I’ve been really concerned about all of the information coming out about contaminated and poisoned pet food recently. Brand O and Cheddar have been eating Purina Cat Chow for the most part and I never really thought about it. I was relieved to find out that Purina wasn’t affected by the Menufoods recall, but I don’t doubt that they are just as susceptible to the same sort of thing happening. Much like the spinach recalls last year, this pet food debacle has shown that one supplier can taint food that is distributed via many brands.

I weighed the options and I decided that I needed to start looking for a different food for the kitties since I didn’t want to continue worrying that I would wake up and find out about a Purina recall. It seems as though many have had this idea, with home cooking for pets on the rise. The problem is, or so I’ve learned, that although dogs can thrive on a diet similar to a humans, cats are different and their nutritional needs are not as easily met without strict nutritional supervision.

Luckily, I’ve been able to find a food that one can feed to a pet in good conscience - and it doesn’t hurt that buying this food supports a Syracuse business. Back to Basics is a high-quality pet food that is produced in Syracuse, originally as a superior food for their pure-bred mastiffs. According to the company:

“You can have peace of mind by feeding Back to Basics because we strive to achieve unparalleled quality by using 100% Human-Grade ingredients. Because the sources of our ingredients are all human-grade food suppliers, they are subject to a much higher level of inspection than that of the majority of pet food grade ingredient suppliers.”

I actually used to drive right by the company fairly often, but had forgotten about them until one of the local tv stations and the local paper ran stories about the company’s recent increase in sales. I’ve decided that the higher price for this food is worth it for Brand O and Cheddar.

You can request a free sample or find out if the food is available in your area. You can also order it online (for both cats and dogs).

Of course, Brand O and Cheddar wonder why they can’t just eat the birds and squirrels on the other side of the window.

Read more at Candy Blog…

With the temperature rising to near 60 (if not further) today, it was suddenly time for bathing suits and beach balls. Joe and I were curious if Gannon’s might have opened for the season, so we ventured over and…

Joe attacks his rainbow-sprinkled twist!

Behold my Snickers cheesecake cone!

Gannon’s is open for the season!

Baker Dorie Greenspan appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered” last night, talking about chocolate, including a “Tribute to Katherine Hepburn” brownie recipe (the story and recipe can be found near the bottom of the page).

Now, Katherine Hepburn was known as a pretty tough cookie. These brownies are gooey and soft, but they pack a wallop of chocolate and hints of coffee and cinnamon flavor and, to be honest, I could only eat half of one small one last night (although, that often happens when you’ve made something - standing over it and smelling it and licking the rubber scraper gives you more than enough to taste for awhile).

I substituted instant coffee for superfinely Turkish ground coffee and used Droste cocoa powder and Scharffen Berger 63% cacao chocolate.

I can barely think about these brownies without getting a headache and falling dramatically onto a fainting couch. They bested me. They are TOO chocolatey and rich. They are looking for someone to conquer them. Joe ate two.

Are you tough enough for these brownies?