As we all know, this week in April is a very special, very sacred holiday for many around the country.
Thats right, earlier this week was International Pet Day. A "chance for those of us who own pets to show them how much we love them". Totally not a fluke that I bought the dog biscuit mix before I found out that this week was international pet day. Not a fluke at all.
But! On this Good Friday, as a gift to those choosing not to eat meat on this day, I'm not going to parade photo after photo of delicious forbidden chicken under your nose, instead we're giving this week's attempt to the dogs. One dog, in particular.
Everyone, meet Molly. Aka. "Molly Moo", aka. "Mooza".
As well as being a dog, she will be the guinea pig for today's special attempt.
On a lazy afternoon's browse of eBay, I stumbled upon this...
Basically it's a powdered dog biscuit mix. Powdered Chicken Parma flavoured dog biscuit mix. Stir it up with some oil and water, cut out the bickies, put them in the oven and voila! Instant doggy treats.
The instructions seem simple enough...
The ingredients seem to tick all the boxes. Chicken stock, dehydrated ham, powdered cheese and dehydrated veggies, which I'm calling as the napoli .
Although in 299 reviews I can't remember trying a parma with crushed kelp. But what the hell ... Let's do it!
As you may be aware these "Cooking with ParmaDaze" segments are usually quite picture heavy, and this one will be no exception.
First up the mix went into the bowl -
Followed by the oil and water -
And mix!
The result is a ball of dough, laid out on a slightly floured surface -
Rolled flat with a rolling pin -
I'm not sure if the thing I found in the drawer was supposed to be used as a cookie cutter, but it was the only thing I had that resembled a cookie cutter. It did the job -
Followed by laying the cookies out on an oven tray. There was enough dough to make a few more, but my tray was full and this was more than enough for the review.
At this point the cookies went into the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
The Doggo waited patiently for her treats...
And 20 minutes later they were done!
We waited for them to cool down for safety, then the moment of truth was upon us. Would my faithful companion enjoy chicken parmas as much as I do? Or would I have to disown her first thing in the morning?
I captured the first taste on video -
Success! She inhaled that thing and was keen for more. The Mix & Bake parma bickie was a complete success.
However, my job was not yet complete.
I'm the parma guy. It's my mission to try every parma that is available. It became clear while I was kneading the dough that I was going to have to taste the biscuit. For the sake of my art. The website. For you, dear reader... I was going to eat dog food.
I braced myself and took a bite.
Hm.
To be honest it didn't really taste like a parma. It didn't really taste like anything. Just rolled oats, flour and a very slight gamey aftertaste. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't pleasant and I won't be carrying them around in my pocket for the occasional snack, but they weren't as bad as I was expecting.
And that's it! The rest of the biscuits went into a zip lock bag for Mooza to enjoy over the next few days.
I'd call this a success, the Mix & Bake Biscuits are surprisingly easy to make and went over fantastically with the pupper. Should I spy them at the shop I'd have no qualms giving them another crack (for the dog, not for me). From what I gather from the packaging and the email receipts I received from eBay, the mix is made at the Diamond Dog Food & Bakery in Seaford, and sold by Lucky Pet in West Footscray. Should be too hard to track down if you want to give them a go for yourself!
I hope you've enjoyed this special attempt for the pets in our life. Hope you have a great Easter weekend and I'll catch you next week (Hopefully for a more Human appropriate parma experience).