A Snickerdoodle Kind of Day

The other night I set out to bake a cinnamon-y treat with hints of nutmeg and cardamon--mostly hoping to fill the house with warm spices and homey vibes. A snickerdoodle! I remember a version of this cookie resembling a flat, all white flour sugar cookie, light on cinnamon, heavy on sugar. If there ever was an easy-bake-oven kind of re-entry into this world again, this cookie is it. I try to keep the number of left over cookies to a minimum, so I bake smaller batches lately vs "recipe makes 24 cookies" because no one around here will want the same cookie for two months.  

In attempting to not succumb to sugar comas, I prefer less sugar--loving coconut sugar lately--and definitely less all-purpose flour, rather blending flours mostly using combos of rye, sorghum and oat. Rye being a favorite.This recipe can be doubled, or just made straight with white flour and white sugar...but why do that when the options are endless? Coconut sugar is used here with a bit of the regular stuff. I tried subbing some of the other "no sugar" types in my baking over the years... just no. Especially no to erythritol. (Look it up.) I spend most of my grocery shopping reading labels, then searching on google for descriptions/warnings...sometimes falling into a black hole of fear in the middle of the baking aisle.

Vegan Snickerdoodle

*makes around 12 cookies

1 1/4 c. flour 

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. cream of tartar

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/8 t. ground cardamom

1/4 t. salt 

1 stick vegan butter

1/2 c. plus 2 T. Florida Crystals sugar

1/4 c. coconut sugar

1 stick vegan butter

1/2 t. vanilla extract or vanilla paste

1 t. ground flax mixed with 2 T. water

*2 T. of sugar plus 1/4 t. cinnamon and dash of nutmeg for rolling cookies before baking

**powdered sugar for an extra pretty add-on

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare cookie pan with parchment or light spray.

 Sift together dry ingredients. Set aside. In another bowl, blend butter, sugar, vanilla and flax "egg". Add dry mixture to wet and blend until no dry flour remains. Shape into small walnut-sized balls, roll one side in a bit of the sugar. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool before sprinkling a few of the cookies with powdered sugar. 

And then this...It's been a minute. And for what it's worth, it hasn't even felt as long as nearly four years. I'd wanted to jump in here again on and off over the years. Some pithy comment on this or that accompanied by a yummy recipe or two but the pull of other priorities fills the day and "poof"...day over. There's always tomorrow. Well, we're all good here. A few more wrinkles and grey hairs, but thankfully, healthy and still able to dress ourselves.

 

Vegan Flag Cake (Gluten Free. . .Born in the U.S.A.)

All this cake needs is Bruce Springsteen and a sparkler and you'd be set. 

I became Flag Cake obsessed this morning while catching up on some reading. More specifically this article on Food52. It showed up in my Twitter feed as I was scrolling through the "what you might like" links. Wow. They REALLY know me. The article is about the history of the (wait for it): Flag Cake.

I read the entire history of this cake from Betty Crocker to Ina Garten and Taylor Swift til now. I always assumed Flag Cake was something our mom did to the store-bought angel food cakes to make us feel less poor. Turns out, we were poor, but this cake was not our mother's invention. (Let me give credit where credit is due, she did splurge on some sparklers and a few of those awful stick things where giant plumes of color flames flew out right there in our HANDs!) 

I thought my cake making days were behind me. I mean, it's been years since I've made a cake. But being the OCD person that I am, I could not stop thinking about Flag Cakes. All morning. Until finally I announced we'd be having Flag Cake (while hiding in our home with two terrified dogs and Netflix streaming at its highest volume, fans running in every bedroom to drown out the noise. . . until this godforsaken holiday passes). 

This cake typically gets made in a 9 x 13" pan. I opted to make mine a 9" square cake pan. There is nothing fancy about this cake. It's a basic vegan yellow cake (made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour--the 1-to-1 kind), and your basic vegan buttercream frosting. I've made a hundred cakes just like this. What you want to keep in mind is that it is not going to have that airy, super crumbly texture you'd get were you using eggs and making it GF. You'll get a denser cake, which is fine because just look at the amount of berries you'll use. The cake weighs a ton, too. But serve it with a side of vanilla coconut ice cream and be ready to cry with happiness.  

Couple things on the cake making front, you'll notice I've used Ener-G egg replacer in my cake AND a flax egg. Why? The original larger cake calls for SIX eggs! So as I was parsing out how to adjust for not only it being a no egg cake, but also how the GF flour would react to all this deviation and I figured it'd be best to err on the side of caution and did the more is better thinking here. It worked!

Vegan Flag Cake (Gluten Free)

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)

1/4 cup cornstarch (or arrowroot)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 cup turbinado sugar

4 tablespoons vegan butter

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon ground flax with 2 tablespoons water plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pints red raspberries

1 pint blueberries

Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons vegan butter

4 tablespoons vegan shortening

1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegan creamer

3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9" square cake pan with a smear of butter and a dusting of flour to make it nonstick. Then line the bottom with parchment paper. Place all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and sift together. In another bowl, add the vegan butter and sugar, vanilla and almond extract and mix until light and fluffy. Prepare the vegan flax egg and egg replacer--then whisk them together. That's right, prepare them separately, then combine. Add this to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well until fully incorporated. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, and then add a third of the almond milk and mix well. Continue adding the flour, then milk until finished. Mix the batter until it is a smooth consistency. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Prepare the buttercream frosting by adding the shortening and butter cream and extract to a medium bowl and mixing well until smooth. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add more if the consistency seems too thin, and add less if the frosting seems too thick. Frost the cooled cake. Take a moment to outline with a toothpick or tip of a knife where you'd like the blueberries vs. raspberries to go. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving. Serving the cake cooled yields a delicious cake. Trust me. 

Reading Between the Lines

I opened the door to walk out and get the paper in this godforsaken heat at seven in the morning, and this fellow was staring at me. First of all, it must have taken him all day to get up the gigantic hill in our back yard to our FRONT door. Omg. Poor creature. 

Then, working in the book biz continues (to my utter shock and dismay). At times, my intermittent dealing with the public slowly erodes my faith in the future of humanity. Not that all book lovers are dealing a blow to my sensibility of our plight, but let's say if I have one more seventy year old woman ask me to look up five erotic-romance titles for her while she steadies herself on her walker, well, I think I might just leave the whole entire job behind with utterances of "WTF?!" I cannot make this up. I wish I could. But nope. When I come home and share these stories with DH, he laughs hysterically, shaking his head in disbelief.

Vegan Feel-Good Chili with Everything (cooking to help heal--isn't that what all cooking is anyway?)

I needed to spend the entire afternoon in the kitchen. It began like all chili making endeavors: a glug of oil, spoonfuls of cumin, coriander, some mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, salt and the pile of veggies I had carefully spent the last half hour chopping and mincing. I literally just kept pulling out veggies from the crisper and methodically went through them with the knife: zucchini, onion, carrot, garlic, green pepper, celery. Then poured in a can of black beans and a can of kidney beans, then two cans of tomatoes--one sauce, one diced. And finally, added a bag of my favorite vegan crumbles (Beyond Beef). With the aroma of cumin and my heavy-handed scoops of some favorite chili blends (okay, it's Penzey's), my kitchen began to heal my soul. 

Low and slow--the way all chili should be cooked, the way all souls should heal. 

Quickly, while one eye was on the pot of chili, I whipped up a batch of brownies, too. 

Finding My Voice and Strength Through Change (and a new blog direction)

Time is ridiculously cruel. How dare spring think she can rear her head up! It's only February for goodness' sake! Now here I am post-seven-years-of-solitude, and everything around me seems to be moving at lightening speed.

 I loved every minute of my time alone. Well, I wasn't exactly "alone" in the sense that I sat in my hovel worrying away every minute of the day in my own head--there were the dogs, my husband, our garden, the woods, books, my cooking, running, knitting. 

Every day had its ebb and flow. 

Mornings were set aside for morning stuff, like coffee (lots), reading, knitting, walking the dogs and running. 

It's Organized Chaos

I have spent the better part of these last few days "tidying up". The stories of people in my community losing everything to raging flood waters sparked something in my heart that said, "if that were me, how would I manage." Every year around this time, I go through and try to purge from life those items and things collected that might have worn out their welcome and need a new home. It's a long process of self inventory as well as physical inventory of what we have, what we need and what can simply go. For me, doing so is a luxury, for others right now, it is a forced experience brought on by the floods.
I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like.

This is a year of change for our household. My blog will serve as my "outlet" for navigating around this coming year and all it brings. I'll continue to highlight vegan eats as much as possible and toss in those sometimes "snarky" observations of life here and there. 

The year ended on a sad note for us with the loss of Annie. We spent a lot of time during the holiday reflecting on our life as a family of "many dogs" and how each dog we've shared our life with has shaped us, changed us and made us better people. 

We cannot ever imagine our lives without the dogs. 

Then the floods hit and we once again, reflected on life. 

How can you not when you see neighbors suffering through one of the worst disasters to hit this area since the floods of '93. 

People impacted by the flooding still need help and I read in this morning's paper the Red Cross  provided shelter to over five hundred families at the height of the disaster. The Salvation Army is also assisting families. Donations of items to the displaced are now being sorted and will be distributed. 

It is still beyond comprehension the loss.

Soon I was considering the "things" we have and hold on to. I function best with very little clutter, straight lines and organization. Simple is better. That little best selling book on the matter of "tidying up" is my manifesto when it comes to dealing with life as I have dealt with it over these fifty-some decades. Does it give me joy, no? Out it goes.
Well. . . not so fast: Hello, YARN! 

All yarn gives joy, does it not? 

And cookbooks and books in general, they give joy, too. Right?
According to me, the answer is YES. 

So my tidying up began in earnest with my yarn. Oh. The. Places. I. Thought. I'd. Go. (with my yarn). And the places I still think I'll go to with my yarn: brioche knitting (loved it, then hated it, then NO). Cabled pullover sweater, maybe. Tons of shawls I never wear, YES! Why so many shawls? Mostly because they are fun to knit, to manipulate, to look at in admiration as I: YO, p1 and skpsso.

Knitting works to calm my mind. 

One of the last things I do every night before bed is to knit. 

So the yarn stays.
All one full closet of it and dresser drawer.
It all stays. 

Saroyan Shawl I am knitting (has a beautiful leaf pattern along the side. Pretty!). 

On the wardrobe front, I pulled every single piece of clothing I owned out from my closet and placed them in piles: keep, donate, business, casual, long sleeve, short sleeve, workout, light-to-dark color--one thing became clear: I am someone for whom the color spectrum of black bell tolls. My closet consists of black (mostly), grey (second mostly), purple (third place), and a very few teals have come to be my staples. No yellows, blues, greens, whites or any funky horizontal stripes or polka dots either. 

I hate stripes and when they began to appear in fashion I thought the world had gone mad! 

Stripes should be banished from fashion forever.

My life already feels lighter.

Vegan Apple Streusel Pie Cookie Bars (and the "parking lot" incident)

This looks like apple pie. It tastes like apple pie. The topping is streusel. The middle is, of course,  filled with a staggering amount of sliced granny smith apples and a whole lot of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and what have you. And it was heavenly. The trick is to "chill" the finished pie. This requires planning as you may want to make it the day before you are planning to serve.

As the pie bakes, the apples shrink, the streusel topping gets crackly and yummy. With the thick pie dough to hold the pie up, once the dough is chilled, you slice the pie and serve on a plate as 

apple-pie-cookie bars. No fork required. One solid slice that stays stacked and solid after sliced. Skinny slices work--not your "normal pie thick" slices--to really get the true cookie experience.

(*Note: As you can see, I baked my pie in a pie shell, however, to get the true "bar cookie" effect, you may swap out the round shell for a square 8" pan.)

The parking lot incident is told after the recipe so as not waste anyone's time.

Here's how the "pie-became-cookie" recipe happened. 

Late Summer Reflection

This morning I woke at five a.m. Never happy to be so rudely introduced to a new day, I obliged my body's biological demands (as many women my age do on any given morning), deciding going back to sleep would render me useless. I'd be a wreck the rest of the day for having squandered a perfectly good morning on trying to catch a few extra winks. I love my sleep and am an early-to-bed-girl. 

Mornings are me time. Ever so quietly, I read, I write, I read some more. It was quite beautiful this morning. The full moon was peeking out from behind the clouds in the west, and the sun was barely beginning to rise in the east. I try to keep as quiet as possible for fear of waking the sleeping dogs: 

Let sleeping dogs lie--I remained true.

We're Expecting A New Member of The Family Soon So I'll Share Something Happy for A Change (and a reflection: My St. Louis, Missouri Today . . . My Gary, Indiana circa 1970s)

Well, we're preparing for the arrival of our newest member of the family in three weeks. My heart is melting over this. As you all know, Dr. Thyme and I have suffered several losses of our most cherished pets. And with each loss, we felt an emptiness that was difficult to overcome. Very. Difficult. Lots of tears. The last loss, Merlin, was perhaps the tipping point. The point at which we both looked at each other and said, Gee, it'd be great to have a dog for its entire life: from puppyhood to adulthood. Because truth be told, the time we have to share a life with a dog is never long enough.

Vegan Black Raspberry Cobbler with Biscuit Thick Crust (Heirloom Amish Recipe. . . and your mother was right: Always. Wear. Sunscreen!)

This week: bake, eat, bake some more, run, garden, pet the dogs and bake again--oh and attend a medical procedure for DH. This cobbler is a result of what happens with a black raspberry patch that's gone amok and a whole lot of stress on the side. The cobbler is an old recipe from one of my mother's Amish cookbooks. Growing up in Indiana, many of our summer trips involved a visit to Amish country. Mom was into the Amish. Though I don't think she'd trade her modern conveniences like electricity (powering her sunlamps!) for the whole "Amish" way. Ever. 

A huge black raspberry crop showed up in our yard this summer. (I have the remnants from the thorns all over my upper arm to prove it--a small price to pay for enjoying these delicious fruits.) We had no trouble devouring them. On my last trip down the hill, I had harvested about four cups of berries. I knew immediately they'd be made into a cobbler (one of DH's favorites). Problem was, I didn't know which recipe I'd use. About ten years ago, I had used this same Amish recipe, but with the traditional butter/fat/and a TON of sugar--the recipe called for. Not this time. I whole-grained the crust up and then cut back on the sugar and of course, used vegan butter. The result was pure heaven. You should check to be sure you have some vegan ice cream on hand. Pretty much mandatory for finishing this dish.

Kelp Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing (Um, I may have a yarn "problem" plus we go hither and yon)

It was only a matter of time before "kelp" entered this blog. Last month, DH and I were searching for a vegan eatery in St. Louis. Finding a vegan restaurant in STL is very simple--there are only a handful. I overwhelm easily, so it's a win-win for me in deciding. We were near Forest Park, PuraVegan was ohsoclose. So that settled it for us. This isn't a restaurant review post, but if it were, major kudos would be handed out. I decided to have a kelp noodle salad. Dr. Thyme had the vegan burger. (No surprise there.) What happened next changed my eating for about two weeks. Kelp was all I could think about. Kelp was all I wanted. 

Vegan Chewy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (in my garden and our 30-mile bike trip on the Katy Trail. . . whew.)

When something grabs my attention, like say a cookie recipe, life as we know it pretty much stops. Such was the case this afternoon. I had taken a nap. Napping is under appreciated. I don't indulge in them very often, but when I do, I will confess to feeling like a new woman after a little day time shuteye. Usually I'm hungry when I wake up. I suddenly had an urge for baking after spotting a "Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe on the Cook's Country blog, The Feed, while catching up on my reading (post nap). I probably shouldn't have been looking at food right after waking up. My whole afternoon schedule got re-arranged because of this cookie. Alas--I had to recreate a vegan version of the cookie. No problem-o. You will have to try this recipe to see for yourself if you agree about the "chewy" part. If you go to their post, they break down into helpful, straightforward speak why this recipe works. I just had to make sure it "worked" as a vegan cookie. And thank god it did because not only was I just waking up from my nap, my blood sugar demanded I have a cookie SOON. 

*And yes, I am well aware this is like the twentieth vegan chocolate chip cookie I've posted on this blog. But I ask, is there any such thing as "too many chocolate chip cookie recipes"? I think not.

Vegan Blueberry Hemp Cinnamon Crunch Muffins (. . . an after ten mile run pick-me-up, me and sis visiting the flowers, mammograms and "more" of life at fifty)

Although the blog's been quiet, the life has been anything but that. Let's catch up a bit, then I'll talk about these amazing hemp muffins I created. (Hemp. Seed. My new best friend.) As I mentioned earlier, I signed up to run the GO! St. Louis Half Marathon . . . in two weeks. (Blog flashback moment: I broke my ankle on November 11th.) Yesterday I accomplished my biggest challenge in my training for the half to date: I ran a ten mile training run in just over two hours. Can you say "Happy"? (Which is my favorite running song, thank you Pharrell Williams.) No ankle pain! 

Vegan Dill Pickle and Potato Soup (With No Regrets)

It dipped into the forties in the evening this weekend. Potato cravings ensued. I didn't want straight potato soup, mind you--you know the one, leeks etc. I sought a potato and then some. I love it when I can intuit how a soup might come together once I glance at a recipe. Skimming the ingredient list, I set about pulling from the drawers in the fridge and cool storage areas all the food stuff I have on hand to make this soup my own. It's not the prettiest soup on the block, but the pickle part intrigued me the most. It's a Polish soup. Old country as my mother would say. And I love dill pickles--you add them at the end of the cooking so you experience a tart, dilly bite with each spoonful. We loved this soup. So simple. And filling. Both characteristics qualify this soup as an official fall soup festival soup in our house.  

Vegan Banana Bread: Breakfast Ready with Chocolate and Espresso in the Mix! (And Knitting the "Vogue Eyelet Raglan Cardigan" in Pretty Pale Blue for My New Gray Hair!)

I came home with a ginormous bag of bananas from Costco last week and this is what I ended up with: banana bread. Sometimes buying in bulk is necessary. I usually scoff at the purchase of a trunk load of bananas--a buck forty or not, and think, When will we ever eat all of those? Instead, I'll usually bring home a maximum of four bananas a week from the "regular" store because I like to have a half banana before bed (sometimes DH does, too)--and that about does it for us for a week's supply. Well, I had six bananas left in my bag still--and the "spotting" had started. I really wasn't in the mood to bake at all. (Yes, I have non-baking moments.) And yet. The bananas. They mocked me. I hate waste. I could have frozen them for smoothies, I realize. But I've not been in the smoothie mood. So this. So. Glad. I. Baked. Jump to the recipe here.