Kibbles & Nibbles: A Recipe for Fun For a Cause!

On May 23, 2021, Phinney’s hosted Kibbles & Nibbles, an online cooking class led by seasoned Cordon Bleu-trained chef Mika McDonald and “starring” her adorable taste testers Queen and Disco!

The pooches did a great job in their supporting roles, gobbling down yummy parmesan cheese crisps and oat cakes. Mika had plenty of samples after showing everyone on the Google Meet how to make them. And her husband Ryan supported the event by capturing every doggie chomp with a system of three alternating cameras.

But Queen and Disco weren’t the only dogs in attendance! Instagram stars Mack and Olaf played sous chefs to their dog moms’ as they followed Mika’s step-by-step tutorial for making these delicious nuggets.

Mika also shared baking tips with the audience. For instance, she recommended: 

• investing in a silicon baking sheet, which she said virtually guarantees that cookie dough doesn’t burn.
  
  
• choosing recipes with easy-to-find pantry ingredients if you are a beginner.
  
  
• not to worry if your measurements are a little off or if you omit certain ingredients -- they’ll still hold together and be tasty.
  
  
• not being afraid to omit ingredients not suitable for vegetarians or to comply with other dietary restrictions. For instance, a vegetarian could omit the gelatin in the oat cakes (added to give the dog treats some more depth) because the treats were just as tasty for people without that ingredient.
  
  
• always double check what you’re putting into dog treats isn't toxic to your pet--things like onions, which are often found in cooking broths, can be toxic to dogs.
  
  

We also learned there are a bunch of tasty herbs that dogs can eat, including rosemary, sage, and basil! Using herbs can be a great way to create robust and dog-friendly treats they’ll woof and wag over.

“The class was entertaining and practical,” said Dana Scott, a cat dad with a general curiosity about cooking for pets. He also said he’s more motivated to try and make some treats for his boys after seeing Mika do it.

"Wow, Mika explains things so well and is so funny and warm. This class felt like I was in her kitchen keeping her company," added Daniela Caride, Phinney's President.

Because of the generosity of Phinney’s supporters for Kibbles & Nibbles, we raised $500, and that’s an amazing accomplishment to chew on!

We look forward to planning another Kibbles & Nibbles class next year. We want to again extend our sincere thanks to Mika for sharing her expertise and donating her time to help Phinney’s raise funds to support people and pets in need. And, of course we want to thank her dogs, as well as her husband Ryan, who did an amazing job behind the scenes producing this class live from Mika’s kitchen!

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