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~ Mostly Recipes & Musings on Health

This Sydney Life

Tag Archives: Dog

LUSCIOUS Lamington Cupcakes

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Joanna in Australia, Food, Sweets

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

AIP, Australia Day, Autoimmune Protocol, Dairy Free, Dog, Gluten Free, Healthy Lamington, Lamington Muffin, Paleo, Poodle

TSL Lamington Cupcake

The TSL take on lamingtons in honour of Australia Day!
(Image by TSL)

There is no place in the world like Australia. Not even its beautiful neighbor New Zealand. (Henry Rollins)

It’s a drizzly and overcast old Australia Day as I write this. To be honest, it’s a wee bit of a welcome respite from the heat we’ve been having lately. For me, at least.

And here at Casa TSL, it has been a B I G day. Capital letters BIG. Today we met the newest addition to our extended family.

Fang, the black miniature poodle, has arrived at my sister’s. And she is meltingly cute.

TSL Fang the Poodle

TSL Fang the poodle

Fang, the black miniature poodle pup
(Images by TSL)

We were invited to introduce Miss Bella, our 10-year-old pooch, to her sort of niece by way of a barbecue. It has to be said that Bella was singularly unimpressed with Fang. No matter. The rest of us fell head over heels in love… What a fluff-ball!

And, what else could I bring to an Australia Day barbie, but lamingtons? It would virtually be UN-Australian not to.

What is a lamington, you ask?

lamington

noun     AUSTRALIAN/NZ

a square of sponge cake dipped in melted chocolate and grated coconut.

TSL Lamington Cupcake

(Image by TSL)

Of course, here at Casa TSL, a traditional lamington won’t cut it. After almost a year on the Autoimmune Protocol, we’re a 100% grain-free, mostly dairy-free household.

And, my sister and her partner are very similar, too.

And, then there was the small fact that I didn’t actually have a lamington tin in which to bake my sponge…

Time to improvise!

Adapting a recipe I found on the VERY talented Teresa Cutter’s site (The Healthy Chef), I bring you these remarkably lamington-like healthy-ish lamington cupcakes.

Completely free of any grains or dairy… they’re bloody good, mate!

Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia. (Charles M. Schulz)

LUSCIOUS Lamington Cupcakes

  • Servings: 10
  • Time: 45 minutes
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

TSL Lamington Cupcake

Ingredients:

6 x happy eggs
1 x teaspoon vanilla bean paste
2 x Tablespoons raw honey
1/4 cup macadamia nut oil
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 x teaspoons gluten-free baking powder
1/2 cup raspberry jam or preserve*
1 x cup desiccated coconut for rolling
100 g best quality dark chocolate, roughly broken up
1/4 cup coconut milk

Method:

1. Heat your oven to 160° C / 320° F. Line a muffin tray with 10 papers.

2. Throw your eggs, vanilla and honey into your mixing bowl. Mix on high for 10 minutes until light and creamy.

3. While the machine is still running, pour in the macadamia nut oil. Mix well.

4. Add the coconut flour and baking powder. Mix until thoroughly combined.

5. Using a 1/4 cup as a measure, pour lamington cake mix into your prepared muffin tray.

6. Bake for 15 – 18 minutes or until cooked through.

7. Fill a piping bag with raspberry jam. Stick the nozzle into the middle of each cupcake and fill with a healthy squeeze of raspberry jam.

8. While waiting for your cupcakes to cool, heat your coconut milk in a small pan until almost boiling. Turn off the heat and add your chocolate. Stir until you have a smooth silky ganache.

9. When your cupcakes are cool, spread a little chocolate ganache on the top of each.
Dip in coconut and pop onto a tray to set.

* check the labels for a preservative free, low sugar number

E N J O Y !

A Very Doggie Christmas…

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Bella, Christmas, Dog, Homemade dog biscuits, John Grogan, Jonathan Carroll, Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, Pets, Poodle, Pumpkin Dog Biscuits

Bella the poodle

Bella
(Image by TSL)

It’s just the most amazing thing to love a dog, isn’t it? It makes our relationships with people seem as boring as a bowl of oatmeal. (John Grogan, Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog)

Bella turns 9 on Christmas day. That’s 9 in human years. In dog years, she’s 63. Granted, she may have become a little less tolerant of some of the more scatty dogs we encounter when we’re out on our daily walks, but I guess that’s her prerogative – middle-aged spinster that she is. I hope I’m as fit and sprightly at 63…

I mentioned yesterday that I’m making a few of my Christmas pressies this year. Well, Bella features on that recipient list, too. I mean, it’s a double whammy for her – birthday AND Christmas, all rolled into one. I could hardly leave her off the list, could I?

LM laughs at me for anthropomorphising, but I spend more time with Bella than I do with almost anyone (LM excepted). I can’t imagine my life without her. And, let’s not go down that road. So, of course she needs to be considered for Christmas.

Pumpkin Doggie Biscuits a la TSL

Pumpkin Doggie Biscuits a la TSL
(Image by TSL)

Bella's Pumpkin Doggie Biscuits a la TSL

Bella’s Pumpkin Doggie Biscuits a la TSL
(Image by TSL)

This year, she’s getting homemade dog biscuits. And, since I picked up my doggie bone biscuit cutter from the Essential Ingredient this morning, I couldn’t resist whipping up the first batch today.

Let me tell you, they went down a treat!

Bella (Appears to) Wait Patiently for her Treat

Bella (Appears to) Wait Patiently for her Treat
Hand model – LM
(Image by TSL)

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More…?

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More…?
(Image by TSL)

The next batch are going to be stuffed full of mint and parsley to give her minty fresh breath. I’ll let you know how they go!

The Perfect Gift for Dog Lovers – ‘Quake Dogs’

29 Tuesday Oct 2013

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Animal Photography, Book Review, Books, Boston Terrier, Chihuahua, Christchurch, Christmas Gifts, Dog, Dwight D. Eisenhower, French Bulldog, Gifts, Gifts for hard to buy for people, Irish Wolfhound, Labrador, Lord Byron, New Zealand, Photography

Quake Dogs Book

‘Quake Dogs’*
Text by Laura Sessions
Photography by Craig Bullock
(Image from Furtography)

What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog. (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

‘Quake Dogs’ will make you melt…

At 12.51pm on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 a magnitude 6.3 earthquake severely damaged New Zealand’s second-largest city of Christchurch, killing 185 people. It followed an earlier ‘quake of 4 September 2010 which caused significant damage to the region, but no fatalities.

‘Quake Dogs’ is a dog’s perspective of surviving the Christchurch earthquakes. The book is made up of a series of stories about individual pooches and what they went through.

100 dogs, 2 cats and a chicken were photographed for the 68 stories in the book. And as sappy as I know it sounds, each one is more engaging and heart-warming than the last… Honest.

Cilla the Boston Terrier Quake Dog

Cilla
(Image from Furtography)

Cilla, the Boston Terrier, may have slept through the big ‘quake, but the many aftershocks caused her great anxiety and apparently her hair started falling out, and she lost a lot of weight.

She has since moved to just north of Auckland where she lives with her owners and new best friend, Oakley, the French Bulldog.

Jet the Labrador Quake Dog

Jet
(Image from Furtography)

Jet, the Labrador, was collected by her owner’s daughter after the 2010 quake. She developed separation anxiety and was able to anticipate aftershocks.

When the big 2011 quake hit, she was alone outside and had to wait, surrounded by liquefaction, for three hours, teddy in her mouth, until her owner could get home. Fortunately, her separation anxiety is much better now.

Chloe the Chihuahua Quake Dog

Chloe
(Image from Furtography)

Chloe, the Chihuahua, lives with Caiou (a Greyhound) and Little (a Labrador). When the big quake hit, the dogs were home alone. Apparently, their house was like the inside of a washing machine on spin cycle…

To avoid being crushed by a falling cabinet, Little smashed through a glass door and received a nasty glass cut on his head. Caiou and Chloe followed him and they all huddled in the garden together until help arrived.

Today, Chloe has proved the most resilient of the three pups, although she is small enough to fit in a hand-bag, so this may be a contributing factor!

The poor dog, in life the firmest friend. The first to welcome, foremost to defend. (Lord Byron)

My Mum sent me my copy of ‘Quake Dogs’. I just love it.

Written by Laura Sessions (who has two dogs – George and Mildred) and photographed by FURtographer Craig (who has no dogs, but three cats – Jazz, Mr Tinkles and Millefeuille), part of the proceeds from the book go to support HUHA, a national organisation that works to rescue and re-home animals around the New Zealand.

If you have a dog lover in your life, they will love this book! The book has been such a success that it has sold out BUT new stock is expected by 2nd December (in time for Christmas!). You can order through the Furtography website (payment through Paypal) and the book will be sent to you. AND, you can even get a personalised dedication… All for NZ34.99!

*Guinness, is the face of ‘Quake Dogs’ – in New Zealand he became a very familiar scruffy face and appeared regularly in the TV news updates. The enormous, shaggy Irish Wolfhound became the pin-up boy for the Student Volunteer Army and was awarded a medal for his work with their rescue effort.

I Like Dogs…

25 Thursday Jul 2013

Posted by Joanna in Dogs, Random Stuff

≈ 15 Comments

Tags

Bella, Bella the poodle, Dog, Friendly Book, John Grogan, Margaret Wise Brown, Marley & Me, Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog, Poodle, Roger A. Caras

Bella the Poodle

Bella at the Park
(Image by TSL)

I like dogs
Big dogs, Little dogs
Fat dogs, Doggy dogs
Old dogs, Puppy dogs
I like dogs
A dog that is barking over the hill
A dog that is dreaming very still
A dog that is running wherever he will
I like dogs
(Margaret Wise Brown, ‘The Friendly Book’)

Bella

Bella

(Images by TSL)

(Images by TSL)

A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things-a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty. (John Grogan, ‘Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World’s Worst Dog‘)

Bella

Bella

(Images by TSL)

(Images by TSL)

If you don’t own a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you, but there may be something wrong with your life. (Roger A. Caras)

(Image by TSL)

(Image by TSL)

Dog Wisdom IV

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Charles M. Schulz, Charlie Brown, Dog, Dogs, Pets, Photography, Poodles, Quotes, Reflection

Bella Bear

Bella 
(Image by TSL)

Yesterday I was a dog. Today I’m a dog. Tomorrow I’ll probably still be a dog. Sigh! There’s so little hope for advancement. (Charles M. Schulz)

 

Ren Netherland Photographs Poodles in Drag…

18 Monday Jun 2012

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Animal Photography, Best in Class, Breeds, Colour, culture, Dog, Dog Show, George Jean Nathan, Pets, Photography, Poodle, Recreation, Ren Netherland, Rita Rudner, Show Dog

Bella the poodle

Bella, the miniature poodle
(Image by TSL)

Love is the emotion that a woman feels always for a poodle and sometimes for a man. (George Jean Nathan)

Regular TSL readers will know about Bella, the miniature poodle. There’s a bit of a story about when I met LM. Bella was his dog, and frankly while I love dogs, I couldn’t imagine getting excited about, what was in my mind at the time, a slightly effeminate breed.

Oh, how wrong could a girl be…? I have fallen so hard for this poodle. I now cannot imagine life without her.

We all know that a dog can only have one master. Well, Bella has proven to be just the teensiest bit of a turn-coat, and has chosen me to be her master instead of LM. This may have something to do with the fact that I feed her every day… She is now very much my dog. You can even occasionally hear LM say, “I used to have a dog…”

Anyhoo, I am a poodle convert. Just love ’em.

I’m not so sure how Bella would feel all dressed up for a photograph session with pet photographer extraordinaire, Ren Netherland, tho’… Oh the indignity!

They’re not dogs [poodles], they’re art. (Rachel Leigh)

Pirate by Ren Netherland

Pirate Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Panda by Ren Netherland

Panda Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Camel by Ren Netherland

Camel Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Bison by Ren Netherland

Bison Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

Pittsburgh Steeler by Ren Netherland

Pittsburgh Steeler Poodle taken by Ren Netherland
(Image © Ren Netherland)

I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. (Rita Rudner)

According to his bio, Ren Netherland of Animal Photography is a highly sought after pet photographer. He travels the length and breadth of the States for eight months of every year in his mobile digital studio bus.

To be fair to Ren Netherland, he has many wonderful images of pets on his website (and these are not limited to poodles in drag, although there are more of these, too). If you’d like to see more, you can access his site here.

Seth Casteel – that underwater dog guy

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 22 Comments

Tags

Art, Books, Colour, Dog, Fun, Los Angeles, Photograph, Photography, Play, Seth Casteel, Underwater Dogs

© SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

Seth Casteel is pretty widely known as ‘The Underwater Dog Guy’.  His work has been all over the place recently.  I reckon’ it is because his love of animals shows through in every image.

You’ve probably seen these photographs before, but as they put such a smile on my face on this cold and wet Sydney day, I thought you may feel the same way…

©SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

©SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

©SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

©SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

©SethCasteel@LittleFriendsPhoto.com

And, if you didn’t already know, Seth has his first book, ‘Underwater Dogs’ due for release in October 2012.  That’ll be a winner for the coffee table (or perhaps for under the Christmas tree?).  You can pre-order the book through Amazon (here).

Dog Wisdom III

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bella, Dog, Franklin P.Jones, Humor, Pets, Photos, Poodle, Quote

Scratch a dog and you’ll find a permanent job.(Franklin P. Jones)

Image of Bella asking for a belly rub

"Scratch my tummy. Go on - you know you want to..."

Ahem…. Atelier Abigail Ahern lights up

07 Wednesday Mar 2012

Posted by Joanna in Design

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Abigail Ahern, Arts, bulldog, Dog, Elle Decoration, Fashion, Interior design, Islington, kitsch, lamp, London, Pets, porcelain, style

Atelier Abigail Ahern Bulldog Lamp

In my mind I have designed my own self-styled oasis of gorgeous-ness.  And in this dream-place are two of these so-kitsch-they’re-cool Abigail Ahern bulldog lamps. (Swoon!)

London-based (where else?) Abigail Ahern says, “The best interiors are those that don’t take themselves too seriously.”  Hence her brilliant bulldog lamp, part of a series of dog lamps, which reference both the English love of canines — the collection was inspired by her Welsh Terrier, Maud — and her fondness for mixing granny-style kitsch with sleek modern pieces. It’s a sleight of hand design approach that’s earned her Islington atelier the title “one of the coolest places to shop in the UK” from Elle Decoration. But despite their adorable retro appeal, these aren’t your grandmother’s ceramic knick-knacks. Made from high-quality porcelain, these pooches are most definitely Best In Show.

You can check out Abigail Ahern’s Atelier here.

Dog Wisdom II

03 Saturday Mar 2012

Posted by Joanna in Dogs

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Activities, Dog, Eileen Green, Humor, Pet, Photograph, Poodle, Recreation, Swim, Sydney

My goal in life is to become as wonderful as my dog thinks I am.  (Toby and Eileen Green)

A wet Bella

No, I didn't just jump in the water while you weren't looking...

Still pouring with rain here.  Have a great weekend in your part of the world!

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