I’m forever amazed (and amused) at the degree to which the rat terriers – particularly Rennie and Peedee – are able to bend and twist their noses whilst sniffing a scent on the breeze. So flexible, it’s almost as if they’re made of rubber!

I mean holy Ceiling Cat, Rennie must have her nose cocked at a 15-20 degree angle here! You can practically see an invisible pair of fingers twisting it to the side.

I didn’t manage to photograph an equally impressive example for Peedee yesterday, but this one gives you an idea:

That little pink strip running down the middle of his nose? It should be perfectly vertical. His poo sensors must be kicking in, for it to be all off-kilter like that.

That is all.

When the love you feel is against the laws of those in control, then love is a political act.

- Mary Borsellino, “Your Heart is a Weapon the Size of Your Fist”

This essay appears in the Smart Pop anthology The Girl Who Was On Fire: Your favorite authors on Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games Trilogy (2011), and is titled after this piece of graffiti, which is stenciled on a wall in Palestine.

…and Hitler was a vegetarian.*

Oh yes he did. STEPHEN TOTALLY WENT THERE!
 

 
* Actually, Hitler’s alleged “vegetarianism” is up for debate. Still, given the glee with which defensive omnivores throw this irrelevant “factoid” in our faces, Stephen’s point is greatly appreciated.

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boil down to this:

GRRRRRRRR!!!!!

He’s a grumpy old fart, just like mom!

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Me: Okay, the afternoon sun is shining on your side of the house.
IT’S PICTURE TIME!

Lemmy: Silly human. The only times I recognize are “mealtime” and “playtime” and, since I don’t see any nomz around, YOU WILL ENTERTAIN ME.

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This dish is a mashup of two of my favorite cheesy potato recipes, namely: Snarky Vegan’s Tater Tot Casserole with Daiya (which also inspired in me two different pizza pies, holla!) and my very own Cheesy Baked Potatoes. I had a bag of Yukon Gold potatoes that needed to be used up, but was craving a tater tot casserole, and voilà!: The Cheesy Vegan Potato Casserole was born.

Now to figure out how best to put this masterpiece on a pizza! (That’s the only way to improve upon a masterpiece, dontchaknow. EVERYTHING’S BETTER WITH PIZZA!)

Cheesy Vegan Potato Casserole

Ingredients

salt
water
olive oil

1/2 onion (or an entire onion, if you prefer)
7 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes (or the spudly equivalent)
4 cups mixed vegetables (we used a frozen mix of corn, carrots, green beans and Lima beans)
3 cups Daiya cheddar cheese (or the vegan cheese of your choice; for a healthier dish, sub in a nutritional yeast “cheeze” sauce)
1 package (12 slices) Lightlife Smart Bacon

3 tablespoons margarine
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 cups soy milk

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This week I spent a few (much-needed) lazy afternoons outside, alternately napping and chasing the dogs around the yard, camera in hand. I can’t remember why, but I thought it might be fun to take some “macro” shots of the dogs and all their adorable little body parts: eyes, noses, behinds, ears, legs, tummies.* (Lever 2000, holla!) Now I realize that this might make for an awfully cool art project – print and display my favorites in uniform sizes and frames, arranging them on a single wall to make one larger exhibit. I just need to find an available wall!

And more pictures of Ralphie: of all five dogs, the 13-year-old, one-eyed wiener dog proved hardest to catch on camera. Go figure.

Ralphie butt, on the move!
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Not very macro, but here’s a decent look at Ralphie’s missing eye.
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Ralphie shoulder, complete with extra skin rolls!
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So remember last week when I shared that super-awesome Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Ice Cream recipe? And I suggested that, for maximum nom, you should add the buttercream to the ice cream batter near the end of the cycle? Or, better yet, stir it in later? Well, I have to confess … I WAS TOTALLY GUESSING, Y’ALL. (Probably this means that you should NEVER FOLLOW MY ANY OF MY RECIPES, EVER! JOKING!)

You see, with that first, experimental batch, I added the frosting in the middle of the cycle, giving the machine enough time to blend ice cream with frosting – all smooth-like, little beads of fat excepted. (I encountered a similar phenomenon with the cookie dough ice cream from Wheeler del Torro’s The Vegan Scoop, fwiw.) Like I said before, weird but delicious.

Anyhow, after that snafu, I merely ASSUMED that adding the buttercream to the ice cream after it was done processing would better help preserve the integrity of each. ASSUMED but not CONFIRMED, at least not prior to blogging the recipe. So it’s a good thing that yesterday’s experiment CONFIRMED it! IRREFUTABLY! (Or else I’d be a LIAR LIAR YOGA PANTS ON FIRE!) Just look at those amazing swirls of awesomeness!
 

 
Instead of vanilla buttercream, I tried chocolate – both because the contrast in colors highlights the swirls, and also ’cause I’ve never made chocolate buttercream before! But again, you can go with any ice cream/buttercream flavor combination: green tea and matcha! vanilla and strawberry! chocolate and almond! cherry and carob! USE YOUR IMAGINATION, PEOPLES! And your fancy flavor extracts!*

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“The Cruelty Continues Unabated” – In this four-panel strip, an unassuming human explains just how nefarious his bovine kin are:

1) I went cow-tipping once. But it’s harder than you think.

2) I got a running sprint and tried to knock a cow over, but he didn’t budge.

3) So then I reached for his tail. And he bit me!

4) Cows are MEAN.

Indeed.

CC image via flickr user jon.bell.