Gone to the dog

You remember Chester. Chester is about 9 years old, we've had him 8 years. We got him from the local Humane Society. I'm not sure what he did as a puppy, but when the human volunteers from the Humane Society learn we have Chester, they all chuckle and won't tell us why.

Chester, for his brief time living on the streets, is rather high minded when it comes to his food. For years, he would only eat dry cat food. Now, he's back to dog food. Every night, when we put him up, he has to inspect his food before he will return to his pen. This week, I've cooked up a pot of chicken and barley for him.

I very very lightly salted 6 chicken thighs . . . skin on. (when I say very lightly, I mean about 1/8 tsp salt) and browned them in about 2 tsp olive oil, skin side down first. Then I added water to about half way fill my big soup pot. Bring it all to a boil and turn down the heat to a simmer. I simmer the thighs about an hour and remove them from the pot. While they are cooling, I add in about 3/4 cup of barley, bring it back to a boil, then drop the temp back to the simmer.

I pull all the skin and meat off the bones and shread it. When the barley is cooked, I add the meat back in and turn off the stove. When it's cool, I package in 2 cup containers for freezing.

He, like our cats, if quite spoiled.