Two Months

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...

and still missing my bear so bad...

Goodbye Friend

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!

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

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!

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

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.