My Dog has IBS

Deno loves to lie down with his head against the couch...we think it would be uncomfortable.

Deno is the family (well, my brother's) dog we adopted a year ago from the Humane Society.  I've written about how sick he was when we adopted him.  Well, we had no idea he was sick again!

He sometimes tosses his lunch, but we thought he just drinks too fast or doesn't chew his food enough since he tends to inhale it in his haste to eat!  We wondered if there was mold in his water fountain so we washed it but couldn't keep it mold-free.  So we threw it away and switched to using his low tech bowl.  No change.  We then thought his food was too old so we got a new bag but no change.  We fed him rice and unseasoned hamburger.  Hardly any improvement.  So we took him to the vet today.

Dr. Connie at Dyersville Veterinary Clinic recognized that he has Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS.  I didn't know dogs could have it but he does.  I've had a few friends who have IBS and I know it causes great pain.  Poor little Deno has been in pain.  He wasn't being grumpy to be grumpy, he's just had one whopper of a stomach ache!  Now Deno will have food and supplements that will help him be a perkier, happier pup!

So from one Deno to another Dino, here's Dean Martin singing "I'd Cry Like a Baby."  If only our Deno could sing...now that he is going to be feeling better!

Barry Morrison at Nashville's Douglas Corner Cafe'

Barry Morrison came to Nashville's Douglas Corner Cafe last night to do what he's done off and on for more than forty years; sing his songs. A young musician sitting next to me whispered, when he saw him, "They say that guy could have been somebody. He sings great but, man, you'd have to say he failed. I don't want to end up like him." He should be so lucky... If pressed, Morrison would readily tell you he could care less what people think of his "legacy" or even if he has one. He may leave no legacy behind. Who can know? Country music lovers, if they know of Morrison at all (his fan base worldwide is estimated at only 40,000-80,000) might say that long ago he threw away any chance of being remembered.  The Nashville system was never his cup of tea and the sameness of commercial country music less than that. He went his own way, never sought validation from the country music industry and shows no signs of regretting it. A failure? I'm sure he's well aware of his many personal failures. If he's forgotten them, a few music writers have reminded him throughout the years. Is he a tragedy? Southern novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." Morrison may be a hero to some of us but, hero or not, this blog isn't about tragedy. Last night I sensed his awareness that he's close to the end of things; his real successes so long ago.

You Don't Know these Biscuits!

This morning my mom made these biscuits for my dad to celebrate Father's Day!  Biscuits and poached eggs topped with a thin slice of white American cheese make for a great breakfast!  I came down and looked through the oven window in great anticipation until my mom told me they were cornmeal, wheat, and flax biscuits...!

I was definitely suspicious!  Yet my suspicions were unfounded.  These biscuits were amazing!  They were light and flaky just like a biscuit should be.  They have a hearty flavor from the cornmeal, wheat flour and flax, but retain the lightness because of the white flour.

In honor of the new biscuit recipe which I initially misjudged, here's "You Don't Know Me" sung by Ray Charles.

CORNMEAL BISCUITS

1/4 cup cornmeal

1/4 cup wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour

3 tablespoons ground flax

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder, aluminum free/low salt

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 cup butter, Land O'Lakes

3/4 cup plus 1-2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Stir together cornmeal, flours, ground flax, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut butter into cornmeal mixture with a pastry blender until texture is crumbly. 

Stir in milk with a fork.  Dough will be soft and sticky.

Put 2 tablespoons additional white flour on a clean surface.  Dump sticky dough out onto floured surface then knead dough very lightly 10 times.  Pat dough into a square so that the dough is about half-inch high.  Cut with a knife into 16 small squares.

Place on ungreased baking sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes.  Check to make sure they do not bake too long.  Biscuits should be slightly moist.

Raspberry Swirl: Groovin' High

I have never successfully made a non-chocolate cheesecake--until now! 

This is the silkiest, smoothest, creamiest cheesecake I've ever tasted!  The raspberry swirl gives it just the right sweet yet tart spark to offset the tang of the cream cheese and sour cream.

With this being a swirl cheesecake, I thought about how twirling and swirling around the dance floor make me dizzy, which led me to think of Dizzy Gillespie the great trumpeter!

So here's "Groovin' High" by Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

RASPBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

CRUST

1 cup Oreo cookies, crushed

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1/4 cup butter, melted

CAKE

2 - 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, whisked

RASPBERRY SWIRL IN

1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a springform pan with parchment paper on the bottom and the sides.

In a small bowl combine Oreos, pecans, and butter.  Press Oreo mixture evenly on the bottom of the springform pan.

Bake for 10 minutes.  Let cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl beat together on low speed cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, flour, and vanilla.  Whip eggs in. 

Pour evenly into springform pan.

In a small saucepan heat raspberries over medium high heat, stirring constantly until raspberries are broken down.  Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve.  Drop the liquid in spoonfuls onto the cheesecake.  With a butter knife, swirl the raspberry liquid into the cheesecake.

Bake for 50 minutes.  Center will still be jelly-like.  Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes.  Remove springform pan sides.  Put on a cutting board and freeze for 4 hours.  Remove 10 minutes before serving.