the second layer with the remaining pudding.
    Cover the second layer with the remaining pudding.
  3. The second layer for the tiramisu completed with what's left of the chunked chocolate, and dusted with cacao powder, then chilled for at least 4 hours.
    The second layer for the tiramisu completed with what’s left of the chunked chocolate, and dusted with cacao powder, then chilled for at least 4 hours.

    Complete the second layer with what’s left of the chunked chocolate. Dust with cacao powder, then cover and refrigerate at least four hours (longer is better).

Serving it…

Once it has been refrigerated for at least four hours, cut it into squares — It serves 9 to 12 lucky people. If there’s any of the yummy liquid at the bottom of the pan, spoon it over pieces. Keep any leftovers refrigerated and eat them within three days. Tiramisu, once it’s set in the fridge, freezes wonderfully and is also delicious served frozen or thawed!

Tiramisu makes any day a holiday!
Tiramisu makes any day a holiday!

Does a food or special recipe remind you of a loved one?

Easy Homemade Panettone + Podcast

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Photo of panettone.
Homemade tasty panettone is quick and easy! Here’s some I just baked, cooling on its side, on parchment paper, in front of the window.
Want to listen to a podcast/audio version of Happiness Between Tails? Click the Spotify podcast link above. And please give it a follow.
Panettone, or pan dulce as my Argentine mother calls it, is no longer just for holidays! Moreover, in my home, its one of my family’s favorite desserts that I make. For anyone who has yet to become acquainted with panettone, the cake-fluffy queen of usually dense fruit breads. Tradition calls for them to balloon at the top akin to chef’s hats. Mine are freeform, same the novels I’m working to make into podcasts. Fragrant and puffy with yeast, they’re a decadence of eggs, butter, fruits, and honey that can be enjoyed for breakfast, afternoon tea, and an anytime dessert.

Whatever panettone success I’ve enjoyed is thanks to the melding of these two great no-knead bread baking books…

First mix your ingredients…

Use the panettone easy recipe here from “The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery that Revolutionizes Home Baking,” by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D., and Zoë François. By the way, I’ve also blogged a detailed review about the book.

Bread in 5 Minutes book cover

Then bake your Panettone this way…

Bake it covered, inside a heat-resistant pot and lid, such as a dutch oven or the insert and lid to a crock pot. Here the gist in someone else’s video for a baking different type of bread. I was inspired to do it that way after reading “My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method,” by Jim Lahey. Some time ago, I blogged about using his book.

"My Bread" by Jim Lahey book cover

Hey, when a cousin visited from Italy, she said it was the best she ever tasted!

My loaves aren’t cookbook photo-perfect, I use recipes only loosely, and I never repeat the same recipe exactly the same way. However, these two books will guarantee that you’ll end up with something delicious!

Extra tips…

  • The recipe is very flexible. For instance, if you don’t like nuts or dried fruit, double up on one or the other, or leave them out entirely — or substitute them with something else like chocolate chips.
  • For the first half of the baking, leave the lid on. For the remainder, take the lid off to shave off baking time and achieve a browner crust.
  • Lining the pot with parchment paper makes removal and cleanup much easier.
  • Halving the recipe is what I often do. This is a rich cake/bread.
  • Leftover  panettone freezes nicely.
  • Whole wheat flour is a good, hearty alternative for the white flour.
What holiday food do you eat year ’round?

It’s OK 2 Say Nope 2 Holidays + Podcast: Dog Days + L. Brummet’s Leeks

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Want to listen to a podcast/audio version of Happiness Between Tails? Click the Spotify podcast link above. And please give it a follow.
extreme close-up of gingerbread cookie face.

Wish the holidays would just go away? It’s okay to tell them to go away.

Holidays can be nice — and terrible! Family can bring us to our knees — both to swoon and to cringe. Romance can make our hearts flutter or seize.

From Halloween to New Year’s, at least here in the United States, we’re inundated 24/7 with messages of how this is the time for families and lovers. We’re instructed to either kiss, or to kiss and make up.

fullsizerender-5Sometimes none of that is possible or isn’t in our best interest.

Traditional or sacred, I invite you to join me in acknowledging that ignoring any special day is perfectly acceptable. Never, sometimes, always; we can give any number of them a rest, whenever we please.

What matters is that we do everything to get through them as best we can — whatever it takes to mark time, to survive, to thrive through and into gentle holiday-free January.

Do you ever prefer to ignore holidays?