There’s nothing like a summer thunderstorm. I missed them while we were in L.A. The smell of rain, the breeze that pushes all that hot air away, the negative ions making you wonder why you’re suddenly so happy. The flickering and rumbling in the sky is pretty cool too.
Yup, it was a hot one this weekend (as evidenced by this annoyed kitty), so I was reminded why one of my best friends in the world is my toaster oven. Such a tiny little device, but it heats up fast, cooks my food fast, and keeps my kitchen cool. I’ve cooked pretty much everything in my toaster oven—I even tried to make a pizza in there once. It didn’t go well, but I think I just tried to make the crust too thick.
Here’s a snack I’ve been eating all my life, only now with Tofutti instead of cream cheese. It’s just Ritz crackers, Tofutti, and olives. Two minutes to prepare…and no heat required!
We had a few salads over the weekend. This one’s got croutons I made (in the toaster oven) from some oldish homemade sun-dried tomato bread.
Here’s a blendy coffee drink we improvised. We used espresso powder, cocoa, sugar, vanilla, a tray of ice cubes, and unsweetened soymilk. It would have been a whole lot easier starting with vanilla soymilk, but we didn’t have any and were already in siesta mode, which meant getting some was out of the question. I ordered this espresso powder from some cooking site, but I used to get it all the time in Brooklyn, at C-Town, the grocery store that always smelled like a cross between mold and urine—and this was the nicer one in Greenpoint, not the crappy one in South Williamsburg where they made me check my messenger bag and I had to fight off the little Dominican kids who tried to bag my groceries for tips. Anyway, I think it’s pretty funny that I can’t find this stuff in regular stores that don’t smell like pee but I can order it online from some schmancy gourmet store.
And yes, that’s a Pom iced-tea bottle/glass. I refuse to buy glasses because I live with one of the biggest klutzes in the world and mass-produced glasses are the most breakable things in the world. If I’m going to buy iced tea, these call to me for their handy containers (and they’re tasty). The lids snap on easily too, so they’re great for taking juice and stuff to work or storing chocolate chips. I was so bummed a year or so ago when I heard about the animal testing Pom was supporting (like you can’t convince people to drink juice?), but thanks to a whole lot of e-mails/petitions to Pom and Whole Foods, they promised to stop. I only mention Whole Foods because I think it was when they finally threatened to stop carrying Pom’s products that Pom gave in. Many boycott e-mail campaigns feel shallow because they’re to companies I don’t support anyway, but this was one I could write a personal e-mail and honestly say that I want to use your product but cannot.
How did you make the espresso drink look frothy? Do you know any coffee shops that make good vegan iced coffee drinks?
a whole lot of blending. we had to keep adding more stuff to get over the soy taste of the plain soymilk. the consistency was super smooth–no ice chunks at all.
i haven’t really bought coffee since i moved here. i’m a cheap bastard and i’ve had so much subpar coffee in my life so we make it at home. when i somehow win a bunch of money and open my little multipurpose space, i promise part of it will be a little vegan cafe.
Excellent! I can’t wait for your shop to open!
Ps. I am going to bike to Voodoo today. Don’t you live nearby?
i’m indecently close to voodoo. if the sun doesn’t wake me up, doughnut whiff does. combined with bread whiff–there’s also a bread manufacturer around here. i once moved to the ocean for the salty breeze, but damn if baked and fried dough ain’t pretty good too.
[...] doesn’t smell at all like mold or urine, I found the instant espresso powder I use in my blendy coffee drink. It was only $3.69—the jar looks tiny, but it goes a long way. I got it at the Uptown one, at [...]