Exactly six weeks from now will mark the one year anniversary of the day when I took complete leave of my mind and succumbed to Cecilia's plea that I drive her and Julia to Slaughter to check out a Catahoula/Chocolate Lab puppy the West Feliciana Parish Animal Shelter was having fostered at a local farm. She was desperate for the experience of having a male dog who would worship her as Boogie, my late, beloved, male mutt, worshiped me. It is true that not one of our existing four female dogs was devoted solely to Cecilia-worship. Lovebug, my bitchy four pound Chihuahua, is devoted to me; with three legs, one working eye, dreadlocks and an under bite, so-ugly-she's-cute Poppy is all about Andrew; and Happy and Penny Lane distribute their attention equally among the three of us.

We left Slaughter with a 9 pound, green-eyed pudgeball with a mottled golden and brown coat. Cecilia named him Bonzo after John "Bonzo" Bonham, the late drummer for Led Zeppelin.

Today is Bonzo's birthday. He is one year old.

Living with five dogs —five primarily indoor dogs—

The pound cake was much too delicious to share with the cat—"No, Mikey!! Don't do it, Mikey!!" followed by various NSFW swear words has become a common soundbite in our household.

By Wendy Waren, Louisiana Restaurant Association

I first met Nealy and Keith Frentz in 2009 when they were recognized by a culinary magazine as rising star young chefs and I have watched them grow personally and professionally ever since. Like many young, modern, talented  chefs they are looking to take their careers to the next level, a desire that was really put on steroids for Nealy when she recently recorded a segment for a soon-to-be nationally televised cooking show. "I just felt myself come alive in front of the camera," Nealy told me. "It felt so right; I just knew that's where I've always wanted to be."  This is a desire I simply cannot relate to; I feel as though a vampire has stolen my soul every time someone so much as takes my picture — but that's a story for another day.

            Yesterday I watched Nealy and Keith take one gigantic step closer to realizing their dream when they won the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board's Louisiana Seafood Cook-off  and Keith claimed the title of King of Louisiana Seafood.

In perfect rhythm with the seasons, farmers markets provide opportunities for the purchase of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, often harvested the very same morning.

The resurgence of open-air markets throughout Louisiana reflects a growing trend toward simplicity and knowing what we are eating. There truly is no substitute for shaking hands with the farmer who grew your market bounty.

As I am packing up  to hit the road on a fact finding mission for the next issue of Louisiana Kitchen it struck me: I am doing EXACTLY what I have always wanted to do. Near the beginning of my "career" I was a regional grunt for both Time magazine and The New York Times. This means I was the unfortunate soul who received the telephone calls at 2 am with instructions to get my ass out of bed and do things like drive into hurricanes or cross state lines to investigate trail derailments. I roved around the region and discovered all sorts of interesting things but nothing so fascinating as the cultural mishmash we have within the boundaries of Louisiana. There was born my desire to conduct a thorough, ongoing investigation into Louisiana's cultural gifts.

I have also been a lifelong participant in and admirer of the culinary arts.