For other crazy people who celebrate their pets' birthdays.

Just a quick post with a recipe and some photos. I feel as though I haven't been posting enough recipes lately, so I'm going to try and supplement each week with at least one recipe.

This week my little kitty turned three. There was no cake, no ice cream and no clown involved. She is a particular little bugger, and her birthday could only be celebrated with the few things she really, truly enjoys. It was surreal to me at first when I became a "cat person," that cats don't engulf every speck of any food-like substance to be found around the house. My family always had beagles, which required keeping all foods above counter level, under lock and key, and often in the presence of strict supervision. I have a plethora of stories stemming from the wonderful dogs we've had throughout the years. Our first dog scaled the six-inch wide ledge of a staircase leading to our basement to tear into and consume an entire bag of chocolate chips. We still don't know how she did it. My nephew, Henry the beagle, pushed the lazy susan open once and pulled out a bottle of cooking oil. He dragged it out of the kitchen, into the carpeted living room and chewed it open. To this day, my Mother keeps a throw rug over that oil stain. Needless to say, my family has many entertaining stories about food and our animals and their relationships with one another.

Rosie was a little strange, to say the least, as I realized that she didn't want to eat everything in sight. In fact, she eats very little outside of her alloted 2/3 cup of dry cat food per day. There are a couple of things she really enjoys, though, so what better way to celebrate her birthday than to serve up a plate full of her favorites. This included a salmon patty for her love of canned seafood (tuna nad salmon), a hunk of torn up multi-grain bread (she loves carbs, like Mom), and some crushed up Heinen's brand Organic Animal Cookies (she loses her shit when she hears that bag opening). Just for kicks, I threw in some lettuce, because she loves to devour any and all things green, like flower leaves and spinach, and a few bits of potato thinking she'd like to try it. It was a success, and as suspected, her first point of attack was to lick the Greek Yogurt off the top of her salmon patty (because she's a dairy kind of a girl). I left the plate out for her to much on all night, and can only hope that she knows how much I love her and how grateful I am for what she does to keep me sane. Happy Birthday Rosie.


Queen Honeybea's
Rosie’s Birthday Salmon PattiesServes 4

2 six ounce cans of sustainable, all natural wild Alaskan salmon (boneless and skinless)
¼ cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 TBS. ale & spice honey mustard (or your favorite kind of mustard)
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground black pepper
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. dried dill
Extra-virgin olive oil for the pan
4 thin slices of local sharp cheddar cheese (Athens Own Wisconsin Cheddar is what I use)

1. In a medium size bowl, empty the cans of salmon and using a fork, flake into very small pieces. Add the whole-wheat bread crumbs, mustard, egg, salt, pepper, parsley and dill, and mix until well combined. Using your hands, form 4 well packed patties.
2. Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium to moderate heat in a large skillet. Swirl the oil around the pan to coat. Brown the salmon patties well, on both sides. Turn the heat off, and put a slice of cheese on each patty, cover. In a few minutes, the cheese will be melted and bubbling and the patties are ready to serve.

I served mine with a dollop of ale & spice mustard, a baked local Yukon Gold potato, and a green salad made with local lettuce, local tomatoes, local carrots, goat cheese from Hiram, Ohio and a grainy-mustard balsamic vinaigrette, and a slice of homemade buckwheat bread.