C to the 5th Power

Okay so here is a recipe that a lovely lady I know passed along to me. She was ever so kind and baked up a batch, informing me that I could indulge. God bless her soul because they were moist and soft and I had not had anything like them in a while. For some reason, I haven’t quite mastered cookies and until this recipe, I haven't made many because of my fear. I’ve made several obscure recipes that people question the absence of dairy or eggs…but cookies…why can’t I make cookies?! And here it was…I added coconut flakes, craisins, and chocolate chips… just to forewarn you, the recipe does seem dry, but they will spread. I called them C to the Fifth Power because they are Chocolate Chip-Coconut-Craisin Cookies… hence the 5. Improvise! Use what you like...I know that's a no-no in baking, but there are variations to this recipe...have fun with it!

1 ½ cups of flour

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of salt (course is my fav)

1/3 cup of canola oil

1 1/3 cup of unrefined sugar (you can do half white half brown)

1 mashed banana (ripe is best)

1 ½ tbs vanilla

2 tbs soy/rice/almond milk (either one works fine)

2 ½ cups quick oats (or regular oatmeal )

1 cup of chocolate chips (dark chocolate ones from Trader Joes are yummy!)

1 cup of craisins (or dried cranberries)

½ cup of coconut flakes (you can add what you would like/have on hand)

Pre-heat oven to 350. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl…flour, baking soda, and salt. Cream the sugar with the oil, then add banana and vanilla. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry bowl. Add in the oatmeal, chocolate chips, and any other ingredients that satisfy your cookie needs. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet (I lined it with parchment paper) bake 9-15 minutes or until they look golden brown (oven temperatures vary and so do hot spots!).

VIOLA!! Enjoy with a tall glass of almond milk!

Oh Crepe!

So here was the beginning to a beautiful Thanksgiving inspired lunch. We made crepes thanks to a handy dandy application on my love's iphone... and now I've saved it in my "notes" section in my phone.

Simple Crepes: (this is for savory)

1/2 Cup Soy/Almond/choice of milk
2/3 Cup of Water
1/4 Cup of Earth Balance Butter (they have a soy-free version now!)
1 Cup of Flour
Pinch of Salt

For the Sweet version, omit the salt...unless you want it for contrast and add
2 tbs Vanilla Extract

and if necessary, you may add more water (2 tbs) to thin out your batter.

Crepes are best when you have chilled the batter...so before you pour some on your hot non-stick pan, prep your fillings and let.the batter.chill! Once it has, make sure it spreads evenly. Just like pancakes, you might have to wait till the third one to reach perfection. I'm sure this has to do with oil to pan to heat ratio.

Okay...for the savory...we stuffed them with simply salt and peppered potatoes and a hint of basil...mmm! and had lovely stuffing on the side with home-made gravy to sauce it up.

Tip of the day: when garnishing plates, try to incorporate an ingredient that is related to your dish. For example, mine is garnished with basil. It would be silly to garnish with cilantro since there is no cilantro in my dish. This is a common exercise with mint on deserts...if there isn't any in the dish, don't decorate with it silly!

For the sweet, I had a banana with chocolate like your typical sweet crepe (fruit filling with nutella... I used a non-dairy version of a dark chocolate spread from World Market).

Starters

J'aime la nourriture! I LOVE food... and lately...more and more... here is the start to an adventure... maybe due to procrastination but mostly infatuation with creation. Especially when I feel like I'm about to feel low, I turn on the oven and cook up a storm!