Fat Tuesday!

It's Fat Tuesday, y'all! One of my favorite food holidays!!! (Okay, in the moment, I probably think every holiday is my favorite, but today, this is my fave, okay?)

For years (going back to at least 2010), I've been making Kittee's vegan king cakes to bring to the office. The dough recipe is largely the same across her many amazing, no-fail king cakes, but the fillings vary widely. And I pick a new one every year. This year, I opted for this Apple Praline King Cake.

You'll notice the baby is on top of the cake rather than inside. That's because I tucked it into the dough too close to the edge before baking, and it baked its way out of the cake. My cake birthed a baby! After I sliced it, I tucked it snugly back inside.

Most years, I have a regular breakfast at home and then bring the cake in to work for morning dessert. But this year, I thought, "Why not have a slice of cake for breakfast?" Here's an inside breakfast shot.

When my parents and I used to take regular summer vacations in New Orleans, we ALWAYS stopped at Cafe Du Monde for coffee, and my parents enjoyed their beignets. One year, my mom actually made VEGAN BEIGNETS and packed them for me to eat at Cafe Du Monde so I could have beignets too. She's the best! Anyway, they sell Cafe Du Monde Chicory Coffee at the Viet Hoa, my neighborhood Asian market (no idea why they sell this at the Asian market! Thanks to some commenters, I now know that this is also used in Vietnamese coffee, so that's why it's sold in the Asian market. You learn something new every day, y'all!). Anyway, I bought some and made a proper cafe au lait (half cashew-almond milk, half very strong chicory coffee).

I shared the rest of the cake with my co-workers. Somebody found the baby, but no one is fessing up. Hmmmm. When you find the baby, it means you're supposed to bring the cake next year. Of course, I'll bring a vegan one anyway.

For lunch, I had some leftover Gumbo Z'herbs from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook by Isa. I made this for the Tennessee Equality Project gumbo contest a few weeks back and stuck a bowl in the freezer to save just for today's Fat Tuesday lunch. This kale-collard-turnip green gumbo is perfect with white rice.

For dinner, I chose another recipe from The Superfun Times Vegan Holiday Cookbook — Blackened Scrambled Tofu with Garlic Polenta Grits and Greens.

This was a fun, sort of non-traditional Fat Tuesday meal! The tofu scram is seasoned with Creole-inspired blackened spices (paprika, thyme, cayenne) and served atop slow-cooked garlicky grits. Isa calls these "polenta grits," but I think that's just cause she's from Brooklyn. Down South, we just call 'em grits. :-) For the greens, you can pick any green to saute and serve on the side. I chose kale cause it's quick and easy. It was sauteed with a little garlic and olive oil.

Fat Tuesday isn't a party without booze though! So of course, I knocked back a couple of NOLA-based Abita beers this evening. I had an Abita Wrought Iron IPA and a Sweet Orange Lager.

Well, that's it. Hope y'all had a good party night too! I'm still trying to decide if I want to give up anything for Lent this year. Not for religious reasons but just for the sake of playing along. If I haven't decided by the end of the night, I'll probably just skip it.