In Loving Memory of Lady Gwenivere

When I was a little girl we had a huge German Sheppard named Duke. My sister and I would feed him mud pies and he'd bark if the neighborhood kids got too close to our yard. He and our siamese cat Boots And Socks were the only pets we had growing up. We begged my mom over the years, she but never gave in.

Curled up on a couch pillow with her summer puppy cut.

In hindsight I don't blame her, but at the time it seemed so unfair! So I vowed to get a dog as soon as I moved out on my own.

It didn't take long. My first roommate, Nikki, had rescued a lost pekingese and grew very attached by the time she found it's owners. So she was on a mission to find one of her very own. When she found a litter of puppies for sale, I went with her -- just to look! But as soon as I saw those tiny little fluff balls I was in love.

Nikki picked up a little black one, handed her to me and said, "This one's yours."

Kitchen Therapy + Tomatopalooza = Bruchetta and Salsa

It's been a rough few days at Casa de Cagaanan. We have a sick doggie who's getting up there in her years - 15! Over the last week and a half we've made multiple trips to the vet, cleaned up lots of messes and finally invested in one of those pet spot carpet cleaners...

We're crossing our fingers that she will come out of this okay, but in the meantime there's a lot of wait-and-seeing going on.

Last night, after Lady Gwenivere was all taken care of, I decided to finally do something with that giant bowl of tomatoes on my counter, instead of sitting around feeling helpless.

Rice Queen Makes Vegan Orange Chicken

During the college years, Laura and I used to always go to Rice King and order the same thing. I'd order broccoli and beef and she'd get orange chicken and we'd share.

I still love broccoli, but the beef ... not so much.

The orange chicken came with big chunks of bell pepper and carrot. So, when I looked in the fridge tonight and saw those two veggies, I could almost taste our old Rice King favorite.

I decided to try and make it with tempeh instead of chicken. I found a recipe online and changed it up based on what I had on hand and it was pretty scrumptious.

Here's how I did it:

Sushi-Inspired Rolls And Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

I know I say this all the time, but this week I have been trying really hard to get back on track! I've been tracking my points and my workouts and trying to balance it all out. And, so far so good!

Yesterday at dinner time, I needed to make something light but filling. I had picked up some wasabi and pea flavored hummus at the Little Italy Farmers Market that I wanted to use, so I came up with these veggie-filled sushi-inspired collared green rolls. It was the perfect light dinner.

Here's how I did it:

Copy Cat Dinner: Gnocchi with Chunky Vegetable Sauce

It's been a while since I've been excited about something I've cooked - heck, it's been a while since I've cooked!

Life has been hectic lately! But tonight I finally took the time to make dinner and it helped that I knew exactly what I wanted to make. I was inspired by a meal made by my coworker (and friend) Michelle and her husband Dana.

They scored a box of CSA produce from our boss, who was going on vacation and she shared the photo of the pasta they made with lots of the veggies. It looked amazing and I had to copy them since I had all the same veggies in my fridge - waiting to be eaten.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad

The other day we went to a bbq at my sister's house and, of course, I brought lots of veggies to throw on the grill. It was a beautiful sight. Someone even grabbed my phone while I was busy making salad and took a picture so I'd have it for my blog - thanks guys!

We ended up with lots of leftover corn. So the next day, I decided to make a southwestern quinoa salad. It was really easy and delicious! Here's how I did it:

Summer Side Dishes

My friend Shannon is awesome! Not only is she one of the sweetest, prettiest and funniest people I know, she is an amazing graphic designer - she designed our wedding invitations!

And she's tough! She She picked up and moved herself from San Diego to Tuscon a few years ago - all by herself! And just when I thought she couldn't get any cooler - she surprised me by making one of my recipes!!

A Sandwich Even I Could Love

After a long day at work, I wasn't feeling like a very creative cook ... until I looked in the fridge and remembered the big bag of yellow squash from my CSA box!

We also had a bag of wheat hamburger buns. So I decided to grill the squash and make a sandwich. It may not sound that exciting, but I can't get over how good it turned out! And I'm not usually a big fan of sandwiches.