This post is dedicated to Tundra, Olga, and Apollo. :)

Our direwolf’s thoughts:

 The kitchen can be torture for a pet with a culinary inclined owner. I know my own direwolf sits proper for the entire time I’m cooking, in hopes of receiving scraps. We’ve concocted these biscuits so you don’t have to feel guilty looking into those big brown eyes every time you pick up your chef’s knife. Simply toss one of these down to your most loyal friend.

I wanted to make a treat that had no fillers, no grains, and could be easily made in a standard stocked kitchen. There are no crazy ingredients, and nothing bad for your dog. When developing this recipe, I did a series of scientific experiments along the way to ensure that the dogs thought it was as yummy as it looked to me. When they licked my hands clean of the raw mixture, I knew it was ready for the oven.

End result – all three dogs these biscuits were tested on loved them. Everyone was sitting pretty, politely asking for another round after the initial taste test.

Direwolf Biscuit Recipe

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 medium apple, cored and chopped
• 2 chicken breasts, skinned, de-boned, and chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and spread the mixture over the sheet, about 1/2″ thick. Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the baking sheet form the oven, and cut the mixture into squares, or cut with a cookie cutter. Place back in the oven at 350 F for 20 more minutes.

After 20 minutes, reduce the temperature to 300 F and bake for an additional 30 minutes, or until the biscuits are at the desired crispiness. Ours were well dried out, but not burnt. Cool and serve up to your direwolves.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two weeks. We made about ten bone shaped biscuits.

Cook’s note: If using a cookie cutter, don’t discard the edges, your direwolf will like them just as well!

1) PGSmith

2) Steven Lefebvre

[Winners, check your email for instructions.]

If fortune didn’t favor you, don’t despair! The Goodreads drawing goes for another two days!

Even if you didn’t win, many of you get an honorable mention for great comments. You had us laughing, blushing, and so thoroughly flattered that we decided we simply had to include the best of them here. Enjoy.

These magical boxes appeared on our porch today:

They were full of cookbooks!

And because we wouldn’t be here without all of you, we want to share.

We are giving away Four SIGNED copies of the cookbook before the release date! 

Enter by posting a comment below. Everyone is only allowed one entry, but you are allowed to comment more than once. The more banter, the better, as far as we’re concerned!

The entry deadline is Noon on Wednesday, May 16th, at which point two winners will be selected randomly.

UPDATE!

We have selected two winners for the blog drawing! However, you can still enter the giveaway for another two books on Goodreads. No harm in hedging your bets. ;) Open to all fans, everywhere.

Good Luck!

 Strawberries & Sweetgrass

Thoughts:

The first taste of summer, for me, has always been strawberries. If there were a way to further improve upon their juicy goodness, this incredibly simple recipe is it. Each flavor enhances that of the strawberries without treading too heavily. Both lemongrass and ginger are distinct, but work together to compliment the basic goodness of fresh fruit.

Served alongside a glass of iced mead or cider, this is an instant favorite for warm summer evenings on the porch, or for a winning contribution to a picnic.

Strawberries & Sweetgrass Recipe

Total Prep Time: 10 minutes            Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup mead or hard cider
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 Tbs. minced lemongrass
• 1 lb. strawberries

Combine all ingredients except the strawberries in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat for just long enough for the honey and mead to meld together, about 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Prepare the strawberries by removing the leafy tops, and slice into a large bowl in an assortment of shapes and sizes. Pour the sauce over the sliced fruit and toss to coat. Serve either at room temperature, or chilled. It is especially good with a glass of the same mead or cider with which you made the sauce.

‘Yes, with thanks.’ She cradled the tea in her scarred hands and blew on it to cool it.” -A Clash of Kings

Nettle Tea

Our Thoughts:

Somewhat lacking in fresh wild greens in Boston, we sadly had to default to dried nettle leaves. However, if you are lucky enough to have fresh leaves at your disposal, we recommend using those.  We’ve planted our own nettles, partly as a defensive wall around our garden, and will update this post once we’ve tried them fresh.

It’s high in iron and vitamins, making it a wonderful surprise infusion by the side of the road while travelling. We actually didn’t care for the addition of lemon to ours, although a good dollop of honey was more than welcome.

The tea tastes very green, without the sometimes unpleasant herbal quality present in many other infusions.

Nettle Tea Recipe

We have taken a few liberties with additional ingredients; it’s unlikely that Catelyn and her party would have had all of these items on hand, but it makes for a much better tea, so we hope you will indulge us. :)

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs. dried nettle leaves, or slightly less fresh
• honey to taste
• other additions: mint leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, lemon, etc.