MOTHER'S DAY and Vegan French Toast

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Wheeeeeeeeee! My amazing daughters totally surprised me and absolutely outdid themselves this morning. BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER!!!!!!
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I was treated to an incredible brunch consisting of: vegan French Toast with strawberries and whipped Coconut Cream (A can of coconut cream, chilled, sweetened and whipped, easy as that) AND home-fries, fresh OJ, a coffee from Starbucks and vegan brownies!! All of it absolutely delicious and beautiful.
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(Yes, there's CoolWhip there too - SOME people in my family like it better than coconut cream *gasp*).
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They were even nice enough to plate the dessert all fancy-like 'cause they KNEW I'd be taking pictures.
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This is just your basic vegan brownies with the white frosting from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World, drizzled with Hershey's syrup (yes, it's vegan too!!). Are they talented kids or WHAT!?!?!? So proud of them!
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I also received a scrapbook, cards, a beaded key chain, a trinket box, my favorite lotion and did I mention Starbucks?
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I really hope your Mother's Day was equally wonderful and filled with people (or furry-pet-babies) that you love.
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So - Here's our family French Toast recipe; Sorta similar to the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance, but changed up with cashews, cinnamon and vanilla soymilk. Not sure my kids had ever made it completely by themselves, but it turned out PERFECT as did everything else! .

Mother's Day French Toast

◘ 10 (more or less) slices really thick bread (slice your own homemade, or use store-bought: some brands of "Texas Toast"-style bread, like the slices in the picture, are just basic white bread and accidentally vegan!!)
◘ 1/3 cup cashews soaked overnight (if you remember to soak them, great!! If not, they won't blend up as smooth, but will still be fine)
◘ 1/2 cup vegan coffee creamer
◘ 1/2 cup vanilla soymilk
◘ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
◘ 1/4 cup chickpea flour

◘ pinch salt
◘ 1/4 tsp cinnamon
◘ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
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Blend cashews in a food processor until a paste starts to form (this can take a few minutes). Scrape down the sides then add soy creamer and blend until you have a nice creamy "milk". Pour into a wide, shallow bowl, add soymilk and whisk well. Mix in the cornstarch and stir until dissolved. Add the chickpea flour, salt and cinnamon and mix until mostly absorbed; some lumps are okay. If batter is too thick, add more soymilk.
Heat a nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add a good teaspoon of oil and brush around.
Dip the bread slices in the mixture, let soak for a moment if you like your French Toast more moist, scrape off excess if you want (depending on how soft you like your French toast) and then transfer to the skillet.
Cook each side for about 2 min; if they are not brown enough when you flip them, heat for 1 to 2 more minutes on each side. They should be golden brown with flecks of dark brown.
Serve right away.

Happy Mother's Day to me!

My girls made me breakfast in bed this morning! Might not look like much, but I'm mighty impressed because we had basically NOTHING edible in the house (I was planning on spending Mother's Day at the grocery store! Yay me!).

Not only that, but they made this wonderfully tasty tofu-scramble (with no directions from me) and topped it with a drizzle of ketchup, JUST exactly how I like it! THEN they took this picture because they know I'm always taking pictures of everything food-like around here. (They wouldn't let me take a picture of THEM holding my yummy breakfast. Silly girls!) Anyway, it was a perfect breakfast, made by perfect kids and my Mother's Day was wonderful! I hope each of you spent it doing something special, whether you're a Mom or not!

In other news, I'd like to claim THIS as the reason why I haven't blogged (or commented) much lately... the cat has decided to try out the laptop as his new lounging spot. Now how could I possibly disturb him when he looks so content? Hmmmmm.....