Al Fresco Art Club, Jan 24, 2021 -- Our First Snow Day

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Today was our first snow day, which means that the club had to meet in our kitchen.

This is my attempt to paint from a photograph I took in 2011 at the Letterman Digital Arts Center in the Presidio of San Francisco. We walked our dogs there at least once a month and afterwards would drive to Clement Street to visit The Green Apple book store and grab some delicious banh mi from Little Paris, which is no longer there.

In the picture you can see our three boys. The big Staffie is Mojo, the Pomeranian is Chico, and the Pug is Taco. Mojo was our dignified gentleman. Chico was a bossy and angry alpha tyrant in a seven-pound body. Taco was a food addict who became angry when he suspected that anyone else was getting secret food treats. In the picture he thinks that Mojo is getting special treatment.

Chore Day, Jan 23, 2021 -- Chores and Cooking a WFPB Cheese-like Sauce

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Taco, on a bench at the Letterman Digital Arts Center, San Francisco, 2011. In this pose Taco is staring at our Staffie, whom he hates.

Today’s chores were the same as last week’s chores. Truly, there must be a loop in time that repeats on a weekly basis: laundry, vacuuming, cooking. It’s not a rut — it’s a groove.

I cooked up a batch of a highly-touted vegan cheese-like sauce. The creator guaranteed that even carnivores and omnivores would mistake the sauce for actual queso. My review: it’s okay, but, as a former cheese-eater, I wasn’t fooled. Listen up, vegan Youtubers: overselling a recipe raises my expectations so high that I may feel that an otherwise decent recipe doesn’t live up to the hype. Skip the sales pitch — you’re preaching to the choir, remember — and let the food speak for itself.