Getting Into The Christmas Spirit
Today is a wonderful time to just stay inside and stay warm with some hot apple cider. It is beautiful and very cold. I have never seen this much snow before in Olympia and we are supposed to get more later today. It's unusual and probably the result of that pesky "global warming" we keep hearing about. It is really starting to look like Christmas around here. I loved it yesterday, because I was able to get out and drive and enjoy slipping all over the place. It always amazes me when so many people find this scary. I can remember being a sixteen year old kid in Colorado. When it snowed (which was quite often) we would go out into a big parking lot and practice driving (All businesses were closed on Sunday back then so that was the perfect time because the parking lot was completely empty). My buddies and I would take turns hitting the gas from one corner of the lot, get up to speed, and then hit the brakes and cramp the steering wheel. It was great to be out of control as the car would spin in several 360's. We really learned how to get steering control back when the back end of the car started trying to meet the front end. I learned to always steer into the skid, a skill that has served me well.
Two Great Recipes For The Christmas Season
There are two recipes that I found on the internet and modified slightly that were great successes. One is Corn Chowder and the other is Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies. Both were submitted by Isa Chandra Moskowitz from Vegan with a Vengence. Pam rated the cookies a 9 1/2 and the soup a 9. That is an excellent rating coming from her since she is a bit of a finicky eater.
CORN CHOWDER
1 tablespoon olive oil (for this I used 1 tablespoon of hot water and added ground flax seed to it, one teaspoon at a time while stirring, until the mixture was almost the consistency of oil. It took me 3 teaspoons.) Note: I have also been told that oil can be replaced with canned pumpkin.
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups).
1 cup carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice.
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (use just 1 if you like less heat). I used just 1 but Pam thought we should use 1 1/2 - 2 next time.
1 teaspoon dried rosemary.
1 teaspoon dried thyme.
A few dashes of fresh black pepper.
1 teaspoon of salt.
3 cups vegetable broth (or water). (we used vegetable broth).
3 cups fresh corn kernals, from about 5 ears of corn. (We used frozen organic corn from the food coop).
2 medium-size russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2- inch chunks.
1 bay leaf.
Pinch of cayenne.
Juice of 1 lime.
1/4 cup plain soy milk
1 tablespoon maple syrup.
1. In stockpot saute' the onions, bell peppers, carrots, and jalapenos in the hot water/flax seed mixture over medium heat until the onions are translucent, about 7 minutes.
2. Add rosemary, thyme, black pepper, and salt; saute 1 minute more. Add the broth, corn, potatoes, bay leaf, and cayenne. Cover and bring to a boil, the lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes more to let the liquid reduce a bit.
3. Remove the bay leaf and puree half the chowder by transferring half the chowder to a blender, pureeing till smooth and adding back to soup.
4. Add juice of 1 lime, soy milk and maple syrup, and simmer for 5 more minutes.
5. Let sit for at least 10 minutes and serve. Tastes even better the next day.
Before I could get a picture, this is all that was left.
CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES.
prep time: 15 minutes - cooking time 10 minutes per batch - makes 3 dozen.
These are brownie-like and chewy. Be careful not to overbake them, they may seem like they aren't done after 10 minutes but they are!
3/4 cup apple sauce.
2 cups Apriva no-calorie sugar.
2 teaspoons vanilla.
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon ground flax meal.
1/2 cup soymilk.
2 cups all purpose flour.
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder.
1 teaspoon baking soda.
1/2 teaspoon salt.
1 cup vegan chocolate chips. (I used 1 cup, but it seemed like it might have been too much. I would consider cutting it back to 3/4 cup or maybe 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 1/2 cup dried cherries).
Directions -
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Blend flax meal and soy milk for 30 seconds. Set aside.
In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
In a separate large bowl cream together applesauce and Apriva. Add the flax meal/soy milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla.
Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until a nice stiff dough forms. Add the vegan chocolate chips and mix with your hands again.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc that's about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.
Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely. They taste even better the next day, if they last that long.
Note: For chocolate chocolate chip cherry cookies, replace 1 teaspoon of vanilla with almond extract, and replace 1/2 of the chocolate chips with dried cherries.
If being a vegetarian is eating like this, you can count me in..........
