Food, Cold Brewed Coffee and Cats!

The last job I had in Erie PA. before moving back to Seattle was at a "private" club that was half bar, and half restaurant. I use the word restaurant loosely. It was a restaurant in the same way McDonalds is a restaurant. But, the people that were members just acted like it was just so fancy. It was both scary and hilarious! Anyway, one of the "chef's" specialties was a chicken or steak salad, which featured a bed of iceberg lettuce that came in a bag as big as me with a handful of carrots, and a handful of red cabbage to be mixed in. After the lettuce came two nice big quarters of mealy tomato, two limp slices of dying cucumber, a gargantuan handful of cheese, a huge handful of fries, and then the star, either fried chicken nuggets sliced to look pretty, or slices of what I can only assume is the lowest grade steak available. All to be drenched with your dressing of choice, most common a ranch/I-talian combo, or a Blue cheese/French combo. Always on the side, cause you know, it's a salad! Ha ha. It was very popular with the ladies who wanted a "light" dinner, never mind that the salad was probably more calories than their hubby's burger. I decided to kind of recreate that monstrosity vegan style, but also a little less decadent.

This was Romaine, shredded carrots, green onion, some Alexia's waffle fries, and a spicy vegan Blue cheese. I just combined some FYH Blue cheese with some Tapatio. I had a handful of those fries in the freezer, and I needed to use them because I don't like opened things in the freezer too long, I can always taste the freezer burn. That is not how I prefer the Bern.  I left off any vegan cheese because all I have is daiya shreds and I think we all know it's best not to eat those cold!

I also made some cold brewed coffee for the first time! I get random cravings for iced lattes in the summer. Especially now that I live in Seattle, everyone and their sister has a latte in their hand! I haven't owned a coffee pot in years, and I don't want to own one, so this cold brew method is absolutely perfect for me! I just put in half a cup of ground coffee in this big mason jar, and then put some water in. I didn't measure, and I had no idea what I was doing. I've forgotten how to make coffee! Anyway, once it looked right, I just let it "brew" overnight, and then strained it. It is sooooooo good! Why have I never known you could make coffee this way? Am I a dolt? I used to be a barista for crying out loud! Anyway, it's so much cheaper than a coffee shop, and it was super easy. You could make a big jug, keep it in your fridge, and just make yourself your own little latte before work! With all the delicious vegan creamers out there, it's a nice little treat! And, I learned that coconut sugar totally dissolves in cold beverages! I'm super excited that I learned how to do this!

It's been soooo long since I've had mashed potatoes and gravy! For awhile this was something I had more than once a week, even after my potato cleanse. I had the tiniest bit of coconut cream left over, so I added about a tablespoon give or take to the potatoes as I was mashing, along with some nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. That small amount of coconut cream added all the richness and fatiness you could ever want in mashed potatoes. I've been enjoying using coconut cream instead of canned coconut milk. It's cheaper, and since it is sooooooo much thicker and richer, a little goes a long way. I got four uses out of the last can I opened. And the odd thing is that it's usually cheaper than canned coconut milk. That's my budget tip of the day!
And last but not least today is Caturday, so I can't not leave you with some cuteness!

If you ever notice, Kanye(the smaller one) is in eighty to ninety percent of the cuddle pictures. It's because she really likes to cuddle. She always finds a way to wedge herself in, and since she's the smallest it isn't too difficult. And Chunk is just happy when no one is knocking him around!!
Happy Caturday!