And then she has another idea.

And I have been pretty much beyond busy. Gardening, making my own cleaning supplies, working on being an herbalist (or a potions master, I haven't decided). For example, today I made a double batch of biscotti, finished a basil tincture, and a fever few one, made 5 gallons of laundry soap, 6 loads of laundry and then will be heading out to the farm to help a friend. And I still managed to blog and do three hours of homework.

But the big news is that I am planning on starting a line of gourmet biscotti. For mail order sales... I think. Perhaps a couple of local vegan restaurants. I need taste testers and a few months of experimenting. But after that, hopefully in time for Christmas, I shall be ready to launch. 

So, if you would like to be a taste tester, please let me know. I will be able to ship anywhere in the U.S. for the testing phase. (The actually details of world shipping I will need to look into.) 

So, yet again, another change and another adventure. This one will be yummy!

More food.

I haven't been in the studio much. Although I am working on a painting. That aside, I am having  people over for the Season premiere of Doctor Who. We will be having vegan fish fingers and custard, as well as Jammy Dodger. My woefully American, never actually had any, and am relying on information from the internet, version of Jammy Dodgers.

These lovelies are rich shortbread (with flax seed egg substitute) and plum jam. Made them last night and am hoping they make it until the people show up for the party.

New year, new ideas

The girls and I went out walking all over, taking in the sights and photographing everything we could. That included the weird little seed pods above.

I spent this first weekend of the new year in the studio making cards, finishing up projects and dreaming of the future garden. Below are two of the cards I finished.

I have some great news. There is a new scrapbook store not far from my house. I have had to schedule trips across town to even by plaind card stock. This will save lots of time, but probably not money.

And in the bad news dept., my car died. Her brakes went out and we decided that it was not worth the money to fix them this time. We will save up and get something more reliable. In the mean time, I will use this as my opportunity to get into shape.

Blessings in the new year

K

A new project

I have this amazing old cookie cookbook that has been around my house so long I don't even remember where i got it. It was written in '66 (it is the Better Homes and Gardens Cookies and Candies). I have decided to try and veganize as many of the recipes as I can. This could get interesting as many of the recipes call for evaporated milk and pudding mixes and so on and so on. I think this will be a fun adventure and I started today.

Coconut Diamonds: (I will present my notes and changes at the end)
6 tablespoons Earth Balance Margarine
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sifted all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with 4 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut

Grease an 8x8 pan ( at the least grease the sides!)
Cream together butter, sugar, and salt. Stir in flour(1 cup amount). Pat onto bottom of 8x8 pan. Bake at 350degress for 15 minutes or till lightly browned.

Meanwhile, beat flax seed and water, add vanilla. Gradually add brown sugar, beating until just blended. Add flour and salt. Stir in coconut. Spread over baked layer. Bake about 20 minutes longer or until toothpick comes out clean. Sprinkle more coconut over the top, reduce oven to 200 degrees and bake another 5 minutes, until the top coconut is lightly browned. Cool, cut into diamonds (although really squares are pretty cool too).

Notes: The flax seed replaces 2 eggs. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of walnuts, but my family hates walnuts. And the recipe doesn't need them. It would be lovely with some orange zest and extract. I mean lovely!

All I want for Christmas

is "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar". 

I have "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and use it all the time. Now, I want cookies. 

Lavender Sugar Cookies, The Vegan way

Ever since getting a bottle of lavender coffee syrup for my birthday, I have been trying to find creative ways to use it in my baking. Aside from the lavender cupcakes, I have made lavender lemondade.

This yummy little cookie is the first incarnation of a lavender sugar cookie. The basic recipe is from the standard Better Homes and Garden cookbook. But I veganized it by using EnerG egg replacer, and vanilla soy instead of milk and eggs. I then added some of my lavender essential oil, and some of the syrup. I am pretty pleased, but think that next time I will try flax seed instead, for the egg.

Enjoy
K

Of cookies and dewdrops

I came home from taking Andie to school and noticed the tree ( I think it is a maple, but really I have no idea) was covered in raindrops. They just hung there, sparkling and shiny. The lower branches kept their drops all day. It will be fun to see what the tree looks like in the morning, as we are expecting more rain tonight.

I started working on a couple of new bangles. But... I ran out of the right color of felt for one, and the second one was just not coming together. So I put them aside and went across town to the craft store and "laid in" supplies. I should be able to finish up a couple more by the end of the week. I posted one bangle on a local site and will see what happens. I still want to do a little more research on pricing before I leap into etsy. But I am doing something everyday.

Like making cookies. The girls need healthy snacks at school, so I have taken to making them to the best of my ability. I fell behind, partially because the girls got burned out on muffins and cookies. Anyway, today I made oatmeal cookies with vanilla chips. They were a big hit.

I am also throwing in a random picture of one of the many Santa's that I have collected over the years. I think I will be doing this (again randomly) from now until Christmas. It will help get you in the Christmas spirit.

And finally, I started a weaving project tonight. Yep, weaving. And about 6rows (or what ever) into it , I am getting a big kick out of it. I picked a bright pink for my warp, and a veregated pink yellow orange for my weave. These are the colors of my bedroom. I think I am making a scarf, but who knows what will pop out. I will post it when I am done.

I started reading the big girl badge book (see yesterday). There is a chapter on photography, and I grabbed onto that. I only had time to read a page and a half while I was picking up the girls. In that page and a half, however, I learned quite a bit. Hopefully, you will notice a difference in my photos.

I think that is all for today.