My dog eats Oranges

Well, not so much Oranges as Clementines. Mrs S was eating one this morning and on a whim she gave our mutt a segment as a treat. Said Clementine segment was consumed with gusto. This amused her so much that she peeled a whole orange for him, just in case this was one of his 'eat anything' phases. Moments later I watched, slightly gobsmacked as he sat and begged avidly for the whole damn thing.

Upon reflection he will enthusiastically tuck into apples as well. Braeburns or Fuji's for preference. We first found this out about five years ago when Mrs S's lunchtime apples kept on disappearing. It wasn't until we found half a gnawed apple core in his basket that the culprit had been found. We confirmed our suspicions by offering him a fresh apple which he took out into the garden and gnawed said apple between his paws before consuming it core and all. Now he gets all the apple cores, which promptly disappear.

I have yet to try him on Broccoli or Lettuce, but there's this weird notion rolling round the back of my mind that he might be a closet vegetarian. On the other hand no, as he seems to enjoy slurping the last morsel of any of my various stews and curries off a plate when they have been given to him as a treat. Last time we gave him leftover stew for a treat, the casserole dish was snuffled half way up our neighbours yard as he fought to lick the last morsel off the inside.

The thought occurs that every single pet, with the exception of the White Mice I once had when I was ten years old, that I have ever owned have been eccentric goofballs. Failing that and my Dog is far more intelligent than I, and is playing some sort of strange canine head game with me. This may be a distinct possibility.

Oh well, at least it will cut down on the recycling.

Update: Last nights 'Do' left us with a box of fruit in the shape of 5kg of seedless Clementines that nobody wanted, and I am currently relearning the fine art of Jam making. Fortunately Ma Sticker was and is an avid jam maker, and second son (me) learned much by watching her in the kitchen. Thus I have come up with the following grown up recipe for Clementine conserve. Well, you didn't think I was going to feed all that fruit to my dog did you?

Peel ten Clementines and throw peeled fruit into Blender (Liquidiser) Whizz thoroughly.
Decant into smallish saucepan (A half litre or 1 pint size is about right).
Add one cup of sugar.
Add one teaspoon Ground Cinnamon.
Add large pinch of Ground Ginger.
Add a brief shake of Ground Nutmeg.
Heat to boiling point and boil until reduced to almost half original volume.
Remove from heat and allow to cool for five minutes.
Warm up a Jam Har using hot tap water then dry.
Fill jar with contents of saucepan and fit a lid over the jamjar after ten minutes. This will kill any bacteria in the jar, but the pressure differential after the contents have cooled may make the jar difficult to open for seven stone weaklings.

Once cooled, a dab of this fairly sophisticated Clementine conserve has been found to go very nicely with a large scoop of Vanilla ice cream. Kitchen theorists have mooted that it may spice up a sponge pudding, Victoria Sponge, or even give a twist to Duck as a sauce base when used in moderation.