Hi there, Reader

Welcome back to another end-of-the-month catch-up! This meme that keeps popping up in my Facebook feed lately says everything about my life of late...😆

Things are a bit up in the air here. Chester finally had surgery on Wednesday and came home yesterday. At the moment he's on morphine and completely away with the fairies.

Surgery went well but there's a very long recovery period (16 weeks) and a full program of meds, physio, and rehab to work through with him every day.

It's a lot and I don't know what the next few months here at AVV are going to look like. We'll have to take it as it comes, but luckily there are always recipes in the archives that could use some love so I'll try to keep up with the emails regardless.

I am so very grateful that I work for myself from home and can take as much time as I need to be a full-time doggy nurse and physio. In this downtime though, visiting my website, using my recipes, scrolling around for a bit, and sharing my content with your friends/family will really help to keep the lights on!

Let's take a look back at some of this month's highlights on AVV!

MARCH'S MOST POPULAR RECIPE 🏆

VEGAN IRISH STEW

This recipe has been most popular by a mile this month!

Emily says: "I have made A LOT of stews in my life...both vegan and non-vegan. I regularly try new Irish Stew recipes because I am always searching for the perfect one. My search is over. This turned out FANTASTIC. " ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Sammy says: "This is by far the best stew I've eaten EVER! OMG thank you so so much for such a scrumptious meal! I'll be making this so often I'll be sick of it!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Donxi says: "Made it 3 times now and can now say this is the mother of all stews, I lovee it. My friends and family do too.” ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

PUBLISHED/UPDATED IN MARCH 🏆
(in case you missed them the 1st time around)

THINGS I'M LOVING ❤️

✨Pamela Anderson's new cooking show"Pamela's Cooking With Love". It's filmed not far from where I live on Vancouver Island. She has a different professional chef join her for every episode and they cook gorgeous vegan food. You'll have to look up what channel it's on wherever you are in the world. Here in Canada, it's on Flavour Network and Stack TV.

✨The Begin Again Podcast hosted by Davina McCall. It's so good! It's all about embracing your midlife era with guests sharing their stories of growth, transformation, and rediscovery. The topics are so wide-ranging including everything from menopause, losing the love of your life, cancer, diet culture, nutrition, alcohol, etc. It's honestly so well done, informative, and moving. I look forward to the new episode every week. Here's the link to it on Apple podcasts.

WHAT I'VE BEEN COOKING👩‍🍳

I've lost my creative mojo of late and have mostly been surviving on giant pots of soup that last a few days (faves are my potato soup, black bean soup, sweet potato soup, and broccoli almond soup). Usually with piles of homemade bread. Sourdough when I'm organized enough to feed my starter. I find the whole process of making bread very therapeutic.

I also made my carrot cake recipe for the first time in years and had totally forgotten how delish it is! And there's a fabulous new recipe that is scheduled to wing its way to you next week, and I'm so excited about it. If you're a dill pickle lover you should be too! (If you're not you'll have to sit this one out).

⭐️ FAVE READER REVIEWS ⭐️

For a chance to have your comment featured, rate & leave feedback on the recipes you love on my website!

HEALTHY VEGAN BISCUITS

"These are unbelievable. It took me no time to make these at all. I could not believe how fluffy and soft they were...Absolutely recommend these for anyone that is looking for a biscuit. I used them with vegan pot pie instead of pie crust. Fantastic." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Angela.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH CURRY

"Thanks so much for this fabulous recipe! It was very quick to make, yet the flavors were really delicious and complex. Big thumbs up from my entire family!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️" - Tiana.

EASY SAVOURY RICE

"In our house, it is fondly known as "Nice Rice." I've been making this recipe for years. It's so simple and easy to make, so tasty too. A mouth full with a cherry tomato in it is "Jackpot!" As the only vegan in a house full of meat eaters, I sneak this vegan recipe in every other week and I never get any complaints. Nice Rice is an absolute winner in our house. I have made it so many times I don't even need the recipe anymore. Thought it was time to come and give it the 5-star rating it deserves." ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️" - Nikki.

PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL

"Made this Peanut Butter Oatmeal for breakfast this morning, absolutely delicious! Made as directed, it was so easy! I love having a new breakfast item, this will be on repeat. Thanks, Mel!" ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️" - Mandy.