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Making cookies

I haven't made cookies in a really long time because I will easily eat a dozen in a day. But something moved me to make some and we had a good time doing so. I would include the recipe but it was pretty make-shift. I added less sugar than the recipe called for, and less butter, but then I forgot to compensate for that, so when I added the flour, they turned out really dry. So I kept the mixer running and poured in maple syrup, but that didn't help immensely, so then I poured in non-fat milk, and got distracted with something Liam suddenly did, so I didn't stop pouring when I should have. The batter was unlike a cookie batter, but nevertheless, they turned out well enough for me to eat a dozen!

Glittering Lemon Sandwich Cookies

If you aren't tired of sugar and sweets yet, and are looking for a little something, this turned out to be a fantastic recipe. It does however call for the cookies to be sandwiched together, with the icing in the middle. But I didn't like how they turned out when I tried, so I put a little indent into the top of the cookie, just before putting it in the oven. That way, there was a tiny space for the icing to be placed. I also thought the icing recipe was too large. I would recommend making only half of it. The recipe is from Gourmet, you can find it here. It was super light and sweet, and unique.

Happy Boxing Day

Today is a day to stay inside, despite the Boxing Day sales. Here in Vancouver it is snowing hard. There are car accidents everywhere, roads are slippery, or closed. I was out getting groceries this morning, my car got stuck on my way home. Thankfully I had heavy boots on and I was within feet of my home, I just dug myself out. So I hope everyone is safe and warm. Maybe enjoy some homemade Chai? I hope everyone had a good Christmas day.

Homemade Chai

4 cups water

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cloves

5 green cardamon pods, emptied

2 tsp peeled and minced ginger

4 tsp loose black tea

1 cup organic, no-fat milk (traditional chai is made with a full fat milk, fill your boots if you like!)

honey and brown sugar to taste

Bring the water, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and ginger to a slow boil. Lower the heat, add the tea and milk and simmer for a couple minutes. Add honey and/or brown sugar to your liking.

Shortbread

When I was a kid, baking was a huge part of Christmas. My mom had an amazing shortbread recipe. I have tried to find others over the years, just to compare, but nothing does, except for this one at 101 Cookbooks. I don't have time to leave my moms' recipe so if you are looking for a good one, I recommend trying this one, it is almost identical to my moms. Mmmmm sweet butter goodness.

Dark Chocolate Bark

Dark Chocolate Bark (careful, it's goooood!)

1 1/2 cups walnuts, broken into halves or quarters

9 ounces of bittersweet chocolate (preferably organic)

4 TB crystallized ginger, finely chopped (if you're not a fan of ginger, reduce to 2 TB)

1 cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped

Line a baking sheet with wax or parchment paper. 

Melt chocolate in the microwave in a glass dish for about 1 and 1/2 minutes. (depends on the power of your microwave, so keep an eye on it and stir every 40 seconds or so)

Once it's melted, stir until smooth, then add the other 3 ingredients. Mix until evenly coated. Scrape the mixture onto the baking sheet, spread evenly. 

Refrigerate for half an hour, or until firm enough to cut. 

Cut or break as you see fit!

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Chocolate Almond Shortbread

I made these the other day. They were super easy and quick to make so I would recommend making them if you need something last minute. I'm a big fan of shortbread, but they aren't the best I've ever had. The recipe can found here. 

Good morning

I have been playing with my bread machine. It is not exactly an organic way of baking, but it suits my lifestyle right now. I want fresh food, but I don't have time to make it. So at least I know the ingredients going into this, and Liam has fun measuring everything. We tried a raisin bread yesterday. It was actually quite good.

More cookies

I can't help it! I LOVE cookies. These are GOOD! Sorry, no photo though. 

Vegan Seed Cookies
2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh grated nutmeg
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1 tsp orange blossom water
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt, then add grated nutmeg. In
another bowl, mix honey and syrup together; stir in the oil and orange blossom water, beat until blended. Add flour mixture and seeds, mix well.
Drop by teaspons onto a greased baking sheet, press down lightly with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes. They will harden as they cool, so be sure not to overbake. Cool on a wire rack.

Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I don't have a photo of these, but thought I'd include them anyway as they are super tasty. I adapted the recipe from the Tassajara Cookbook. I made quite a few changes to it, so if you are curious about the original version, check out the cookbook, it is fantastic.

Spicy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup spelt flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp ground ginger

1 banana, mashed

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 TB grapeseed oil 

1 cup rice milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup organic raisins

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, stir the oats, flour, salt, baking soda and spices together. Add the banana, brown sugar, grapeseed oil, rice milk, vinegar and raisins. Stir gently until just mixed.

Scoop onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cookies

Bill was in a meeting a while ago, they served Peak Frean cookies. He came home craving them, so I picked up a box. We NEVER buy store bought cookies, I love to bake and can't imagine eating them from a package. However, whatever, I'll buy a box of cookies. They tasted incredible. Usually I read labels religiously but because Bill had specifically wanted these, I didn't bother, I just bought them for him. When I tasted how good they were, I got curious and read the label, I figured they were nothing but sugar and chemicals. They were, but one of the first ingredients was beef shortening! What? How many cookie recipes have beef in them? As good as they tasted, they won't be in our house again. Here is a recipe for some very healthy cookies from 101 Cookbooks. It calls for chunks of chocolate in it. I highly recommend it. I made mine without chocolate, not sure where my brain was, I never purposefully omit chocolate, that's blasphemous. Without the chocolate, I found them tasteless, healthy for kids, but not exactly sweet cookie material. I am going to try and get a few more of my cookie recipes in here too, I made tons during my training to get us through our full Saturday Yoga classes. Anyway, enjoy!

I know, I know, we all like Peak Freans, they look really good. I'll include some Peanut Butter cookies and a few others next week, because homemade is good too.

The recipe for these can be found here.

101 Cookbooks Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry

Pardon my horribly lit photo. I was in a hurry, and it was late, so there was no natural light coming through the windows. 

This is a super delicious, really nutritious, and really quick recipe that I got from 101 Cookbooks. If you are looking for something quick to make tonight, I highly recommend it. The recipe is here. Enjoy!

Carrot Fennel Soup

This recipe was featured in the latest Gourmet magazine. It calls for fennel seeds and fronds but I couldn't find a fennel at the market that had any fronds, and I thought I had seeds at home, but I didn't. So if you make this soup, you may have a little more green and texture in it. It is a very flavorful soup, very bright and light. If you love licorice, I would recommend using the fennel seeds and fronds. If not, it's worth making it without them. Either way, it was easy to make and really healthy. You can find the recipe here at Epicurious.