The Trash Cookie

I worked on a recipe for the Cat Cafe today and it was fire. I actually did burn one real good so that description is appropriate on a couple of levels. 

If you've had the Panera Kitchen Sink cookie,  I made my version. I kept the caramel bits but I also added crushed hard toffees. I switched out the chocolate chips for white chocolate chunks. I kept the pretzel pieces. I used lavender sea salt. I dint want to infringe on any copyright. 

I also made my savory French toast but. But. But today is a low carb day so I made a cheesy bacon gravy scramble I guess. I ate a cookie to make sure it was edible and that was all my carbs. Those cookies are more than edible. Like I said up top,  they are fire. 

Like Ice Cube said, today was a good day. 

Cat-mosphere of Kindness

Anytime I cook or bake for someone I ask for their honest feedback because "Lying to me to save my feeling could cost me more than hurt feelings in the long run". What that means is, if I make something that isn't worthy of being purchased, and I don't know, I cant improve the product. That being said, of course it doesn't feel good when you put all your effort into something and its not well received, but being a grown ass woman, I understand that I am not perfect. I have room to improve and so do my recipes. God I sound mature. 

I also have absolutely NO desire to cater to simps with the palate of a spoiled toddler. If 90% of my test subjects have no problem with my product and then you have that one person that wants their Skinny Vanilla Mocha Latte Half Caf with Foam at exactly 98 degrees... I have ZERO problem telling them "Bye". Therefore I have made two mission statements, one for the business plan, the website and the people and one for just Kiki and I. 

The public Mission Statement: To provide a cat-mosphere of kindness by nourishing the souls and the bodies of the community.  

Bonus Mission Statement: If you want to complain about something in OUR establishment, you can leave cause FUCK you this is OUR business. Kiki, show em the door. 

Kiki's Kool Kats and Koffee Kafe

When: Last week, maybe 2 weeks ago, maybe when I was a baby - time has been moving differently since 2020 came into our lives.

The Players: My Kiki, my baby girl, my daughter

The scene: I was cruising the inter-webs and she knows me and my ways, let me tell you. Mother Explorer submitted for my approval, a picture of a cat walking on a bookshelf and I thought to myself "YES! I want a working kitty!" 

I immediately sent my middle heart a message and said something to the effect of: 'Would you want to own a book store or a coffee shop?' Because I thought that these would be the places a cat would be welcome and I also know that my little doesn't love what she is doing at the moment (day care provider). She came back to me with some wisdom, 'its not a good time to start a business, a lot of businesses are going bankrupt right now.' She's so smart. But then, later that day, she messaged me and told me 'I want to own a Cat Café, because I want to own 20 cats' I'm paraphrasing, I'll make sure to add screen shots so you can see the exact way it went down.  

Fast Forward to me waking up for work and seeing this message: 

That's the moment I knew that there was no mix up at the hospital. That's the moment I knew this little human had sprang from my loins and might actually be my clone as so many people have claimed. 

Today I told my bebe that by July 2022 I want Kiki's Kool Kats and Koffee Kafe to be up and running. 

Oh, and OF COURSE Mayim Bialik took our idea and made a show of it. 

This is Cessa

Greetings, Salutations and Welcome!

But first, introductions: I am Mandy but please feel free to call me Cessa, my friends do. And I consider everyone a friend... until I don't. But that's very rare and gets dealt with swiftly, remind me to share my cyanide cupcake recipe with you at a later date. Please note, I have never nor will I ever poison anyone.

Onward: On this day, 1 October 2019, I was challenged. Challenged, by my boss. Most readers might say "Amanda, (or Cessa, for those who consider themselves friends) who isn't challenged by their boss, daily?" Touché. But this is a challenge I am excited about. Today, the first day of Halloween, I will begin preparing, in earnest for the Grand Opening of my restaurant, Cessa's. I have talked about opening a restaurant for a long time, I have dreamed about the day when I would be an entrepreneur, a business owner, and the proud mother of my fourth child - Cessa's.

Obviously I don't want to give away my "secret" recipes (I got them off the back of the box!), or my "secret" ingredients (chicken bouillon powder), or my concept (comfort food from the many places that have influenced me in my life, plus a few recipes that I have "invented") because that would be giving a leg up to the competition. You can see how concerned I am about competition, can’t you? If anything I do, say or come up with inspires anyone, SO MUCH YES. I want to encourage and motivate!

So here, I will evaluate restaurants that I visit, share recipes, provide tips and tricks I have incorporated and most of all, hopefully, I will entertain in the most educational way possible. I say evaluate, but really, I rarely have anything bad to say about anyone or anything. My personal motto is that every experience is what you make of it; going in with a "this is going to suck" attitude will ensure that it does in fact suck. SO - you can read what I write, but its only one girl’s optimistic opinion.

Now here is where I am going to be tested because I work 12 hour days, throw in a 45 minute lunch and an hour and a half for driving to and from work and you got a 14 hour day. Ok - so I must only work 4 days a week right? Because EVERYONE works a 40 hour work week? Your naiveté is endearing. No, I work SIX days a week. 80 hours a week of just working. I have ONE day a week to visit restaurants, test recipes or sleep/ do laundry / clean.

And here is where YOU are going to be tested, friends. Because the places I visit are local to ME, and ya girl is currently residing in Kuwait. I will also be working in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit and possibly even grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds. I think they still use tea/table spoons and cups ... right? We will find out. Together.

So this coming weekend (which what we call our one day off) I plan on making breakfast burritos with salsa, for my co-workers as well as pulled chicken sandwiches with potato salad (I just right this minute decided on the potato salad, but I have been thinking about the chicken sammies for about a week now) and banana bread. I really like to try and jam as much living into that one day so the rest of the week as I slowly die I have the memories to keep me going.

 Ok Party People, pictures to follow. 

My ho-made salsa and toasted ham, egg, cheese and potato breakfast burrito