25-Across: I got that one right. Our ailing Lhasa Apso had a vet appointment on Friday morning. I slept poorly the night before, finally falling into a chasm of vivid dreams just before dawn. I awoke with only a little time to brush teeth and dress before Macy and I had to leave the house….
A Walk with Kai (or, How a Siberian Husky Depantsed Me in Front of the Plate Glass Windows at McDonald’s)
Like most bad ideas, this one seemed reasonable at first. Kai, a young, rambunctious husky, needed his daily walk. I, a middle-aged, sedentary human, needed to walk him, but I also needed some motivation. Frankly, an hour spent being catapulted between every mailbox, street sign, and hydrant in the neighborhood isn’t as much fun as…
Raves and Faves 14
Volunteer squash growing where the compost bin used to be. In my backyard, the accidents grow better than the plants I buy on purpose. ♦ ♦ ♦ Bologna, baloney — whatever you call it — makes a fine sandwich on whole wheat bread spread with a little real mayo. I haven’t had one in a very, very long…
Meatloaf Pucks
I really tried to think of a better name for this delicious entrée, but Meatloaf Pucks just seems appropriate. Obviously, marketing is not my forté. As a liberal arts major, I never set foot in the UALR** business building during college days. But God has a sense of humor, so he surrounded me in life with…
Raves and Faves 13
Hummingbirds at my backyard feeder. I’ll miss them when they migrate south soon. ♦ ♦ ♦ Sunset-colored roses ♦ ♦ ♦ Spritzing on French perfume before shopping for meatloaf ingredients. ♦ ♦ ♦ Dispatching another pile of papers on my desk. I see a cleared space. ♦ ♦ ♦ The love of this lhasa apso who hates nearly everyone else on the planet….
Fudgy Brownies
No pan of brownies is safe. No 9×13-inch cake can escape. No baked good with a side will survive this fiend’s preference for dessert from the center of the pan. She rips the heart out of them all without remorse, because she doesn’t like crispy edges. This menace has a name, but I call her…
Peach Jam
I’m on my hands and knees on the concrete floor of my garage with 17 peach pits and a hammer. I have already accidentally bludgeoned the whorled imprint of a peach pit into my favorite maple cutting board, which hacks me off and makes relocating this project from the kitchen a necessity. As I smash…
Watermelon Margaritas
Quick, make these before the last watermelon rolls out of sight to make way for pumpkins and corn sheaves at your grocery store. (It’s happening now. I saw chocolate turkeys on the shelf last Saturday, and that’s just wrong. What is the rush?!) It’s hot on my backyard deck – 116°F. this very minute, according…
Glorious Chicken And Squash Bake
A recent Sunday morning started with an abrupt end to a languorous, late sleep, the rare kind I would have killed for when my kids were small. Bo the cat was nestled in the crook of my arm. Without my thick glasses, I struggled to focus in the general vicinity of the person standing next…
I have fava beans. I have Chianti. I just need an entree.
My favorite fancy food store stocked fresh fava beans this week. I’ve never tasted them, so, in the spirit of cooking adventure, I picked up a package, along with some other groceries. At the checkstand, the woman ringing up my order examined the curiously large and lumpy pods and commented about the movie that made…
Cookbook Wall 