Yummy tofu

I love food, love, love, love it. And I am constantly thrilled with
the variety of choices that I find when I go to Trader Joes and Whole
Foods. Today I had a baked terriaki tofu sandwhich on a whole wheat
bun with tomato. Yummy, topped with a little veganaise and hummus.

Guinness

Guinness is doing well in foster care. He has gained weight and filled
out nicely. He sleeps on the couch at night and is crated when I'm
away from home. He's a really nice solid boy. We are very glad we
took the chance on a scraggly dog. His coat is a nice rich mahogany
with slight brindling.

Tug Boat

Isn't there always room for one more? When the animal shelter asked us to consider a couple of dogs that were coming to their end of availablity we had to go check. We met Tug Boat who is is just likehis name suggests. He's a short stocky dog who looks like he could tow a boat. He's actually much smaller than his pictures portray at only about 40-45 lbs. He is about knee high. His coat is SEAL, it is neither brown nor black. It is darker down his back than on his sides. We think he might have a little bit of staffordshire bull terrier mixed in with his pit bull because he looks like someone took a full sized pit bull and put him in the dryer. His face is a little rounder and muzzle a bit shorter and his ears are a little bit smaller. His bone structure is a bit delicate. He's too tall of course to be a staffy but those few characteristics give us an idea there could be a hint there.

Tug has a nice personality. He's very wiggly and happy to meet everyone. He hasn't met a single person that hasn't been his very best friend. He is just a wiggle monster when he's around people. He has been fine with other dogs so far and he has met a few both in the shelter and out. He seems concerned when meeting a new dog as if he is not sure how it's going to go. If the other dogs are friendly he breathes a sigh of relief. He seems like he may have had some negative experiences with other dogs in his past. He was a bit reactive to cats but responsive to correction and easily focused back on his person.

Tug also has a three to four inch scar across the front of his neck where it looks like a collar had begun to grow into his skin. Most likely when he was a puppy and began to outgrow his collar while no- one noticed.

Guinness's progress

He is looking so much better. The hair is growing back on his face,
his body is filling out. He is past his skin infection. He is happy!

Easy Vegan Chili

Super easy to make on a cold day. Get a 2 quart crock pot and
1 can of pinto beans (can use black beans or kidney beans)
1 can of petite diced tomatos
1/2 bag of vegan crumbles
1/2 large sweet onion
Chili powder and red chilis to taste

Cook in the crock pot for several hours until it has a nice
consistency. You can start it in the morning and let it cook all day
until you are ready to eat it later in the afternoon or for dinner.
Stir occasionally to make sure things aren't stuck to the sides.

fearful dogs

Here is a good website for socializing fearful dogs
www.fearfuldogs.com

Real "Russian" Tea

Russian Tea recipe:

3 lemons (about 3/4 cups)
3 oranges (about 1 3/4 cups from juice oranges)
2 slices pineapple
1 teaspoon cloves
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (use beet sugar or evaporated cane juice to make it vegan)
8 cups water
8 regular tea bags

Squeeze lemons and oranges and set juice aside. Boil water and pour
over lemon/orange rinds, pineapple, cloves, sugar and tea (I've also
boiled the water in the pot, added these things and taken it off of
the heat to steep). Let sit for 5 minutes then add juice. Strain to
remove rinds, pulp, cloves and pineapple slices. You can store in the
refrigerator but don't reheat to a boil, just warm and serve.