Chocolate-tea-spice-fruit...Cookies

It was a cookie day from the start. I bought some great tea at a small shop in Brookline new Hampshire (Possibly my favorite even before Tea Luxe - a close second).

I wanted to bake some fresh cookies as my supply of Scotchies has just now come to an end.

This recipe comes from The 100 Best vegan Baking Recipes. It's a simple vegan chocolate cookie recipe which I decided to spice up and Whole-Grain(ify).

The cookies are huge (but that's my doing), hearty in texture, complex in flavor - if I may say so: These be not the simple snacks from the back of the Tollhouse Bag.

Try them with a delicious cup of Green, Chai, or Rooibis.

Nooks and Crannays...

Whole-Grain (Vegan) Chocolate Chip Cookies of Glory

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup unprocessed wheat bran

1/2 cup sugar (Raw Cane? Certainly)

1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tbsp flax meal

A Healthy dose of ginger - roasted - and some cinnamon

a splash of your favorite loose leaf tea (thank you accidental spills and a need to avoid waste)

1/4 cup soy milk (or whichever you prefer)

1/2 cup butter (vegan, or otherwise) softened

1/2 cup applesauce (unsweetened, chunky, smooth, cinnamon - you choose!)

1/2 cup chocolate chips (or butterscotch - semisweet or milk chocolates...)

1/2 cup blend of dried fruits - cherries, raisins, Craisins...

Combine each of the dry ingredients. Separately combine each of the wet ingredients and add the fruit. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, adding the chocolate chips and any more milk you might need to ensure a good, thick but moist consistency.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. these will brown up a bit - they're thick and moist so worry not, they shouldn't burn (or reflect any overdoneness)

Oats anew...

I just wanted to share a quick, simple recipe.

I love nothing more than sitting down to a hot bowl of Steel Cut oats with fresh fruit on a weekend morning. Well, there are things I like more, but the ritual holds a special place in my heart.

Seeing as I had an influx of steel cut oats this past weekend after breakfast, I decided to put the pears and overripe blueberries in my refrigerator to good use.

Sweet Oatmeal Casserole:

1 cup cooked steel cut oats (or al dente rolled I suppose)

I mixed 1/3 cup wheat bran and 3 tbsp flax meal in while cooking

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Ginger to your liking

3 egg whites

1 Pear (or similar fruit) sliced into small cubes, skin on!

1/2 cup blueberries

any other fruit you like?

Combine all ingredients in a covered casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until bubbling and beautiful.

Enjoy fresh with fruit, milk, yogurt, or something sweet. It's also great reheated!

Go! Eat! Whole-grain the day!

Whats for Breakfast...

Sure, I love Crepes, French Toast, Pancakes, and a wide array of more savory egg and tofu dishes for breakfast, some weekends I just want some old fashioned, stewed oatmeal.

Here's a basic dish from this bright, cool August Saturday...

Oatmeal A la mode (because oatmeal is in fashion - no ice cream, I swear)

Serves 2

1 1/4 cups oatmeal. (preferably rolled, Steel cut is good too; quick don't work well on the stove)

1 large fresh peach, diced and partially peeled.

1/3 cup blueberries.

2 cups water.

1 tsp lemon juice.

Add oatmeal and water to saucepan, boil on high. As the oatmeal begins to bubble, add the fruit and lemon juice. Stir periodically (to avoid sticking), boiling until the water is low enough so that it has a consistency consistent with your taste (soupy or solid? I like the former).

Serve hot, with a fine cup of tea (or coffee... I guess...if you must).

*Feel free to add chopped nuts or Flax meal - In fact add flax meal, its just too good to pass up (I forgot this morning, sadly).