I'm speaking at Google next week.

Ever since they invited me to come give a talk as part of their Authors@Google series, I've been trying to figure out what I'd talk about. I knew I wanted to share my story of how I went from being a lawyer to the happy herbivore, but I kept feeling like something was missing. That a part of my story was left unsaid.

I fell into my culinary career and believe me …

I always feel like I have 50 things going on. Granted, a lot of it is self-inflicted because I'm always coming up with projects or tasks that I need to do, should do and less often, want to do. I've also been freelancing a little here and there so random projects crop up on a moments notice and as my publisher finishes putting my new cookbook together, I'll get an email asking for another picture, a clarification or some other …

Here are some of the foods coming out of my kitchen this week:

Tofu Ricotta Pizzas (using whole wheat pitas and pasta sauce). This was a quick & filling lunch on a very busy day. 

"Italian" Salad -- lettuce, tomatoes and leftover tofu ricotta. 

I used canned pumpkin instead of applesauce in my Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuit recipe to make fat-free, whole-wheat pumpkin-raisin biscuits!!

These burgers are from my new cookbook, Everyday Happy Herbivore -- just 4 ingredients! They're based off of …

Chickpea tacos are one of the most popular recipes on happyherbivore.com and one of my favorite healthy snacks (the chickpeas are great for nibbling!) Needless to say, I was thrilled when Michele (a.k.a a vegetarian who hates tofu) asked to guest post about them, showing how she made small changes to make the recipe "her own." That's what I love about home cooking so much: you can take a recipe and bend it to your palate, desires or simply, what …

Since becoming an ex-pat full time, I've grown more interested in American culture, at least how it is viewed by people of other nationalities. Given the current political climate, and everything that has happened in the U.S. during the past few months, it's been a rather interesting time to live abroad!

My most interesting realization, however, actually happened through one of my sister's experiences. 

Courtney & I

My sister (who still lives in the U.S.), recently became friends with an …