Vegan Mexican Meatball Soup (With A Primal Scream on The Side!)

There is a running joke in this house that my "best" cooking happens when I am most "stressed" for time. Seems I have been more and more stressed for time lately, and generally "stressed" overall. That's how this little pot of a meal came about--I looked at the clock, it was nearly six and hubby was due home: SOON! I did what any stressed wife in my predicament does, grabbed the cutting board, an onion, garlic, celery and carrots and said: it's in god's hands now. (Well, not really, but I sort of felt providence had something to do with the dinner finale.)

Missouri Dog Lovers Take Action NOW! Contact Governor Jay Nixon to Veto Revised Prop B

This is one of our rescued girls who gets to live out her life in our home as one of the family. She is one of the lucky ones. We do not, nor have we EVER considered her: livestock!

Front page news: Missouri bill takes bite out of Prop B. It has come to pass in this state late yesterday afternoon that the will of the people was overturned. Our state just voted to weaken the provisions in voter-approved Prop B which was designed to protect animals from cruelty and abuse by greedy money-grabbing breeders. Dogs living out their entire lives in stacked wire cages on top of other dogs with barely enough room to turn around . . . will sadly remain in those cages if our governor does not veto this bill. (Here is a link to the governor's website.) It actually came down to a debate in which luddites ruled. I could not make this up if I tried. I am more and more beginning to think all that Wide Open Space where the "rurals" live may in fact contribute to delinquency and group think ignorance. Perhaps it's in the water. It's puppies! How can you sleep at night--you just voted to NOT. Help. Puppies! The animal advocates in Missouri will NOT take this lying down, as I'm sure our country brethren would like us to do. Below are some choice statements made during the debate regarding puppies and dogs and why Missouri lawmakers overturned the voter-approved Proposition B:

*Dogs are property.
*Dogs don't have rights.
*Folks in the city pamper their pets, while [we] agricultural people view dogs as livestock. (LIVESTOCK?!)
*If this thing [Proposition B] goes into effect, thousands of people are out of work, they lose their jobs and they lose their investment. (Pardon me while I wipe away a tear and consider that it is JUST those types who practice dog breeding to THAT degree that breeding puppies could support a family business who are probably--no make that most likely--breeding them so fast and so often that NOTHING good could come of it! Nothing.)

That's all I have to say on the matter this morning as I stare into the eyes of our beloved rescue--a purebred, suffering from an illness most likely caused from overbreeding. I've already sent my letter to the governor asking that he please veto this absurdity.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies (from Alice Medrich's: Chewy, Gooey, Crispy, Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies!)

The challenge was: bake something to ease the pain. Emotional pain. This has been a rough two weeks. Not only have we dealt with the recent illness of our baby girl, my husband received a bit of bad news Monday after a nearly four hour doctor appointment. Yes, I freaked out after the email came in mid-afternoon: Still at doc. WHAT?! So then I called him. Then wept. I can't go into it now, but will say, we have a long summer ahead of us. We are still absorbing the news. I booked a flight for my sister to come visit at the end of the month. Sister time is mandatory right now. Eating three of these cookies straight from the oven last night was mandatory, too. It didn't solve our problems, but boy did they ease at least some of the pain.

For The Love of A Rescued Great Pyrenees (A Life Lesson)

Last week was a replay of something I've been through before. While husband was out of town, I noticed a change in our baby girl. (She's not the baby per se, she is one of our oldest rescues). There was a lethargy. There was a slight reluctance to eat. There was a cough. There was a stumble. I knew in my heart something had happened or was happening. I waited and watched. I monitored. I called our vet Friday morning. I said I needed to bring our girl in, but her sissy and brother needed to come too because I didn't want her to feel like she had something wrong with her (dogs have a keen sense of moods and changes and can sense anxiety) --so I loaded the car and off we went--just like we were all going in for our routine check-up. Remarkably, her brother and sister behaved really well during the car ride, me trying to reassure that all would be alright. Our baby girl hates cars. Gets car sick, always has.  

Vegan Cauliflower Soup with Sourdough Grilled Cheese Croutons

Yesterday was such a gorgeous day here in St. Louis, temps in the upper sixties, crystal blue skies. Perfect weather. It was hard to stay in one spot for very long. I was up and about, went for a run (my first in quite some time because finally I think my lungs can handle it) plus I took the time to just explore the backyard with the kids (the four-legged ones)--they loved the weather, too.

Vegan King Ranch Casserole (No, it's not made with Ranch Dressing. . . Or is it?)

Where is the King Ranch and why are they credited with this casserole? Apparently a reporter (or two) from several Texas newspapers have asked the good folks at the King Ranch this very question and no one there can claim its origins being from their ranch. I'm sure Texas being Texas, they just thought it belonged there. For all we know some homemaker from Wyoming threw this together in a desperate attempt to feed her family. All my taste buds are jumping into June, but the flexing temps outside dictate casserole. What the casserole lacks in looks, it completely makes up for in taste. If it bakes, browns and melts, it works. And truthfully, more often than not, when I have no idea what we'll be having for dinner, nine times out of ten it ends up being a casserole (and the vestiges of my pantry).

Vegan Boston Cream Pie (How A Southern Gal Let A Yankee Cake Win Her Over)

It all started Saturday. This is the night we reserve for "getting-our-money's-worth-out-of-that-cable- subscription-we-sometimes-regret-having" (and we don't even have HBO, 'kay?). Inevitably we find ourselves oogling the "food" stuff--and then, finally we land on Food Network options (they're free, well sorta). Bobby Flay had a Boston Cream Pie Throwdown. So we both agreed, we needed to see this.

Sea Glass Basket Weave Cowl (My First Knitting Pattern!)

When I first began knitting, it was scarves, scarves, scarves. I couldn't get enough of them. I thought I had conquered the greatest thing: knitting! Forgetting, of course, that women had been making things out of string to cover the body since the dawn of time. But for me, I was bringing "grandma" back. (Because Grandma was the one who originally taught me to knit.) I then graduated to the "joined" knitting club. That is, I was now able to "knit in the round"--using one needle, not the dreaded two-sticks. I was in LOVE with knitting this way because this got rid of that gawdawful "purl". I hate to purl. I was in heaven. So I knit tubes. Lots of tubes. With every intention of creating a top of some sort. Some day. When I learned how to make sleeves. Or attach sleeves. Or just make more tubes. 

It's Days Like These (Watching Snow, Listening to Garrison Keillor, Knitting My Emmaline Sweater)

Really?. . . All day? Plus "thunder". We had Thunder Snow today.

All of this left me confused, unsure of what I should do? Can't garden. Tried baking a cake and hated it. (With great shame, I must admit.) I totally blame the weather. And menopause.

My Emmaline sweater. Almost a year later, but she's coming around. I love this sweater! Easy to try on as you knit it--from the top down.

Vegan Apple Crumb Pie (Move over cupcake. . . Hello Pie!)

When I woke up this morning, it was snowing! Two days ago, my air conditioner was on, I was in flip-flops and short-sleeves (not because I was having a hot flash either--though those DO happen, but just not this week. It was eighty-three degrees!)--that's why I was in short sleeves! However, yesterday, we had to have a fire in the fireplace. (I woke up and the house was sixty degrees. . . good god!) Is it any wonder I'm still not fully mended over my winter-early-spring-nearly-killed-me-virus I contracted over two weeks ago? Though, I will say that I am kinda used to not really being able to smell very well, so relying heavily on "visual eating" has helped keep me in the kitchen.