DAY TWO HUNDRED EIGHTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

I will make this quick. I made vegan California burgers. They are really good. It was a two day process of making them, searing, soaking, frying. I made one with the burger bun and avocado mayo. It was a meal. 

The work on the backyard continued. I pressed the submit button and ordered the lattice for the fence. The backyard work today was flattening out the dirt under the deck, cleaning out the stuff under the deck, pressure washing a bunch of stuff, and continuing to working on the railway tie. 

I tried to relax in between everything. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED SEVENTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

I made Vegan Burger Buns today. It was an interesting process making my own burger buns. I can't say they came out perfect but I got them done. Yeast and I are not friends. Things always go wrong when I have to use yeast. 

I put some herbs in the buns so they taste herby. They will go well with my next project. 

Bedides the baking I wished some folks happy father's day. I also sat outside in the sunshine and read my book. 

Until tomorrow.. 

DAY TWO HUNDRED SIXTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

 I wanted to relax today but that didn't happen. First I tried driving to the post office to get my mail but I couldn't find a parking place anywhere near the post office. So, I drove home and got the dog and walked down. I had a paycheck waiting and I needed to pay some bills. 

Once we got home I decided to make the next recipe in the North American Vegan cooking course. I made vegan avocado mayonnaise. It is to put on another recipe that I will be making tomorrow.

I have been watching the HBO series The Flight Attendant. It is really good. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY FOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECT -THE FENCE IS GONE!

 Well, my chain link fence is gone. This puts a smile on my face. A big smile. The guys worked so hard today. Just hours of back breaking work. Pulling out ivy, breaking down the last bit of fence. Cutting a crazy tree/bush. Cutting a railroad tie. So much stuff. The backyard looks so much bigger. I have the final measurements so I can order the new fencing. I wanted them to measure again (which wasn't taken too well) but I wanted to be certain since I can't really measure by myself. It really takes two people to measure a backyard. Now that I am certain (Okay, I admit it. I stood and watched them measure.) I can order the necessary fencing. 

 I am exhausted. It is hard to project manage two guys. I have to get them ice cold water. Sometimes get them tools that they have forgotten. Provide a much needed entertainment break. I watch over the work and provide useful commentary and critique. Plus, I have to do my own work and deal with the animals. It is a lot. 

But I got a bonus today. My Pride flag was hung. Here is the saga. I used to have a flag pole that hung on the side of my house. 1.5 years ago the pole snapped when (I think) someone pulled the flag down.  This is the second time someone had done it. I tried to buy another flag pole but it was COVID and I don't need to say more. This week I decided to buy a flag pole and one arrived on Wednesday. My guy was going to hang the flag but when I pulled out my 2' flag it was the wrong size for this pole I bought. The pole had hooks at set spaces. The spaces were for a 2.5' flag and you couldn't move them. No pride flags come in 2.5' size, I checked. So, I bought a 3' flag and thought we could move the hooks. The flag arrived and I looked more closely at the hooks and realized they were held on with plastic rings. It is really windy here and plastic rings would not do. One of the guys was going to the hardware store and I asked him to get a new flag pole. He got another pole but it had no hooks and we had to drill holes and put in eye hooks. Once that was done we put on the flag at which time he went to hang it and the flag pole holder had no screw in it. The screw holds the pole tight in the base. We had to search through my bunch of screws (thanks Dad for teaching me to save random screws) and found one that fit. He put the pole up and the flag is flying. Saga over. 

I had a Vegan "Chickun" Caesar Salad. It was a delicious. I used vegan "chicken" nuggets for the salad. 

I see what every goes crazy for.

I think that is enough for today.

WHAT A DAY!

It is 9:49pm and I just finished working on a work project. So as much as I want to regale you with my fantastic stories, I am tired and I want to go to bed. I have to get up early tomorrow since the backyard guy is coming. On Wednesday he showed up 30 minutes early so I need to be on my toes tomorrow. 

Today I worked a bunch then I made something really fantastic that I will show you maybe tomorrow. But right now I am going to go lie down and put my feet up. 

Here is a cute photo of Lucky to keep you entertained. 

I am teaching Lucky to drive! She is almost old enough to get her learners permit.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED FIFTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

 First, there has been so much progress on the backyard. The person showed up early and feels better. He got right to work taking down the chain link fence. He really worked hard digging out the concrete posts and cutting down the ivy. In the afternoon he called a friend and they both worked to get almost all the fence dug up and taken down. The friend has a truck and they filled it with the fence and the ivy. It looks so great. There is so much more room in the backyard now. It is messy because they had to run to make it to the dump in time.  It will get cleaned up on Friday.

It turns out the other neighbor's fence looks nice but it is not as sturdy as it looks. Now that my fence is down the neighbor's fence wobbles. 

I made vegan "beef" stock. It is carrots, celery, mushrooms, and lots of spices and other stuff. It will be used for a couple of recipes coming up. 

I had a client raise his voice to me yesterday and today I spoke to the supervisor. I did not complain but I explained. The supervisor was surprised but not shocked. The supervisor made it clear to me that I was to contact the supervisor if it happened again. The supervisor is not going to put up with it. I made it clear that I appreciated the support. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED FOURTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

 Okay here is the big reveal: Vegan Caesar Salad. I made my first caesar salad. It was so good. I put the vegan "bacon" bits that I made from TVP. The Parmesan cheese that I made from walnuts. Then the vegan croutons that I made by myself. Now I made vegan Caesar salad dressing. I put it all on a bunch of romaine lettuce. Oh, so good! 

I can't wait to make another one and eat it! 

I worked a lot today. I am very tired. People tire me out some days. 

Tonight is my first Orencia shot since probably January. Getting back on the Orencia merry-go-round. 

Until tomorrow....

DAY TWO HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF COOKING COURSE

 Today I worked on making another component that I will show later this week. It took hours to make. 

I am showing you another component for the dish: vegan croutons. I usually hate croutons. I find them too hard, dry, too spicy and too garlicky.  The croutons that I made are not too crispy, not too spicy and no garlic. Just a pinch of garlic powder. 

Tomorrow they all get put together. 

I got the color palette for the lattice options today. I have been trying to decide what to do. Do I go lighter or darker. The darker is very dark and the lighter is just a tad lighter. I think I am going to go lighter. The darker will make my backyard seem small. I need to go with my gut. 

 I called the doctor about my foot/ankle and I have an appointment with the nurse practitioner on video. I think they are going to send me to a specialist anyway so why go in? Meanwhile no walking. Lucky is not happy about that.

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED TWELVE OF COOKING COURSE

 I made vegan Parmesan cheese. It is super easy and tastes good. It is made from walnuts. 

I had a slow day. I am having a problem with my feet/ankle. My left foot/ankle is a little swollen and it burns. Last night I could barely sleep. I am going to call the doctor in the morning. I kept it elevated today. 

I did do one thing today: I removed the drain cover and removed a clump of hair. I have had a slow moving drain all week and I have been thinking of calling the plumber. Instead I thought I would be my own plumber and look down the drain myself. I saw a clump of hair (how could I have lost that much hair???) and I removed it. I hope my drain runs faster now. A few weeks ago I bought a drain cover to catch the hair. It works. 

Until tomorrow...

DAY TWO HUNDRED ELEVEN OF COOKING COURSE

I can't believe I haven't cooked for the vegan cooking course since March 5, 2022. That is three months. Well, I am back in the saddle, as they say. Today I started with half a creation. I am rolling out the segments separately and then I will show the end product. Today I made vegan bacon bits. I know I heard you say "what?" I made bacon bits out of something called TVP (textured vegetable protein). Due to what I put in, it tastes smokey and then I basically fried it. 

I also took Lucky for two walks: one long and one short. Then I did a deep clean on the bird's cage. It hasn't been deep cleaned in two years. I have to take it outside and use the garden hose to get it really clean. It sparkles now. 

It was a full day. 

Until tomorrow...