spoiled dogs

Don't judge me.... I feed my dogs table food every once in a blue moon. They are never fed from the table, but every once in a while there is a little bit of steak left over that I just can't bring myself to throw out or re-heat in the microwave for lunch tomorrow. So I feed it to the dogs, and they are so patient as you can see below.

They have never eaten from a fork before.

 So I was extremely surprised by how well they did. 

They had better manners than some adults I know. 

First it was Dixie's turn. She is our pound puppy. 

Then it was Bruiser's turn.

  Bruiser is my mom's dog and he gets table food all the time, even ice cream.

He is a special dog, he was attacked by a pit bull and lost his left eye. 

Then Skye puppy got her turn.  

She is old and missing front teeth but that did not stop her from enjoying her steak dinner. 

The dogs even ate the little bit of zucchini and carrots I had on the plate.  

It was a sweet read

Recently on one of my trips to the library, I picked up a different kind of book. 

I was kinda desperate for an easy read. Something with a bit of humor and something I could put down and not worry about not getting back to right away.  Well, as it turned out I grabbed this book by Gesine Bullock-Prado. Yes, the sister of Sandra Bullock. I did not realize that at the time however. It wasn't until I was about a quarter of the way through it that I re read the author's name and put it together.   

This book was a great summer read. The only real problem that I had with it, was that it really made me want to bake, and in a bad way. I was desperate to get my hands in the dough of some sweet confection.  One of the recipes she shares is for Zwetschgendatschi or German (Bavarian) plum tart. 

I had purchased some plums a few days before I came upon the recipe. But the kids had eaten one and turned up their noses because they were not very sweet. I ended up letting those little plums sit on the counter for a week and a half before I decided I had time to make a plum tart.  I was very afraid that I had waited too long and my plums were better off as chicken feed. But they seemed to be in good shape if a little soft and juicy. 

I was going to make the recipe from the book but realized at the last minute that I did not have quite enough butter on hand. So I reached for my trusty little Taste Of Home Cookbook. I looked up tarts and right there was another recipe for German Plum Tart, and it used a lot less butter.  I now had enough.  This recipe was super quick and easy. The hardest part was waiting until I could cut into it. 

After all was said and done I had a gorgeous plum tart to take to my meeting that night. And let me tell you it was so YUMMY! 

I think I am addicted to Zwetschgendatschi!

 I thought the short crust would be soggy but it was not,

 and the flavors were so so good together.  

Here is the recipe that I used.

 You can use any kind of stone fruit, peaches, apricots, plums.

6-8 ServingsPrep: 10 min. Bake: 35 min.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 egg yolk
• 3/4 to 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 pounds plums, quartered (about 4 cups)

Directions

• In a small bowl, cream butter and 3 tablespoons sugar until light and
• fluffy. Beat in egg yolk. Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time,
• until mixture forms a soft dough. Press onto the bottom and up the
• sides of a 10-in. pie plate.
• Arrange plums, skin side up with edges overlapping, in crust;
• sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes or
• until crust is golden brown and fruit is tender. Yield: 6-8
• servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving equals 237 calories, 13 g fat (7 g saturated fat), 57 mg cholesterol, 117 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 3 g protein