DAY ONE OF PIE MAKING PREP

 Today was a day of action. The first day to get things done. I had my first delivery: food. I have all my ingredients now to make the pies. I am waiting for the pie boxes, pie tins, pie springform pan (I wanted it for Christmas but now can't wait), and ink for my printer. 

I spent part of today planning some more with the help of my brother. Then my cousin helped me make what I call "Calling Card" to let people know where they can find me and who I am. I am going to put it with all the pies. I am also making my logo into stickers to close the pie boxes. Marketing is key!

Tomorrow is clean up and clear out day. I have to clear out the fridge and clear out space in my kitchen. I need to cool down pies, chill them and store them. That is a lot of space and flat space. I don't really have that much space. Tomorrow is the day to make it. Organization is key. I have enough ingredients to make extra pies if I need to. I am ready, I think. All my friends are telling me I am. 

Until tomorrow...

MAKING PIES

 Today I went to the dentist to get my crown put on. I thought it was going to be a normal dental appointment but it turned out to be so much more.

My dentist asked me if I was available to make some pies for her staff. Anyway it turned out that I am now making 5 pies next week. I went through decision making on what types of pies I thought I could make on such short notice, what shopping I had to do and what other things I needed to do to be ready. 

Phone calls were made to people for consultations: how much to charge? how do you make a certain type of pie?  

I finally got the final confirmation at about 10pm. I am super excited.

Until tomorrow...

DAY ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FIVE OF COOKING COURSE

 Today was my first day baking with the Vegan Baking Essentials Part 2 chapter. I was excited and planned it out this morning. I made Pasteis de Nata - Blitz Puff Pastry with Vanilla Custard. This was originally a Portuguese egg custard tart but to make it vegan there is no egg. The vanilla custard is so creamy and delicious. The puff pastry is just the right crispiness. 

I made 12 of them and right after I took these photos I dropped two of them on the floor. Five second rule. I picked them up and ate them. My floors had just been vacuumed. I am not wasting such awesome food. 

I have a plan to make more delicious desserts but I have to wait until I get my food order for some of them. 

Until tomorrow...

BACK TO COOKING COURSE

 I am back to my cooking course! They sent me access to a new chapter Vegan Baking Essentials Part 2.  I am back to baking but this time I am excited to bake all the items in the chapter. Tomorrow I plan to bake the first dish.

Today I have to food shop for Thanksgiving. I want my food to show up next Tuesday so I planned it all out and got online right away exactly one week ahead of time. I had my list ready and ordered everything. I have my menu ready and I planned it all out. 

I also purchased some items from Costco that I have been waiting to go on sale. I ordered a power washer, phone system and some food. Oh, also some tape. Packing and scotch. Getting ready for the holidays.

I decided to pull out a folder that keep that has gift certificates. I am going to use as many as I can this month. I figure I better before they are useless.

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN STIR-FRY BROCCOLI BOK CHOY AND ZUCCHINI

 Tonight is the night I am supposed to take Orencia. I am skipping it again because I have my crown dental appointment on Friday. I have not taken Orencia since my tooth infection well over a month ago. I could have started taking it last week but I am holding off until my crown is completed just in case. This time being off Orencia is really affecting me. I am not as tired but I am having all sorts of joint pain. Now I am having issues with my knees.

But good news: I am feeling SO much better being off the progesterone and estrogen. I really had such a little idea how much it was affecting me. I was in such a fog with the low blood pressure. I was unable to think and process things. I was so tired and miserable. I couldn't sleep and was so sleep deprived. I guess those drugs are just not for me which is so weird since I have been on birth control since I was 16 years old. There really should not be such a difference according to the doctor but I guess there is! I feel almost back to normal after being off them for two weeks.

 I made a wonderful stir-fry today. I cleaned out my vegetable bin and made a broccoli, bok choy and zucchini stir-fry with udon noodles. Delicious! 

I bought some clothes through an online store. I bought some jeans and a raincoat. One pair of jeans and the raincoat didn't fit. I called the company and I have to send the raincoat back to buy another coat for the same price. They have no exchange policy. So I have to wait until they get the return and then buy another. I packaged up the coat and jeans and took them to the post office to send back. Lucky and I walked them down. I wanted them mailed back as soon as possible.

Until tomorrow...

GAVE AWAY A BUNCH OF COOKIES

 No cooking today. I worked a bunch and gave away a bunch of cookies to my dog walker. 

It is late and there is not much to say today. I will catch up tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN LEMON COOKIES

 Vegan Lemon Cookies!  I used the lemons that had fallen from my lemon tree when the gardener trimmed the tree. Some of the lemons were green and now they are turning yellow.  The recipe called for lemon extract, what?, yes, lemon extract. I think that is a travesty. I used fresh lemon juice and zest instead and the cookies turned out terrific. It was such a simple recipe that it only took a short time to make them and then glaze them. Next time I will make a double batch.

My cooking course has a new chapter coming out in a few days. Baking Essentials Part 2. I am excited to start baking more strenuous things. Although I had a hard time with some of the easy things lately.

Lucky and I took a walk around the block today. Then we got to the house and Lucky wanted to keep walking. She gets to the bottom of the stairs and puts on the brakes. She won't go up the stairs. This time I gave in and walked two more blocks with her. Then I called it quits to bake the cookies. 

I read somewhere that the best thing to do is to use the timer on your dishwasher so it turns on after peak electric usage hours. I didn't even know dishwashers had timers. Tonight I looked and low and behold my dishwasher has a timer. I set it at 7:50pm when I put my dinner dish inside to turn on at 8:50pm since my peak usage time ends at 9pm. That is a handy thing to know about. I will be using that more often since I tend to forget to turn on the dishwasher after peak usage times. 

Until tomorrow...

CHICKPEA, CARROT, TOMATO AND KOHLRABI SOUP

 I got a new vegetable this time in my veg box. It was a kohlrabi. I never cooked with a kohlrabi before so today I made a soup with it. Kohlrabi is called a German turnip and is in the family of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, and gai lan. I think it is a bit like a celery root. Not the taste but the texture. The soup tastes good. I used some coconut milk to make it a bit sweet. It has chickpeas, carrots, tomatoes and kohlrabi.

I just did a bunch of laundry today. Then Lucky and I took a walk. We ran into a few neighbors. For Day of Kindness we delivered cookies to a few people. 

Until tomorrow...

VEGAN CHUNKY MONKEY COOKIES

 Yes, I made vegan chunky monkey cookies. They are also oil-free and sugar-free. They are really good. There is peanut butter, walnuts and peanut butter on top and banana in the batter. Just say it: Yum!

I baked them at 6:30pm and was done at 7:10pm. It was really quick. 

It was another day of work but I got to take a walk to the post office. I also spoke to my niece to wish her a happy birthday and then bought her a birthday present. Her daddy helped me with a computer issue I had that had been lagging for a long time. I was so happy it got fixed. 

Until tomorrow...

NO-BAKE BANANA CREAM PIE

 I made the most amazing no-bake pie today. I had three bananas that were about to turn and needed to be used. So I thought banana cream pie!  Since it was a no-bake it was super easy to make and too no time at all. It tastes really good and not too sweet like other pies. 

I took a piece to my neighbor since he loves sweets. I will take another to my other neighbor and one to the dog walker tomorrow. 

I had to use a special technique to make this in a regular pan since I didn't have an 8" spring form pan. I am hoping Santa brings me one for Christmas.

That was practically my whole day besides working. I am feeling so much better off the estrogen and progesterone. I really had no idea how bad I was feeling on them. Now that I am off them for a week, I feel so much clearer and not so lightheaded. I am so much happier without that medicine. It is really surprising. I thought it was supposed to make people feel lighter. Not me.

Until tomorrow...