Chesapeake’s Satiating Sardine Surprise

I gave my dog loving audience a dog treat this week, and I didn’t want to leave the cat lovers out. This is a treat that I named for my friend Ruthie’s kitten. Ruthie tells me Chesapeake is the spitting image of the famous “Chesapeake” mascot of railroad fame.

For those of you who may have never heard of “Chessie” or are too young to have ever seen her ads, this kitten was the mascot for the Chesapeake and Ohio railroad for many years. She first appeared in Fortune Magazine in the September, 1933 issue. The ad featured her tucked into bed under a blanket, with her head and front paw resting on a pillow. The slogan for the original campaign was “Sleep Like a Kitten and Wake Up Fresh as a Daisy in Air-Conditioned Comfort”. “Sleep Like a Kitten” caught on, and the cat used in the ad forever became known as “Chessie”. The ad was shown in many other magazines and became one of the most recognizable advertising symbols of the day.

Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup non-fat powdered milk
• 1/2 of a 15 ounce can sardines
• 1/2 cup mackerel, chopped
• 4 ounces canned salmon, drained (Save liquid for fish stock, if needed.)
• 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon plain wheat germ
• 1 tablespoon olive or cod liver oil
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup fish stock, saved from canned fish (Add water to make up the difference, if needed.)

• Catnip (optional): This can either be mixed into the dough or sprinkled on top of the cookies before baking.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350º and grease two cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, mash the sardines, mackerel and salmon into smaller pieces. You can use a food processor or blender for this step if you would rather.
3. Add the flour, milk, parsley and wheat germ. Mix well.
4. After mixing, pour in the fish stock (or water) and oil. Mix well again.
5. Now, beat the egg in a separate dish until the egg gets a foamy texture.
6. Add the egg to the fish/flour mixture.
7. Mix again, thoroughly. The dough mix should be sticky.
8. You can add the catnip here or wait until just before baking to sprinkle it on top of the cookies. (When Ruthie makes these cookies, she uses enough to do both.) Your cat will love them, whichever way you choose.
9. Using your fingers, shape the dough into small bite-sized balls, about the size of a marble.
10. Put the balls onto greased cookie sheets, and flatten them with your hands.
11. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the treats from the oven, wait five minutes and turn the treats over so the other side will cook.
12. Bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until golden brown in color.
13. Place the treats on a cookie rack to cool.
14. Let cool for 30 minutes to an hour. NEVER feed any treats to your cat right after cooking.
15. Place the treats in an air-tight container and store in fridge or cool dry place.

Remember, the animals in your life are not just your pets; they're your friends. WNR

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