HOMEMADE PLANT FOOD RECIPES

Steps:

• Bake (at 350 degrees) the chicken/turkey thighs and liver leaving ~50% of the thigh meat raw. (The time needed varies depending on how thick the thighs are but is usually ~15 minutes, give or take.) The liver will be cooked more than the meat which is fine.
• Remove from the oven and put in cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Remove some of the raw meat from the bone for chunking (for the version in the picture, I used a grinder, if you use meat shears or a knife to "chunk" the meat - cutting it into small pieces about the size of a dime, it will look like the second picture). The bigger, the better. Keep in mind that raw meat is more tenacious (and better for teeth) than cooked meat. Make sure that you include the skin and all the fat!
• If using eggs, make sure you cook the whites (the yolks can be cooked or left raw). Break the egg into small pieces so that it incorporates into the rest of the ingredients.
• Mix together the meat/liver/skin, egg whites, and fat drippings in one large bowl. Placed mixture in the refrigerator while the supplements are mixed up.
• Combine the water, egg yolks (if you only cooked the white versus the whole egg), vitamin E, vitamin B-complex, taurine, salt, bone meal, and fish oil with a whisk. Note that it is helpful to put the fish oil capsules in warm water in advance of mixing up the supplement slurry. It takes about 15 minutes for them to dissolve and I use my hand to make sure that all of the oil is squeezed out of each capsule. Some people poke the fish oil capsules with a pin. It is ok to leave the capsules in the water. Most cats readily eat them but if your cat is not fond of fish, then you may want to remove them.
• Pour the supplement slurry into the meat/skin/liver/egg mixture. Mix very well.
• Portion into containers and freeze. Leave at least 3/4" of head space to allow for expansion.
• Ideally, the food should only be in the refrigerator (in a completely thawed state) for 48 - 72 hours so keep that in mind when choosing your container size. The average cat eats about 3.5-6 ounces per day.

Steps:

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the ginger, garlic, mustard powder, allspice and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add the whole peeled tomatoes and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon; remove from the heat.
• Puree the ketchup in batches in a blender until smooth; return to the pot. Add the bay leaves, brown sugar, vinegar, molasses and 4 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching, until very thick, about 1 hour, 45 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and let the ketchup cool. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.
• Cook 3 slices finely chopped bacon in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 12 minutes. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon drippings from the pan, then stir in 1 teaspoon smoked paprika. Stir in 1 cup homemade ketchup (above); simmer 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar and thin with water, if necessary. Serve warm.
• Peach-Curry Ketchup
• Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1/2 cup chopped peeled peaches, 1 teaspoon chopped peeled ginger and 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder; cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in 1 cup homemade ketchup (above); simmer 5 minutes. Transfer to a blender and add 2 tablespoons water; puree until smooth.
• Chop 1 to 2 teaspoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, then mash with the flat side of the knife. Heat 1 teaspoon vegetable oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 teaspoon ground cumin and stir 10 seconds, then stir in 1 cup homemade ketchup (above) and the chipotles; simmer 2 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon each lime juice and honey and thin with water, if necessary.