Saturday 19 February 2011

Pug Love

I recently returned from a month in Thailand (hence the lack of posts) and firstly, I'm amazed that I haven't been kicked out of The Daring Kitchen for missing the challenges while I was away, and secondly, looking forward to me and my boyfriend getting own own place this year and filling it with rescue doggies.

I'm a fan of the smaller, baby size, can fit in a pram, cuddle in bed breeds, while my boyfriend's ideal dog would be a giant bear pretending to be a dog.
Being both vegetarian/vegan and very concerned about animal rights we decided long ago that we would never pay a breeder for a pup. Pure bred dogs are rented out (like little male escorts) for studding and both the bitch and dog are selected for certain traits that HUMANS like, but the genes that produce aesthetically pleasing little pure breed puppies, more often than not, carry mutilating, disabling conditions too. For example, the gene that creates the perfect spotting on a Dalmatian also causes deafness.
And those gorgeous snuffling little pugs that frolic in my dreams suffer from dislocating knees, collapsed nostrils, breathing problems and blindness.

So since I will never buy a dog from a breeder I am looking to rescue one and am just hoping that a little Pug called Gary will come my way.
And in the meantime, I entertain myself with Pug paraphernalia…



Vegan Pug Cupcakes
Design idea taken from Hello Cupcake and 'veganised' accordingly :)



To decorate my cupcakes I used American Betty Crocker vanilla icing which I coloured,
red Starburst for the tongues,
Sainsbury's own brand chocolate decorating beans for the eyes,
and because I didn't have anything black for the nose I used a Tic Tac and coloured it in!
The ears are made out of grease proof paper, maybe next time I can colour a Starburst brown!




'Pugs not Drugs' Hummingbird cake
I adapted a recipe from The Hummingbird cook book for this homage to Pugs.

The recipe is for a Hummingbird cake, which is now officially my favourite cake (just above carrot and banana).
The Hummingbird cake is banana and pineapple, very moist and crumbly (like a carrot cake) with a light tropical fruity flavour.
The design is based on an illustration by Gemma Correll, an amazing illustrator and fellow Pug lover :)







Pug bisous bisous xxx