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[Today is the last day to enter two cookbook giveaways! Enter to win 500 Vegan Recipes right here on DDD--check this post. And if you'd like a free copy of my cookbook, Sweet Freedom, hop over to Sally's blog and enter before midnight tonight!]
I’ll be back with a new recipe over the weekend, but in the meantime, I thought I’d post some festive Easter-friendly recipes for those of you who celebrate (it’s only fair, since I posted Passover-friendly ones last week). The HH and I, on the other hand, will most likely partake of some Asian-themed fare this weekend. 
Here are some holiday-appropriate dishes you might like to try. And if you’re following the ACD, don’t forget you can find 16 delicious gluten-free, allergen-free, ACD-friendly recipes in the Anti-Candida Feast ebook (with desserts all stevia-sweetened!) for just $5.00 USD.
A very Happy Easter to all who celebrate!
“Mum, another holiday, so soon? Wow, you human types really know how to party.”
 Appetizers/Spreads/Hors D’Oeuvres
Eggplant “Caviar”
Herb and “Feta” Polenta Appetizers
Quinoa, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Bites
Muhammara (Red Pepper-Walnut Dip)
Soups/Salads/Vegetables/Side Dishes
Cauliflower, Parsnip and Bean Mash
Celeri Remoulade
Classic Waldorf Salad
Cream of Olive Soup
Curried Root Vegetable Chowder with Dumplings
Gold and Green Warm Salad
Greens with Hearts of Palm and Pine Nuts
Sweet Potato and Ginger Salad
Main Courses
Kale and Potato Lasagna
Meatball Stroganoff
Nutroast Extraordinaire (an old standby)
Portobello “Steaks”
Tagine of Quinoa with Chickpeas, Olives and Prunes
Desserts/Sweets
Butterscotch Mousse Pie
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Grown-Up Baked Apples with Figs and Walnuts
Hazelnut Melting Moments
Matcha Chocolate Truffles
Mrs. K’s Date Cake
Sour Cream and Raisin Tart (or Pie)
[Cookbook Giveaway Alert! Check out Sally's gluten-free adaptation of my Butterscotch Blondies recipe from Sweet Freedom, and enter for a chance to win the book--with the original coconut macaroon recipe! Go to Sally's blog for more information and details!]
[Whew! That title is quite a mouthful. But not nearly as full as my mouth was, stuffed with these cookies, for the past day.]
Back in our 30s, my friend Babe and I had a little routine we’d enact any time we met someone new (say, at a party, or a work event). A few minutes after the “hi, I’m Ricki” and “Hi, I’m Babe”* chit-chat began to stale, Babe would pause, crook her elbow and touch her index finger to her chin, then ask the unsuspecting target victim sucker stranger while nodding toward me, ”Okay, guess how long we’ve known each other!”
Usually, the person would begin with a reasonable guess, something like, “Five years?” Babe would shake her head. “Ten?” Another negative response. Eventually, the individual would give up, and Babe would announce flamboyantly, “We’ve known each other twenty five years.” The newcomer would appear suitably impressed, at which point Babe continued, ”but we’ve only been friends for six months. There was that week in grade five, a month in grade seven, three days in grade eight. . . “ She just thought that was hilarious.
In fact, the joke came about because of our habit during our tween years of getting together only once or twice a month. Invariably, we’d go see a movie (two eleven year-olds travelling on their own on city buses was a nonevent in those days). Since the only worthwhile movie theater was across town at the Cote Des Neiges plaza, we always headed there. It was there we saw Cabaret (velkomen!), The Poseidon Adventure (the first one, with Leslie Nielsen as a serious captain), The Hot Rock (remember Robert Redford sucking on Rolaids?), American Graffiti (probably Suzanne Somers’s only non-speaking role) and The Way We Were (about eight times–Barbra Streisand was then, and still is, Babe’s all-time favorite entertainer).
When we weren’t at the movie theater, we’d be watching movies at home; each in our own home, that is. A spring ritual that endured well into our twenties was watching DeMille’s The Ten Commandments on television, with running commentary. We both thought Charlton Heston was dreamy (this was before he kind of lost his sheen by becoming the President of the N.R.A). Each on our respective sofas, in front of our respective TVs, with our respective snack foods (mine: chocolate chip cookies; hers: Bar-B-Q chips), we’d sit by the phone and basically watch the movie together.
I’d call Babe near the beginning of the film, already teary-eyed as the infant Moses was saved from certain death: ”Oh, wait, here it comes–look! She found the basket floating on the Nile!” Then twenty minutes later, Babe would respond with a call, pronouncing: ”Nefertiri still loves him–look at that agony on her face!” We loved how Moses’ good nature won over Pharaoh Seti and how the evil son, Ramses II (played by Yul Brynner) was thwarted. And even after Moses was condemned for being a Jew and flung out of Egypt, The Pharaoh felt compelled–on his deathbed–to honor his adoptive son, rasping out the words, “I must break my own vow, and speak the name of. . . . Moses.”
At that, Babe and I both uttered the line simultaneously with Seti, gasping for air and dying with a flourish before breaking into irrepressible giggles.
For years, any time we changed our minds or were faced with an error in judgement, we’d employ Seti’s Formula: let’s say I’d promised to stop blabbering about my crush on Teddy Saskin and then slipped up. I’d be forced to admit, ”I must break my own vow, and speak the name of. . . Theodore!” Or if Babe and I shared some normally prohibited junk food after school, she’d have to admit, ”I will break my own vow, and speak the name of. . . Bar-B-Q Chips!” We used that formula for years, until we tired of the movie and eventually moved on to something else (probably Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, which remained my personal favorite for the next decade or so; say, who are those guys??).
The Ten Commandments was also my major introduction to the history of Passover (yes, one would assume that the Passover haggadah, which actually relates the history of Passover and is read every year at the seder table, would have been a more fitting introduction. But neither my sisters nor I understand Hebrew, so while my dad droned on read from the booklet, our attention would always wander, and we’d find ourselves stealing dill pickle slices from the serving dishes, or dipping our fingers into the wine glasses, or giggling disrespectfully at the silly cartoon illustrations in the hagaddah, which would invariably elicit a terse and angry admonishment from our dad).
Because Passover foods do not contain leavening agents, desserts can be a bit of a bust. In recent years, flour-free chocolate tortes have taken over many of the sweet menus, but they tend to rely heavily on eggs, clearly a no-no for moi. Ditto for coconut macaroons, one of my favorite childhood Passover-friendly desserts.
Although we don’t celebrate Passover in our house, the HH and I are invited to friends’ seders this year, and I wanted to bring something appropriate that I could also enjoy. Complying with the ”no flour” commandment was easy, as I’m already eating that way quite a lot on the ACD. I thought about how I could approximate a chewy, gooey, meringue-y texture that is common in macaroons. Then I remembered the coconut macaroon recipe in my cookbook, always a big hit when it was sold in stores, and decided to alter it to be both ACD-friendly AND Passover-friendly.
While this version is definitely less sweet than the ones I remember, it is no less appealing. With the intense chocolate crunch of the cocoa nibs scattered throughout, the crisp edges and chewy interior imbued with a whiff of caramel flavor, these little gems are delicious in their own right, Passover or not. Even the HH, an avowed coconut lover, was happy to eat three of these at one sitting.
As for me, I couldn’t stop eating them. I bet they’ll make a great little snack–even as I break my own vow this year, and watch The Ten Commandments on television.
*Of course, she didn’t really say, “Hi, I’m Babe.” But this is a re-enactment, silly!
Because these are such a healthy, yet indulgent-tasting, treat, I’m submitting them to Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, who is hosting this month’s “Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free!” event, the theme of which is “Guiltless Pleasures.”
Passover Coconut Macaroons (ACD Phase I and beyond): Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, Egg-Free, Dairy-Free, Sugar-Free, Low Glycemic
A chewy, coconutty treat with just a hint of chocolate in every bite. High fiber and low glycemic, these might just be the ideal cookie.
1/4 cup (45 g) raw natural almonds
2 Tbsp (30 ml) coconut flour
2 Tbsp (30 ml) finely ground flax seeds
1/8 tsp (.5 ml) fine sea salt
1 cup (80 g) unsweetened shredded dried coconut
1 Tbsp (15 ml) extra virgin coconut oil, preferably organic
2 Tbsp (30 ml) smooth natural cashew butter or tahini (sesame paste)*
1/4 cup (60 ml) yacon syrup or agave nectar*
1 tsp (5 ml) pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) pure coconut extract, optional
1-2 Tbsp (15-30 ml) cacao nibs or chocolate chips**
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
In the bowl of a food processor, process the almonds, coconut flour, flax seeds and salt until the mixture attains the texture of coarse cornmeal (there should be no pieces of almond larger than sesame seeds). Add the coconut and pulse once or twice to combine.
In a small, heavy bottomed pot over low heat, melt together the coconut oil and cashew butter just until smooth. Whisk in the yacon syrup until well combined, then add the vanilla and coconut extract. Pour the mixture over the dry ingredients in the processor and sprinkle with the cacao nibs, if using. Process until the mixture comes together in a sticky “dough” and the nibs have broken up a bit.
Using a small ice cream scoop or teaspoon, scoop out about 2 tsp (10 ml) of dough per cookie and place on cookie sheet. Wet your palm (or use a silicon spatula) and flatten the cookies until they are about 3/8″ (1 cm) thick.
Bake in preheated oven 10-13 minutes, rotating the sheet about halfway through, until cookies are deep golden and beginning to brown on the edges. They should still feel soft when pressed on top with your finger (but will be hot!). Allow to cool before removing from the sheet. Makes 12 smallish cookies. May be frozen.
*for ACD Phase I, use yacon [NOTE: According to this site, agave nectar has been certified "kosher for Passover" as of 2007. Similarly, some people don't consume sesame seeds (tahini) during the holiday. Depending on your own personal preference, you may wish to use another sweetener.]
**for ACD Phase I, use unsweetened carob chips
Last Year at this Time: Raw Raw for Spring! Crimson Salad with Pecans and Pumpkin Seeds
Two Years Ago: Spiced Carrot Gnocchi in a Creamy Sauce
[Unretouched photo of unidentified, disk-like objects, hovering in the air over my kitchen table]
Before I metthe HH, I’d read exactly one science fiction novel (Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End, when I was about twelve) and seen only the standard TV shows or movies, such as Star Trek (in all its incarnations–though Deep Space really was an inferior specimen, don’t you think?) or Planet of the Apes. It’s not that I’m uninterested in what might be happening on other planets or other universes; it’s just that, frankly, I have a hard enough time dealing with just this one–I mean, who needs more stress?
Still, as a huge fan of all types of film (except anything with violence–which, I suppose, eliminates just about everything on screen these days, even down to Shrek the Third or Get Smart ), I was perfectly agreeable when the HH offered to introduce some of his favorite SF films to me, shortly after we first got together (of course, I was still trying to impress him back in those days, so I was pretty much agreeable to almost anything he suggested*).
From La Jetée (the inspiration for Twelve Monkeys, aka The Only Film in which Pretty Boy Brad Pitt was Actually Any Good) to the original The Day the Earth Stood Still to Blade Runner, I have to admit I’ve enjoyed them all. And these days, we’re both hooked on Battlestar Gallactica, that terrific Canadian-U.S. co-production that’s not only well written and well performed, but a fascinating allegory for today’s political and religious climates (oh, and hunky Jamie Bamber in the role of Lee Adama doesn’t hurt, either).
It seemed fitting, then, that I’d spy a recipe the other day for something with the oh-so-clever name of Cosmic Cookies (ie, they’re “out of this world”–get it?) at the new Planet Organic store that opened recently not too far from us. This was a monumental ouverture, as it was the first Big Organic Market north of the city (Toronto does have Whole Foods, but that’s way downtown in the tony Hazelton Lanes/Yorkville area, a far way to go for those of us orbiting out here in the ‘burbs).
 Well, I couldn’t wait to amble through the aisles and explore this newfound “planet.” The atmosphere seemed amenable: I spent about 45 minutes inspecting the inventory, from prepared foods (salads, veggies, patties, croquettes, loaves, etc.) to vegan baked goods (the orange-cranberry muffin I bought was, unfortunately, disappointing) to pastas, produce and packaged goods.
Pleased overall, I ended up purchasing “just a few things” (at the checkout, once I regained the ability to breathe, I calculated that my little spree worked out to approximately $1.00 per minute. Clearly, this is no impoverished planet).
Here’s my haul:
1) Veggie patties. Fittingly alien-looking with nubby edges and a deep carmine color, these little creatures were a mélange of carrots, beets, almonds, and an array of spices. A bit too sweet for my taste; nevertheless, good lunch food.
2) Teriyaki tofu “steaks.” Basically the first tofu recipe I ever cooked for myself: slabs of tofu marinated in the ubiquitous mix of soy sauce, ginger, something sweet and garlic. These were fine, if less than inspired.
3) A slice of bison meatloaf for the HH. He loved it. Enough said.
4) The pièce de resistance, the holy grail, the UFO (Unidentified Flour Object) I’d been seeking for weeks: a bag of coconut flour. I’d read about this elusive ingredient many times (it’s a mainstay in Deb’srecipes) but had never been able to find it before. The coconut flour will provide me with hours of kitchen fun, playing with recipes for yet more cakes, cookies, bars, muffins, or pies free of wheat, eggs or dairy–and now, perhaps, free of gluten, too (it’s a GF flour).
In the meantime, I whipped up a batch of the store’s own Cosmic Cookies, a signature sweet made primarily of oats, seeds, raisins, chocolate chips and coconut. I was so fixated on my coconut flour that I forgot to add the shredded coconut to the mix; they still came out fine. Since the store published the recipe in their own flyer, I assumed they wouldn’t mind my sharing it here as well.
And though I enjoyed my visit to the store, I think I’ll restrict any future inter-planetary shopping to just the coconut flour. As much as I enjoyed the visit, it seems more like a special-occasion, rather than a regular, destination. Just like every other planet.
*No, nothing like that, you perverts!
Planet Organic’s Cosmic Cookies (verbatim from their flyer)
I modified this recipe ever so slightly. These are not too sweet and very filling, yet somehow, strangely addictive. Could it be the extra-terrestrial influence?
2-1/4 cups quick cooking oats [I used old-fashioned]
2 cups spelt flour [I used whole spelt]
1 cup sunflower seeds
3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup flax seeds [I used ground flax]
1 cup granulated cane sugar [I used Sucanat]
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
2-1/4 tsp. sea salt [I used only 1/2 tsp.]
1-3/4 c. dairy-free chocolate chips
1-1/4 cups raisins [I used dried cranberries]
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
3/4 cup canola oil [I used sunflower oil]
1 cup soymilk
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (everything from oats to raisins).
In a separate large bowl, combine the wet ingredients (everything from water to soymilk). Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well to combine. Do not overmix.
Portion cookie dough using a 1/3 cup measuring cup [I used a large ice-cream scoop] and place onto lined baking tray. Gently flatten cookies before baking. Bake for 24 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 24 cookies.
Whether you’ve just woken up to find the Big Guy has already arrived, or whether you’re spending your day in some other way, here’s wishing you a day filled with fun, happiness, and the love of friends and family.
If you celebrate Christmas, I hope it’s wonderful.
If not, enjoy the nearly empty movie theatres today.
Talk about under the wire. Here it is, the LAST DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, and I’m still experimenting with baking cookies (and still posting to Holidailies). And guess what? I think I’ve hit on something.
I’ve been wanting to do a Christmas sugar cookie for years. Ever since I had to alter my diet and cut out wheat and refined sugars, it’s been a bit difficult to bake traditional treats (though there are so many great cookbooks out there, not to mention a whole lot of blogs using all-natural ingredients, which makes it easier and easier).
 After baking with agave nectar for the past few years, I felt pretty good about that. But a sugar cookie? Wouldn’t it be kind of heretical to take the sugar out of it? (And what would I call it, anyway–”agave cookie cutouts”?).
But recently, I also started baking chia seeds (yes, those selfsame seeds that used to grow into little animals in pottery shapes for kids), only edible. One could say that “chia is the new flax,” since it contains the same healthful Omega 3 fatty acids, only more so than flax. Further, chia is lighter in color and texture–perfect for a creamy white, snowy “sugar” cookie.
Sugar cookies are also, traditionally, rolled and cut. When baking with agave, however, the cookie dough is more often soft and most suitable for scooping or smoothing into pans, to be cut later into bars (since agave is a liquid sweetener, after all). So what to do? I decided that the combination of coconut butter instead of butter (since it’s also solid at room temperature), and chia as an egg substitute would work best, since the chia would absorb some of the excess moisture in the agave. That way, I would be able to use almost the same ratio of flour to sweetener in a “regular” sugar cookie.
I’m happy to report that the dough came out beautiful! It was a teeny bit softer than expected when first mixed, so I split it in two parts, and scooped the first half (at room temperature). These cookies came out just barely golden on the bottoms, uniform in shape, with a beautiful, tender crumb and delicate flavor. Truly, they were delicious–a great plain all-occasion cookie that’s not too sweet.
I put the second half of the dough into the fridge to sit for an hour or two and firm up. I’m going to roll it out later, cut it into shapes (should be interesting, as we haven’t yet unpacked all my baking supplies, and I’ve got neither a rolling pin nor my cookie cutters), and bake it that way; I’ll post those photos as soon as they’re ready.
[Edit, December 2008: The dough was perfect once chilled--firm and easy to roll. Here's what the cookies look like rolled out, and cut with cookie cutters:]
In the meantime, I’ll share this recipe for those of you who may want to play around for next Christmas!
Ricki’s Sugar Agave Cookies
6 Tbsp. (90 ml.) light agave nectar
1 Tbsp. (15 ml.) finely ground chia seeds
2 Tbsp. (30 ml.) unflavored soymilk
1 tsp. (5 ml.) pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. (2.5 ml.) pure lemon flavoring
2 cups (280 g.) spelt flour
1-1/2 tsp. (7.5 ml.) aluminum-free baking powder
1/8 tsp. (.5 ml.) sea salt
1/2 cup (120 ml.) refined organic coconut oil (or use unrefined if you don’t mind the coconut taste)
Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray with nonstick spray.
In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the agave nectar, chia seeds, soymilk and flavorings. Mix well and allow to sit while you prepare the dry ingredients, or at least two minutes.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Drop the coconut butter in small chunks (about 1 tsp./5 ml. each) over the dry ingredients. Pinch the mixture repeatedly between your thumb and fingers until all the coconut butter is blended in, no little lumps remain, and the mixture is crumbly. (It should hold together when you squeeze it in your palm). This should NOT be the same consistency as when mixing pie dough; you want all of the coconut butter to “melt into” the flour, with NO pea-sized bits of butter visible.
Pour the wet mixture over the flour mixture and stir until well blended. You should have a soft and slightly sticky dough, but one that holds together.
For drop cookies, you may use the dough immediately. Drop from a teaspoon or small scoop onto a cookie sheet about one inch (2 cm) apart. Flatten slightly with the palm of your hand or a silicon spatula.
For rolled cookies, gather the dough together and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate about an hour, until firm. Roll out to about 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) thickness on a lightly floured board. Cut into desired shapes and place on a cookie sheet.
Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, until edges are just golden. Cool before removing from sheets and decorating as desired. Makes 24-30 cookies. May be frozen.
(“Agave is also low-glycemic, Mum, so it should be just fine for dogs. How about some agave biscuits for us?”)
[This recipe (along with about 100 others, most not on this blog) will appear in my upcoming cookbook, Sweet Freedom, scheduled for release in early 2009. For more information, click on "Cookbook" at right, or visit the Sweet Freedom blog.]
© 2008 Diet, Dessert and Dogs
Every year, when my sisters and I were kids, for our birthdays we each got a made-from-scratch, personally decorated birthday cake for our party. One year it was Little Bo Peep, another it was Barbie, still others it was a pretty array of colorful frosting flowers splashed across a chocolate rectangle. Cake, always cake; but never can I recall having cupcakes for my birthday.
Well, times have changed. In just a few years, cupcakes have become all the rage. Little cupcake-only shops have sprouted in every major city; and my friend Angie tells me that, in Dallas, they’ve reached a peak of price and exculsivity. One might even say that cupcakes are poised to take over the world!
And so, this season, though I’ve been asked to bake for several children’s parties and an at-home Christmas celebration, in every case I’ve been asked to bake up a batch of cupcakes.
As a vegan baker who uses neither refined sugar nor margarine, I can sometimes find it incredibly difficult to come up with substitutions that will approximate the same look and taste as conventional recipes (even though I own, and have carefully persued, every page of Isa and Terry’s phenomenal book, and send major kudos their way–especially for the agave-based vanilla cupcakes). I find it fairly easy to substitute organic coconut butter for margarine, but sugar really is one of a kind, especially when you’re talking buttercream.
So, while I continue to experiment with an agave-based buttercream frosting (and to post to Holidailies), I am left with my old standby, agave fudgy frosting, for cupcakes. Though delicious and thoroughly chocolatey, it’s not airy in the least, and not as easy to pipe into ruffles or scallops or drop flowers. It tends to sport a high-gloss finish, and can be a bit stiff, sometimes firming up so much that it won’t agree to be piped at all. When the vanilla version is colored for decorations, it resembles the type of gel-like icings you buy in little tubes in the grocery store–not much fine detail to work with, there.
[cupcakes with a scoop of frosting, waiting to be transformed. . . ]
So, when I received an order for some last-minute cupcakes decorated with a holiday theme, I wasn’t sure what to do. Without any formal training in cake decorating (which, I’m fairly sure, wouldn’t be much help with this type of frosting, anyway), I had to improvise. So I thought about simple line drawings of bells or bows that I could pipe onto the cupcakes, or how I might fill in an outline with colored frosting, which would then be smoothed flat, with something like a stained glass effect.
[The blank canvas waiting for inspiration]
Well, in the end, I would say the experiment was a semi-success. You can tell what I was trying to achieve, but the icing just wouldn’t smooth out, so my holly leaves have little bumpy ridges on them. Still, they tasted great (what? I couldn’t very well give them away without sampling to ensure quality, now, could I?), and I know that the kids who’ll be eating them will be thrilled.
[chocolate and agave holiday cheer]
With precious little time left before the holiday and so many people on the lookout for Christmas recipes, I’ll contribute one more festive cookie. These are a dense, chewy round that combines a peanut butter base with chocolate chips and cranberries. If you bake them the full suggested time, they’ll be crispy on the edges and soft but dry inside. Bake a little less, and they’ll cool to a moist and chewy goodness. These are actually better the second day, as the PB flavor intensifies.
Hmm. Peanut butter, chocolate and cranberries. . . I may just have to bake some of these myself. In the meantime, I’ll keep working on that sugarless vegan buttercream.
Holiday Cranberry Chippers
This big-batch cookie recipe is a great way to involve the kids. They’ll love helping out, especially since they can use their hands to mix the dough.
1/2 cup silken tofu
1/2 cup natural almond or peanut butter
1/2 cup soft coconut butter (or substitute 1/3 cup sunflower oil)
1 cup Sucanat
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 cups whole spelt flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup large flake old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, optional (or substitute an extra 1/4 cup chips instead)
Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease two large cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
To measure tofu, spoon it into a measuring cup and “chop” it with the spoon or press it to pack down. Drain off any excess water.
In bowl of a food processor or using a whisk, combine nut butter, coconut butter, tofu, Sucanat, cinnamon and vanilla. Blend until perfectly smooth and no lumps of tofu remain.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, soda, oats, chips, cranberries, and nuts, if using.
Pour wet mixture over dry and combine to make a dough that is firm but not dry (you may need to use your hands at the end of mixing the dough to combine it well).
Using a heaping tablespoon or small ice cream scoop full for each cookie, roll dough into balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheets about 1 inch apart. Flatten the balls slightly with your palm or the bottom of a glass.
Bake at 375F for 8-12 minutes, until edges are golden. Cool and remove from sheets. Makes about 3 dozen. May be frozen.
 I must be on a “dinner-for-breakfast” kick. This morning, I scarfed up the last 2 pieces of pizza from last night’s cooking class. Normally, the class participants take all the leftovers home with them, but due to intermittent snow squalls throughout the GTA, two people cancelled at the last minute and left me with–yum!–breakfast.
I am feeling a bit downcast this morning, as last night’s was the final class, not just of 2007, but likely forever. After four years of offering alternative cooking classes in my home and finally reaching some sort of critical mass on the website, I decided with this recent move to stop teaching in the house.
First of all, my H.H. hated it (since he was relegated to the upstairs TV room for the entire evening), and even though The Girls loved it (“Yes, Mum, all those new people to sniff and free food dropping from the air all evening!”), I find this new place isn’t as well suited to having three cooking stations in the kitchen. Besides, it’s a new home; time for a fresh start. I’ve been feeling so overwhelmed with other projects and commitments lately that it was beginning to seem onerous every time I had to prep a class (a full-day venture, plus cleaning up until midnight most nights).
What I will miss is meeting an ongoing array of amazing women (sorry, Garry, you were the only man to register in the entire four years!) who have opened my mind to new experiences and taught me more about life than I could ever have taught them about cooking.
Believe me, as one who formerly suffered from anxiety attacks, I was the last person you’d expect to invite total strangers into my home. But after a giddy year as a nutrition student at CSNN, my desire to share what I’d learned and cook with the amazing selection of new and healthy foods I’d discovered overcame any doubts I may have had. (Besides, we all know that the last thing those health-foodie, crunchy granola types would ever do is steal or pillage).
So: to Giovanna, who burst onto the scene post-radiation with her smile still beaming, it was such a pleasure to meet you and observe as you entered this world of alternative medicine and organic eating. Your courage and determination have inspired me. And so cool to know that there are such incredibly gorgeous wigs out there (though I must say I prefer the natural grey on you).
To Sandra, with your naturally effervescent nature, thank you for winning the prize for “only student who attended all fourteen cooking classes in a single season.” I enjoyed hearing the plethora of stories about your kids and their pranks, and I wish you continued success as you introduce healthier options into your family’s menus.
To Barbara, with your peripatetic streak and calming smile, I so enjoyed hearing about your many travels and so many interesting customs from other countries. Thank you for your unbridled appreciation of the food and for being so affectionate with my dogs (“yes, thanks, Barbara!”). I know you will love your upcoming time in Cairo.
To Maria-Elena, you brought an informal approach and many guffaws to the class. Thank you for showing me that the Coconut Cream Pie could work when made in the blender, even though that wasn’t what the recipe called for. Who needs to measure, anyway?
To Michelle, I’m so glad you took that first chance and leapt in. I have so enjoyed our outings and discovering this new friendship. And thanks for all the great puppy pix and recipes to try out! You are a natural at it.
There are so many more, and every one has touched me in some indelible way. Still, I know this was the right move for me, one that will allow my concentration to move to more current interests (hmm, such as this blog!).
Yes, I will sorely miss the camaraderie and buzz in the kitchen. What I won’t miss is having to dash frantically around the house cleaning up the night before class (oh, wait, maybe I should miss that–this may mean our house is never clean again!). I won’t miss the last-minute forays to the corner store for overlooked okra or missing miso, or having to reprimand Chaser when the guests arrive because her exuberance overtakes her and she jumps up on people even though she’s been trained not to (“But Mum! They might have food!”).
Last evening’s theme was “Light and Easy Suppers,” healthy dishes that are mostly kid-friendly and can be cooked up in a fairly short span.
Here’s the final menu (this suddenly feels like a tribute to the Titanic, or something!):
- Sesame Sweet Potato Wedges with Thai Dipping Sauce
- Spelt Thin-Crust Pizza with Artichokes, Caramelized Onion, and Chard (photo above)
- Tofu Masala Curry with Brown Basmati
- Moroccan Spiced Tomato Soup
- Napa Cabbage Salad
- Gluten-Free Pumpkinseed Shortbread Cookies.
I will post recipes for all of these over the next while. Now that there will BE no more cooking classes, this is my best place to share, though I don’t have all the photos yet (of course, given my shaky photography “skills,” that may not be a bad thing).
In the meantime, why not indulge in pizza for breakfast?
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