Breakfast: I have a new summer ritual of making cold brewed teas in the mornings. Today’s brews are Bai Mu Dan White Tea and an herbal blend of Lemon rinds, Peppermint, Chamomile and Ginger.
When I got hungry I was grateful to have last night’s Kale Salad ready to eat.
Lunch: We were going to an early evening event. I was so hungry, I didn’t think I could hold on until afterwards for a late dinner. I made a quick, cool bowl of Black Beans, Mushrooms and Cashew Yogurt. I was excited to try the cashew yogurt which I got started the day before. We had frozen our homemade Almond Yogurt before leaving for California in June. I defrosted it and it tasted fine. Then I prepared a batch of new yogurt, using cashews instead of almonds, adding in a few tablespoons of the defrosted Almond Yogurt. Since it is so hot, I did not want to turn on the oven, even on the dehydrator option at 110oF so I set the sealed glass jars of yogurt out on the counter, covered with towels for about 24 hours. And it worked. This Cashew Yogurt is delicious!.
Snack: We were invited by our friend John Phillips to attend an event with Manhattan Council Member Helen Rosenthal. Council Member Rosenthal has supported a number of animal issues and supports Meatless Mondays. We got to chat with some of our friends on the host committee: Mary and Peter Max, Allie Taylor, Joyce Friedman, Amy Trakinski and Kelley Wind. It was wonderful as always to hug Bart Potenza and Joy Pierson of the three Candle Restaurants when they arrived. The room was filled with love!
We had Vegan Cheeses to nibble for an hour or so while we mingled before Helen arrived to speak. We were delighted when she announced that she had become vegan. Yahoo!
Dinner: Candle West was only a few blocks away and it was my intention to take advantage of its proximity. After the event we went there for dinner. My burger boy ordered his Pinkus Pilsner and the Seitan Cheeseburger with tempeh bacon, sautéed mushrooms, lettuce, onions, tomato, tapioca cheese, housemade pickles and cornmeal crusted zucchini. Those Zucchini fries were good.
I had one of the evening specials, Grilled Polenta with sautéed broccoli rabe, zucchini, grape tomatoes, roasted potatoes, string beans, roasted garlic tomato sauce, topped with grilled vegetable ricotta and cashew parmesan. It just may have been the BEST meal I have ever had at any of the Candles. It was perfection! An added bonus was seeing Benay Vynerib, a Candle icon and wishing her a happy belated birthday.
Evening: As we were leaving we saw a bunch of people from the event who had the same idea we did. Amy was over at the bar and we spontaneously decided to join her there. I ordered a Manhattan. It’s the only drink to drink in Manhattan. Gary got a second Pinkus. We had a great time, great conversation. Who would ever want to leave this lovely space? But we did. Amy needed to take a business call. We gave a round of hugs and headed home.
