Vegan Dogs

Lunch at Real Food Daily in LA

2010-03-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

I don't have any pictures of lunch. But today we went to a place called Real Food Daily on La Cienega which in LA terms was also close to our hotel. Of course we had to drive there, but technically it was in the same neighborhood. It was delicious. I had a reuben which was actually made with thousand island dressing instead of mustard (which seems to be PNW thing) that came with a Caesar salad. It was so delicious. Mark had the El Bandito Rojo which were enchiladas with spanish rice and black beans. And for dessert we shared the Key Lime Cheesecake which was amazing. Lunch was definitely a hit and I'm not sure we'll have room for dinner after the breakfast and lunch we've already had today.

Vegan Breakfast in Los Angeles at Millies

2010-03-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

We are staying in LA for a couple of days while on Mark's book tour. We really wanted to go out to breakfast this morning. All the vegan places around us seem to not open until 11am which is too late for breakkies. Mark queried vegan breakfast in LA and we found a pretty great greasy spoon called Millie's on Sunset Blvd not too far from our hotel that had a bunch of vegan options. I had this which is the Angel's Mess. It was scrambled tofu with vegan sausage and vegan cheese, served with pico and guacamole, toast, and a fruit cup. It was delicious. Mark had the No Huevos Rancheros, which they sauteed tofu with veggies and put it on 3 tortillas that had melted vegan cheese on them. It was so much food, that we have leftovers for breakfast tomorrow in the hotel. It was delicious, and it was the first big breakfast I've had in years that I didn't have to make myself.

10th Anniversary at Nimbus

2009-07-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated our 10th anniversary at Nimbus. They made us a 4 course vegan meal that was amazing. We sat at a table overlooking the water and ate and ate and ate.

Our first course was a Heirloom tomato gazpacho w/ 4 types of basil, spring shallot, and cucumber. It was easily the best soup I have ever eaten, it tasted like heaven.

Our second course was homemade tofu blackened on a bed of heirloom tomatoes (that melted in my mouth) onion and cauliflower pickle, garbanzo beans, and topped with a cucumber mint salad. It was perfect.

Our third course was sunflower risotto with summer squash, sunflower sprouts, and squash. It was delicious, but I was already starting to feel so full I couldn't finish. Mark ate my leftovers when we got home later that evening.

Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of our fourth course. I wish we had it was so beautiful and so delicious. It was fresh local melon, peaches, and white raspberries topped with a chili lime granita and basil. It was the perfect end to a wonderful meal.

I recommend Nimbus for a special occasion. If you just let them know you're a vegan when you call to make your reservation, they'll have a great meal planned for you. We've also just gone there spur of the moment before, and they're gracious and quick to make us a vegan meal without prior notice. They have great customer service and food.

Vegan Donuts in Bellingham Finally!

2009-06-27T09:53:00.001-07:00

We were on our way to breakfast at Old Town this

morning when we passed by Rocket Donuts...they are now making Vegan Donuts. They were delicious, light and crisp, and the chocolate glaze was awesome. Thanks Rocket!

Happy Spring!

2009-04-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

Today we took the puppy for a walk from Boulevard Park to Fairhaven where we got some sorbetto from Sirena, Walter thinks Strawberry Sorbetto is delicious. Then I made an awesome dinner, Field Roast, quinoa, spicy collards, and roasted baby broccoli. We're going to have strawberries for desert. I'm so happy that the sun is finally showing itself again.

Walter

2009-02-17T22:08:00.001-08:00

Buster

2008-12-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

I don't remember if I wrote about it...but about 2 weeks after Clarence died our Shih-Tzu Mia had emergency obstruction surgery. In ways I won't discuss, Buster had eaten a toy...and Mia did sort of too. We knew Buster had eaten the toy and watched him, but he never showed any signs of an obstruction. He seemed happy and healthy. On Saturday he started having seizures...the animal emergency clinic said he could probably wait until Monday to see his regular vet. Even then...the vet asked us if he had been vomiting, we said no...so they tried to diagnose the seizures, they took blood and urine. Everything looked pretty ok...so our vet sent it out again for more extensive testing. Then on Wednesday morning December 3, Buster wouldn't finish his breakfast for the first time ever. We took him to the vet...the blood work came back again looking ok for disease. They x-rayed him and he had 3 pieces of the toy still in his stomach all that time. They tried to remove them surgically but Buster's little body gave out before they could even start. So we have now lost our second baby within 4 months. The girls are inconsolable. We are in shock...how could our little baby be so sick for so long and not tell us so we could help him? We are so lost without our little man...he was the sweetest boy, never demanding, never angry...just always willing to give a kiss and sit in your lap. He was only 4...he was a rescue. Someone found him a woodshed...a 1 yr old 13lb terrier mix. His fur was so long & he was so neglected that he had moss and grass growing in the mats in his fur. He was adopted out once & returned because they couldn't potty train him. That didn't bother us...we had Mia Pia who refuses still to this day to go outside if it's below 50 or wet. He immediately fell in love with Mark and was his constant companion. When Mark would go out of town Buster would refuse to go to the bathroom for me unless he was about to burst...he would pace around a mope. He was Mark's baby. He could jump forever and thought rubbing his butt on you was being affectionate. He loved to lick and nip at your nose as a kiss. He was crazy about popcorn and couldn't control stealing it out of the bowl in your face. He was scared of loud noises and any violence. He liked to sit next to his mom under the quilts while watching tv. He loved his sister Mia and they were inseparable most of the time. We are all missing our little Buster so much...Buster baby why didn't you tell us you were sick? We would have done anything to keep you with us. Now we're so lonely without you! You make sure that Clarence takes good care of you until we're all back together again. Miss you so much baby!

Buster Gluth
2004-2008
With mom and dad 2005-2008

Day after Election Celebration Sushi!

2008-11-05T18:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had sushi I made and sparkling sake to celebrate the election last night. We don't have TV, so we went to a friend's last night to watch the coverage. As soon as the polls closed here out west they declared Obama the winner. It was pretty cool. But even better was the fact that he took Ohio & Florida! As we drove home, people were roaming the streets cheering & waving. We were shouting to them and to people in the car next to us on our ride home and honking the horn. It was pretty awesome!

Two Months

2008-10-17T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today it is 2 months since Boy left us and so much has changed. I got a promotion at work, Mark's getting a demotion (since we chose not to move to Seattle to follow his job), his novel is getting published in 2009 by Akashic Books, I don't worry about tripping over him in the dark anymore, Pearl stops running to his crate when we get home. I miss him so much. We're going to sell our house since Mark (the bill payer of this relationship) is taking a huge demotion by not following his job. Clarence would hate the packing, and he would really hate moving to a new house, that would have been too stressful for him. So maybe in some way it was a blessing that he left when he did. I wish I could tell him how much his dad is missing their evening walks, especially now that the rainy season has started again, this was Clarence's favorite time of year. They would both come home completely drenched, only Clarence smiling.

Things Clarence loved: Scooby Doo, any sort of flat bread (tortillas, pita, naan, didn't matter), cold rainy weather, cabbage, sleeping with only his head under the bed, his dog bed, Pearl his best friend, my mother, taking walks, running up and down hills, getting his ears cleaned by his mom (he was weird), getting his teeth brushed, listening to music, running around the house playing with his mom, going to Cedarwoods, smelling flowers, and last but never least in his mind meal time!

Still missing you so much Bear!

One Month...

2008-09-17T20:07:00.000-07:00

and still missing my bear so bad...

Goodbye Friend

2008-08-18T13:40:00.001-07:00

Clarence passed away last night after fighting an unknown illness for over a week. All 5 of us are in shock and mourning his loss. I miss hearing him pace around on the tiles and laying on my feet when I'm at the computer. I will never forget my best friend and will miss him for the rest of my life.

Clarence 2002-2008

I love you so much.

Holy Toledo!

2008-03-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I haven't posted since August. I missed Halloween and Turkey day, Christmas, New Years, and Valentines!

Well, we're planning our little family vacation outing to my parent's place on one of the San Juan Islands. I have decided to make a unhealthy vegan feast & will have to take pictures. I'm planning to make vegan mac & cheez, vegan ribs, collards, and whatever else strikes our fancy. More to come, if I can get my act together. :-)

My Vegan Coq au Vin recipe

2007-08-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

which is french for chicken with wine i believe :-) Sorry I don't have a picture of what it looks like finished, maybe the next time I make it I will take a photo....hmm...I still haven't made dinner for tonight!

I'm really bad at following recipes, but my vegan coq au vin is basically as follows.
I make my own seitan. I got the recipe from Vegan Vittles by Joanne Stepaniak & it is the best seitan recipe I have found! 1 1/2 cups gluten flour (although now I'm thinking I need to contact the suppliers & find out where they're getting this because I don't think I want Chinese gluten)1/4 cup nutritional yeast 1 tsp garlic powder1 cup water3 tbsp soy sauce.
if you haven't made this recipe before, mix the dried goods first before adding the liquids.
i made a big old dough lump & slice it into cutlets. I use about 2-3 tbsp of canola oil, heat it up in a saute pan & then brown the cutlets. (While this is going on I usually start to dice my onions for my sauce). Once the cutlets are browned I set them aside & start on the sauce.
the coq au vin sauce:
i really like sauce, so I tend to make a large recipe...so if you like less sauce, maybe cut this recipe in half.
1 cup diced red onion2-4 carrots sliced 1/2 lb-3/4 lb sliced mushrooms depending of if you really like them
1 cup red wine1/2 cup sherry1 cup broth (i like to make my own using Better than Bullion, i love that stuff!)1 tsp garlic powder1 tsp marjoram1 tsp thyme1 tbsp margarine1-2 tbsp flour
first i brown the onions...i like to get them almost burned. then i add the mushrooms & carrots to get them nice & cooked, i don't like it when the carrots are crunchy in this particular sauce. Once they start to soften I add the wine, sherry, broth, and spices & let the alcohol cook out...about 5 minutes.
I make a roux by melting the margarine & whisking the flour in.Then I whisk the roux into the sauce to thicken it.
Once that's done I add my cutlets back into the sauce and cook them for a couple of minutes or so.
This sauce is super tasty on pasta or potatoes or rice. And any kind of green or roasted veggie is delicious with this as well.
The recipe really sounds more difficult than it is...it's very easy to make and very tasty!

girl bands rock my world!

2007-07-13T22:33:00.002-07:00

I was just watching a Go-Go video on youtube & just realized how often i see women as the front of a band, but not the core, the soul of the band. The Go-Go's were all female, no men on drums, bass, or guitar. Kinda like the Charlie's Angels of pop.
They rock my world right now! (especially while trying not to think about polar bears or penguins or vanishing lakes in Chile).

All I can do is love my dogs and try to be the best person I can.

So Kick Ass Girl Bands! Keep empowering girls...because someday we will grow up to be a Charlie's Angel or Go-Go!

Or a doggy mommy...which is better :-)

Princess Pearl loves to sleep with her mom

2007-06-25T00:27:00.001-07:00

I've been obsessed with Edward Norton as an actor for the past few weeks. Today I decided just to query him on PETA...I didn't think he was vegan, we usually know which actors are. But you know just in case he was a hunter or something gross like that. When I went to PETA I immediately saw a photo of of a poor little monkey being tested on. It made me realize how ridiculous my original idea what. How can I care about actors or movies when such things are happening? In corporate lingo...it brought my mood elevator down. But it was also good to be reminded again of why it is important that I made the decision to go vegan. So now I am off to lay in the puppy pile with my babies and remember that they shouldn't be lucky to live in my house, but in this world they are. And I'll think about all the babies out there who don't have the life my babies do and how wrong, horrible, and disgusting it is that they don't.

Princess Pearl says good night.

Questions & Answers

2007-06-11T20:23:00.000-07:00

I am totally stealing this from Pisces Place, but it seemed like such a good idea. I'm making Mark answer the questions too...
But for now we're off to watch dvd's with the puppies. YAY!

1. I love...my partner in crime mark, my other partners in crime clarence, pearl, mia & buster. and all my friends who daily put up with my eccentricities.
2. Right now I want...the world to be vegan, war to end, and the global warming to be fiction.
3. I feel like...crying & cleaning my kitchen
4. I hate it when...when people are hypocrites. people act like i'm a freak because i think animals are as valuable as human life. those same people have dogs & cats. they love their pets as much as i love mine.
5. I fear...my loved ones dying before me
6. I'm lonely without... my dogs & markey
7. I need...my baby dogs
8. Today I...watching movies in bed with the dogs. i also made an awesome dinner. it was delicious!
9. Tomorrow I'm...going to work. i love my job :-)
10. I just...played bingo on the computer
11. I want to meet...mos def, he's a really cool vegan
12. I'm hungry for...well today it was a yves hotdog, a blt with yummy tempeh bacon, and my vegan version of coq qu vin. it was awesome. Although I wouldn't had said no if we had some chips in the house. oh well.
13. I love it when...i start my day with a walk.
14. I'm afraid of...the dark
15. I'm listening to...amy winehouse and stevie wonder right now.
16. I'm wearing...my pj bottoms, a camisole and a sweatshirt. very sexy!
17. I wish I was in...bellingham washington...wait, that is where i am! lucky me!
18. I'm craving...a week long vacation on lopez island with unlimited book money and a good pair of walking shoes.
19. I want to get...learn to make good pasta sauce
20. I can...pizza from scratch
21. I can't...watch horror movies.
22. I have...lots of books and movies.
23. I haven't...ever been outside the us or canada.
24. I'm nervous...about my family getting older
25. My Mom thinks I'm...the best think since sliced bread
26. My Dad thinks I'm...not the person he wanted me to be
27. I think...nancy drew is the coolest girl ever
28. I'm happy when...i'm sleeping in with my dogs. they have a schedule about who gets to be in bed. they all take turns cuddling me.
29. I'm sad when...i think about the reality of our world
30. I like eating...pretty much anything eggplant
31. I hate eating...anything with broccoli or cauliflower in it.
32. I love watching...my dogs play, my garden, the water, and nero wolfe & poirot. can't get enough mysteries!
33. I love listening to...chopin even though he makes me very emotional
34. I love playing...yahtzee, spades, canasta, and nancy drew computer games.
35. I hate waking up to...being late for work. it rushes my day & sets the tone badly.
36. I can see...how much my dogs & mark love me.
37. I'm glad that...i have a life partner that i love and like and harry potter #7 comes out in just over a month. i'm dying here!
38. I'm disappointed that...people can't be more respectful of how others choose to live their life.
39. I look like...well mark says kate winslet...but to be honest i don't look like anyone other than me :-)
40. I wish I looked like...when i was 18...i was pretty hot then!

My new favorite movie....

2007-06-11T02:12:00.000-07:00

If ever I told my tale of how I became a vegan....Mike White told it for me. Because I did go kicking & screaming. It wasn't easy or pretty. I mean how did I live with a vegetarian partner for 5 years when I wasn't one and a vegan partner for 3 years when I was only a vegetarian/pescatarian? I loved meat! I still miss it! I cannot lie...I won't lie! But I love my babies! Clarence my guardian! He is always on high alert when he feels I'm in distress. Pearl the beautiful slutty princess who gets everything she wants...we love her so. Mia(pia) who puts the name shih-tzu to a whole new meaning. She tries...she really doesn't :-) And Buster...well...he's just special. Those dogs mean more to me than anything. And because of them...we'll I'll continue to love my fake meat & no more dairy...:-)

http://www.yearofthedogmovie.com/

UGH....

2007-06-11T02:03:00.000-07:00

I am so focused on global warming any more. I walk around with a certainty that we are going to go. What kind of way is that to live? Nevertheless...it is the way that I live.
I have made a few amazing recipes. Sorry I wasn't camera friendly. We're still not used to having a camera as we haven't had one for years; Pearl ate our last camera when she was a baby. I am off for this evening....but keep global warming in mind!

Earth Day

2007-04-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

I don't say that Paul Watson is kind, or always correct, or even always PC...but I do think that he makes a lot of sense. I have already been feeling very ill with the crazy weather going on. The Day After Tomorrow is looking like less of a fictional film & more like a documentary. That has really put a damper on my spring. But that aside, this from Paul really started me thinking. That and where are all the bees?

Paul Watson...over population...bees...veganism
http://www.seashepherd.org/editorials/editorial_070420_1.html

New York Times...bees
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/27/business/27bees.html?ex=1330232400&en=3aaa0148837b8977&ei=5088

All this & one of the types of kibble from the brand of dog food that we have been feeding our dogs was recalled. Lucky for us, the tainted rice bran was not an ingredient in their food. But needless to say we now strictly feeding them home cooked dog food. Screw people with their messed up priorities. Money and power over everything else. Money & power is more important that life. Who cares that we wouldn't even know about these things if we weren't alive. So...bees, dog food...government conspiracies... Happy Spring 2007!

2007-04-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Yes yes...I have been MIA for awhile. I went through my normal winter funk. So glad that spring is finally here. I have been reading & re-reading Harry Potter like crazy. Can't wait for #7 to come out in July. I really really hope she doesn't kill off Harry. I think that real life stinks enough...let our fiction be kind.
Tonight we watched a documentary....we're still not sure what to think of it.
http://www.loosechange911.com/

I think our initial reaction is one of some belief, some disbelief (we don't like propaganda), and some horror as we can see for ourselves now 5 years removed that what we thought we saw, we didn't see. I think we'll just retire to bed for the evening with our Harry Potter books and try to think non global warming, non bee missing, happy dog thoughts.

Vegan Valentine's Sugar Cookies

2007-02-12T18:47:00.000-08:00

I am so happy that I was able to veganize my favorite cookie recipe. The sugar cookie recipe from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. This recipe made me realize that I did like sugar cookies if they were made properly, and not just some bland cardboard grocery store cookie. I used Earth Balance margarine for my fat and flax seeds for my egg replacer. The cookies are delicious. And I was able to find on the Internet that I can use my Ener-G egg replacer in place of meringue powder, so I also made my own royal icing for my cookies. Mark has had 5 since getting home from work 1 hour ago, so I would say my cookies were a success! Happy Valentine's Day!

Fajitas Ole!

2007-02-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

One of our new favorite dishes is my veggie Fajitas. I make them with seitan marinated in Simply Organic Fish Taco seasoning, sweet peppers, mushrooms, red onions, carrots, lime juice, cumin, cilantro, and coriander. They're delicious, especially with a big serving of fresh guacamole. YUM!

Vegan Valentine's Chocolates

2007-02-06T18:26:00.000-08:00

Mark & I ordered some awesome chocolate collections from one of our favorite Vegan grocers Food Fight! We got the 16 Piece Belgian Chocolate Assortment and the Sjaak's Organic Chocolate Assortment for our special treats. We each had one from the Sjaak's tonight, I had the English toffee and Mark had the raspberry truffle. I loved loved loved mine, it was lovely toffee with a slight coffee flavor, delicious. Mark's had dried raspberries on top and lovely raspberry truffle flavor. We can't wait until tomorrow for our next chocolates!

Tempeh Scallopini

2007-02-06T18:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had leftover Tempeh Scallopini from the Candle Cafe cookbook. Last night I served it with roasted potatoes and collard greens, but tonight we had it with my vegan spaetlzes and a green salad with carrot and beets grated on top. The recipe from the Candle Cafe once again made no sense and seemed to have it's directions out of order. However the ingredient list made sense & I was able to make a delicious dish for 2 dinners & 1 lunch. YAY! The recipe called for lots of shallots, garlic, and mushrooms. And the tempeh really soaked up the sauce overnight, so it was much more tasty today than yesterday. This is definitely a do again...provided I tweak the recipe a little more.

Fancy Schmancy Cheesecake

2007-02-03T01:32:00.000-08:00

We had dinner with some friends tonight. They made us some awesome pasta with yummy veggies. Very good :-) So we brought dessert. I decided to make a lemon tofu cheesecake with blood orange glaze. I got the recipe from the Candle Cafe cookbook. The cookbook isn't really great on instructions, for instance it never tells you what temperature to bake the cake at. But the cheesecake turned out delicious. It should, it was made with Tofutti cream cheese instead of just tofu. One slice is probably a heart attack. The blood orange glaze was made with arrowroot and turned into something that looked like slime from Nickelodeon's You Can't do that on Television. I think next time I make it I am using cornstarch instead so it would thicken, not slime. The cheesecake was a big hit though, between the 4 of us, we ate 1/2 a cheesecake. So definitely a do again!

Cheesecake and midlife crisis

2007-02-03T00:03:00.000-08:00

Well I am making a cheesecake to take to a friends for dinner tomorrow. If it warrants mention tomorrow...well I'll mention it tomorrow. Right now I'm worried.

Midlife crisis...I suddenly got the hankering to look up the Beatles on Youtube (my latest addiction...Youtube that is). And it suddenly hit me my childhood is over. The world I knew is over. There is a new and horrible world waiting for me. Maybe part of it is the loss of innocence. I mean wars are nothing new. But everything seems meaner, more cruel now. Reality TV, wars, Reality TV....global warming. I miss my high school bedroom with my larger than life size poster of the Beatles, my love of a young 21 Jump Street Johnny Depp & Richard Greico, Pearl Jam before they were, Chinese Sandals, cutoff jean shorts with black tights in the middle of an Ohio winter, marching band playing Do Me while it still played on the 92Q (the cool pop radio channel)...
And now we're left with a world of worse than the Running Man, bad weird weather that won't quit, war after war that mean & accomplish nothing. Except for Mark & my dogs...I want my old life back. If I could take them back to my little bedroom with me...with my single futon, my stereo w/ record player, my Cure albums & my Beatles fascination...I would. This reality sucks... We (Mark & I back in the hot & heavy dating phase) shared my single futon before...I say lets go back. Dogs are always welcome! Anyone who wants to join us is welcome. I say 1992 rocks! Well not really...but I was in another world then & as they say ignorance is bliss.

PPS...Can I mention I did a spell check on this blog post & the stinking program doesn't know what a Beatle is? As much as it hurts me to say this...the Beatles were big...40 years ago...and a spellcheck on Blogger doesn't know how to spell it? Am I old or does Blogger's spellcheck just suck?

My New Hero! Part 2 Eggplant Parmagiano Stew

2007-01-30T18:36:00.000-08:00

Well tonight we had Eggplant Parmagiano Stew from the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook. Very Tasty. I would make sure we had some baguette next time to sop up the broth next time we have it. I also used Louisiana style hot sauce instead of the cayenne that the recipe called for. We garnished it with my Vegan Topping, which can I say tastes amazingly like dried parmesan cheese. It's delicious! Mark accompanied his stew with leftover pizza from last night. I had a brainstorm while making the pizza & decided to add some sausage topping as well. I had some Yves Ground round with I sauteed with red wine, Italian seasoning and garlic powder (if I had some tomato paste I would have used a little as well). I was wonderful. It looks like sausage will be a new topping for our homemade pizzas!

My New Hero!

2007-01-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

Joanne Stepaniak is my new hero. I got the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook a couple of weeks ago. It is the most amazing book ever. So far I have made 2 awesome cheez spreads. This week we're having her Eggplant Parmagiano Stew. I am very excited about that...more will follow with my review of the recipe. I was so nervous when I gave up dairy about cheese. Not the sitting around eating cheese straight. But for the few times that I would use cheese it was essential to the recipe. So far the Follow Your Heart vegan cheeses & my new cookbook have really helped me to be less nervous about giving up cheese, because I don't have to give up pizza, etc. I just have to find a new way to make it. If you have the cookbook...I wholeheartedly recommend the Gee Whiz Spread and the Crock Cheez, they're delicious on some nice organic Crispy Wheats for a quick snack.

Yummy Enchilada Pie & Guacamole! Ole!

2007-01-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry, no picture today. We were tired & hungry by the time I served dinner last night. It's hard to remember to take a picture when you've worked all day, come home & cooked up dinner & just want to get off your feet. ICK! Too bad we're not independently wealthy & unable to just hang out all the time rescuing dogs. Anyhoot...for dinner last night I made enchilada pie (I was feeling to lazy to roll up each enchilada) with Ive's ground round, black beans, kalamata olives, and vegan Monterey Jack cheese. They were very tasty. I served it with a green salad that had lots of cabbage in it...I love love love cabbage, poor Mark he is pretty lukewarm about cabbage. I also made my world famous guacamole as the dressing for our veggies. Lots of green onions, cilantro, yucky winter tomatoes, and pickled peppers. Dinner was very delicious & I am looking forward to my leftovers for lunch today.
No fancy dinner planned for tonight as I am working until 7:30 & Mark will be bowling ;-)
But tomorrow...homemade pizza. Does anyone have a good pizza sauce recipe? I use the Muir Glen pizza sauce which is delicious, but it is the only thing on my pizza that isn't homemade & I was thinking that perhaps it was time to start making my own.
Have a great Wednesday Hump day...remember it's all downhill after today.

Clarence

2007-01-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

Boy...what can I say about Clarence. What can't I say? He is the reason that Mark & I changed our lives so much. He was found stuck in some bramble bushes as a puppy by a co-worker. We took him in, having just moved into our house. He is (we think) a shepherd akita mix. He is very dominant, very pack orientated & very food motivated. We had never had a dog outside of our parents dogs growing up. We did everything wrong with him. He was terrorizing us. I couldn't handle him by myself & was afraid of him because he was bigger than any dog I had contact with previously. We took him to obedience, which actually ended up being obedience for us, not the dog. (Not to get on my soapbox, but just like a child, when a dog it bad...look to the parents). The 3 of us worked so hard to be a family. Clarence wanted to be with us, he just wasn't sure if we could take care of him. We had to prove ourselves to him. Because of him, we started to examine our morals, our ideas. It wasn't ok for me to use my Pantene shampoo, because what made Clarence different from any other animal? It wasn't right for me to eat meat...who were we to say that we were better than those chickens I ate? He's also the reason we keep rescuing dogs.

That aside, Clarence is the best person I know. He's fair, dedicated, smart, loving, and a little cranky, which keeps him from being perfect & boring. He also has horrible leash aggression. But he is his mom's little man!

Pearl

2007-01-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

Pearl came to us in August 2002 from Skagit Humane Society. We got her a few months after Clarence. When Pearl was a puppy she was so submissive and scared. She spent most of her time hiding under the couch. Pearl & I attended obedience classes together & they really helped her to come out of her shell. Now she is definitely the Queen of the house. She sleeps on me, sits on me, follows me around & bosses me around. She charms everyone who comes to our house. She is also the most mischievous person I have ever met. She lies to us all the time. But we love her. She should really have her own website & show...she's a diva!

Mia

2007-01-15T18:15:00.000-08:00

We got Mia in January 2003. She was surrendered (got I hate that word...she didn't have a choice, some assholes decided they didn't want her) because they couldn't potty train her. Mark & I thought no problem, we already had Clarence & Pearl and they were fine. Well we learned a few things. #1 Shihtzu's are very stubborn. #2 Shihtzu's are incredibly hard to potty train (especially if they come from a dirty breeder). #3 Mia is smarter than us. So we learned to live with this little quirk of her's, put in ceramic tile & love our baby gate if we can't keep our eyes on her. She really is a great dog, has a great personality, loves Pearl to death, and loves to tell jokes. She's my baby if you can't tell....;-)

Buster

2007-01-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

I just realized that I haven't introduced the Bumpus Hounds.

Here's Buster. He's aprox. 2 1/2 & is some sort of a terrier mix. We adopted him from the Skagit Humane Society in October 2005. He was found in someone's wood shed, so covered in mats he had grass growing in them. He was very skittish at first, but now he thinks he is the Prince of our house. As you can see he desperately needs a hair-cut, but it's so cold this winter that I'm not in love with the idea of taking him & Mia to the groomer yet.

Monday Night Flop

2007-01-15T17:55:00.000-08:00

Well tonight I tried to do something a little different. I personally liked it, but Mark hated it. I made homemade vegan spaetzles...those were a hit of course, I mean who doesn't love little dough balls? I also made some seared tempeh & covered the 2 with a white wine sauce ( I also added some lemon juice, garlic, and capers). Mark felt it was too sour. I thought it was tasty, although it could have used more garlic. I also made kale for the 2nd time, sauteing it in balsamic vinegar. I like it. But Mark doesn't like that he has to chew it. I guess we won't be having Kale again. Mark is very weird about vegetables. He has a thing about textures. When I make stews & soups, I usually just puree the veggies in my Cuisinart so that he won't know how many veggies he's eating. Oh well, I get the leftovers...so I'm not complaining. What's on the menu for the rest of the week you ask? Well I'll probably make some enchiladas YUM! and possibly a pizza. Definitely some collard greens since I got some really pretty ones this week at work (the Co-op).

It's been so cold here lately, which I might add is completely un-PNW weather, that I made a huge pot of chili which we ate in about 4 days. But this cold is eating up my energy and making me feel sluggish. Hopefully it will end...but I see snow in the weather forecast again, so we'll see.

Last week I tried brussel sprouts. This was a vegetable that normally I would never even touch, but my friend Beau brought them for Thanksgiving & they were so good I thought I would try making them myself. We researched cooking techniques online. We were told to steam for 7-10 minutes with the bottoms scored. So I scored, put them in a pre-heated steamer...but they were so not done. So we popped them back in, but the rest of dinner was already done (tempeh piccata, gnocchi, and kale ;-) so we started eating & forgot about them. Let me tell you, overcooked or not...those dogs love brussel sprouts. It was funny because normally Clarence is really good at catching food mid-air. But the brussel sprouts just sprung from his mouth & rolled on the floor.

Whoo...that's a lot of information (needed or not) for right now. Ciao.

Why my dogs are vegan...

2007-01-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

A search on the internet revealed this thougtfully worded blog.

Vegan dogs?...why? WHY would ANYONE turn their dog vegan? I don't want the bullshit "'cause I'm vegan and it's healthier uh-dur!" Well, no, you're diet isn't healthier, but that's another argument, and your dog is a carni (not a carnival folk, but a carnivore). Your dog will think you fail as a master...or whatever the fuck you want to be called. Seriously, all you vegan people are into leaving things as they are. Let the animals live as they like and blah blah blah, and yet you are, in fact, forcing eating habits on a dog! A dog which you shouldn't have as a pet anyway if you're a PETA follower. Yeah, if you follow PETA, you are advised not to keep ANY animal as a pet. 'Cause you know, that makes a shit load of sense doesn't it? Why don't we just let all our dogs and cats free to fend for their own out in a world in which they probably want nothing to do with. Wanna know what will happen to my dogs if I let them free? They'd come back home because I feed them and treat them kindly unlike the shitty outside world. Wanna know what they would do if I turned them vegan? They'd bite my fucking hand off, get outside somehow, and go kill a rabbit or two to get their fill of meat for the day. Know why? 'Cause they are NATURAL CARNIVORES. Though they would eat practically anything, they'd pick meat above all else. Vegan dogs...what a fucking joke.

My reponse to this well thought out debate ;-) was:

Why my dogs are vegan

Actually dogs are omnivores just like people. Now if you're talking cats...they are carnivores. But dogs in the wild tend to forage food more than hunt. Sorry. I have 4 vegan dogs & the reason is because I don't trust the US' meat source to provide a safe and healthy diet for my dogs. I mean if I won't eat it because it's unhealthy for me with all the diseases that factory farmed animals have, why should I feed it to my babies? And I won't give them fish, because feeding fish to anyone you love is practically poisoning them now a days with all the pollutants in our waters. So rant all you want, but there are a lot of reasons that someone would want their dog to be vegan. And dogs are not carnivores.

The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place

2007-01-09T18:33:00.000-08:00

I stole the tile of this post from the album by Explosions In the Sky. My point is, with Mia on this planet, it can't be wholly god forsaken
-Mark

Leg, Buster, Foot

2007-01-09T18:08:00.000-08:00

Breather

2007-01-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

Wuv, sweet wuv

2007-01-09T18:01:00.000-08:00

Mark give's his pizza Thumb's Up!

2007-01-08T18:22:00.000-08:00

Yummy Pizza!

2007-01-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Today marks the first time I tried the vegan cheese we sell at our local co-op. I made pizzas for us. Mark who has always hated cheese, had a little of the mozzarella on his. His pizza (called the Mark) on the left has roasted eggplant, sun dried tomatoes, green peppers, mixed olives, and onion. My pizza on the right (called an Erin ;-) has roasted eggplant, sun dried tomatoes, capers, and mushrooms. I have to say I was impressed with the vegan cheese. It's not like I would ever eat it cold on a cracker, but melted on my pizza it was very nice. And thanks for the heads up from my friend who told me to make sure my toppings were on top of the cheese so it would melt.

Poor Meal Planning Week

2007-01-05T00:09:00.000-08:00

Well my weekend is over & we've all been on a steady diet of veggie burgers, salads, and easy dinners. It always amazes me at the number of people who think heating up a veggie burger, slapping it on a bun & washing some veggies for a salad is "cooking". I grew up with my mother making everything from scratch for dinner most nights. I'm not saying that we do, we both work long weeks, but I do usually try to either make our dinner every night & keep it simple or make a huge pot of something & feed us leftovers for the week. We both believe that processed food is bad. So I have felt guilty, but the holidays have worn us both out. At least I got Mark to voluntarily eat his veggies 2 nights in a row :-)
We have recently discovered the wonders of collard greens. I've had them before & loved them, just never made them. I plan to include them in our meals at least once a week now. A little white vinegar, a little malt vinegar, a little sugar, some browned onion...YUM! that was yesterday. Today we had roasted asparagus, a recipe I got from one of the best cooking sites out there Italianfoodforever.com. Roast asparagus & then drizzle with balsamic right before serving. I also served eggplant. Now for someone who has been a vegetarian for 28 years of his life & a vegan for the last 3...you'd think he would love his veggies. He does not. I personally just love eggplant baked in the oven. He does not. So I used a little egg replacer & breaded them. Of course he loved the eggplant.
Wow...I totally got off my tangent of being a lazy cook. Well besides these tasty veggies, I've served us veggie burgers, salad, and....*gasp* waffle fries.
But I have big hopes for next week...after I've rested with a holiday free weekend.
I'm planning a tempeh picatta with vegan spaetzle and probably some roasted asparagus (i'm an asparagus junky) and maybe some brussel sprouts.
Well night all. I'm off to cuddle with my puppies & veggie hating vegan husband.

Clarence is a Mama's Boy

2007-01-02T19:30:00.000-08:00

Need I say more?

New Year's Puppies

2007-01-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

Well, we feel asleep last night before midnight, but lucky for us, Pearl woke us up just in time to announce the new year as the yahoos in our neighborhood were shooting off fireworks. Thanks Pearl! Don't let her innocent look fool you, she is the most devious dog I have ever met. But we still love her.

We just got our digital camera yesterday & still haven't found out how to get rid of the devil eyes. Sorry.

Vegan New Years!

2007-01-01T12:12:00.000-08:00

My husband has been vegan for 3 years & I was up until recently only a vegetarian. This is my first all vegan cocktail party. I really wanted to keep in the spirit of a true canape cocktail theme with our appetizers. We found vegan feta at this market in Vancouver, and it tasted very realistic. I used that to make these Martha Stewart canapes with le puy lentils and roasted red peppers. They are on the blue plate. I also make my own mini tortilla shells and filled them with my guacamole. They were very popular. At the same market we found the feta we found this delicious non soy based vegan pate....we got the curry flavor. It was really good. I'm hoping our Community Co-op can start carrying it. On the green plate we made this yummy cilantro wasabi non dairy sour cream & put it on tamari rice crackers. That was finished with edamame. On on the white plate we made artichoke puffs. All in all we were very happy with our party. Clarence our Akita/Shepherd loved the artichoke puffs we found out...bad dog :-) If anyone is interested in any of the recipes we used, let me know. I'd be happy to share.

My parents very nicely made some vegan spinach dip to share with us and an awesome antipasto salad.