I've never had General Tso's chicken, I can never resist Kung Pao chicken when I am ordering at a Chinese restaurant.  But this recipe is pretty close, so I thought I'd give it a try.  I didn't deep fry the chicken; I sauteed it instead in some oil, then drained the excess oil before finishing the dish.  I did add water chestnuts to it when I made it, since I wasn't serving it over rice. I'm not crazy about it, I like my go-to Kung Pao recipe better. But it was fun trying a new dish. : ) 

It's warm out, and that means it's time to break out the cool and refreshing summer rolls! Made with red leaf lettuce, fresh rice noodles, cucumber, carrot, mango, cilantro, and mint, wrapped in rice paper. The dipping sauce is a spicy peanut sauce with soy, garlic, ginger, sriracha, lime juice, and cilantro. SUPER happy, and hello summer! ♥

I feel like this warrants some explanation, like many of my more, uh, creative projects, but I'm not sure really how one explains a lion costume for a bald dog. The idea started with whimsical hats for humans, like hats that look like sock monkeys, hats that look like dead fish (so on my to-make-someday-list!) and hats that look like lions. I kept looking at the lion hat for humans, but I didn't care for the techniques used in it, or the colors of yarn available for it, and so I kept hesitating on ordering the yarn. While searching for human lion hat alternatives, I came across the pattern for a "King of the Beasts" knitted dog sweater with an attached mane and tail.  It was love at first sight. I ordered the yarn that day, and downloaded the pattern.

I haven't dyed Easter Eggs since I was a kid. I don't know why, I like eating hardboiled eggs, and I love the brightly colored Easter eggs, they are so cheerful.  Last year, I picked up an egg dye kit, but didn't have time to make the eggs and color them, so this year, I saved the trip to the store to buy the dye tablets. ; ) I only made 8 eggs, since I can only eat so many hardboiled eggs. I made a pineapple upside down cake at the same time, so I let the eggs sit in the dye longer than I would have otherwise, and I'm glad I did - the eggs turned out really vibrantly colored!

Today, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments for and against Prop 8, the California State proposition to ban gay marriage. Tomorrow, they will hear the arguments about DOMA, the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.  Many of my friends are supporters of marriage equality, which I certainly appreciate.  Some are wondering why it's such a big deal, this need for same sex marriage. Which I also appreciate.