Gothic Granola

When I arrived in Alexandria on Monday to cat-sit for my aunt and uncle, I arrived to a hot house and freaked-out cats: no power since Friday’s storms. The apple crisp recipe below is modified from Jon and Robin Robertson’s Vegan Unplugged: A Pantry Cuisine Cookbook and Survival Guide. I purchased the book in March and was saving it to read for a special occasion. Well, cat-sitting without power was special enough! On Tuesday, one of my bestest buds from high school invited me to a Fourth of July party in D.C. and she requested that I bring “some food or drink to placate the gods of freedom and democracy.”  However, I couldn’t use the stove since the gas burners have electric starters.  As with this episode last year , I took the Metro to my brother’s apartment in order to sleep and make cereal bars. Brown Rice Peanut Butter Cereal Bars Modified from Alicia Silverstone, “Crispy Brown Rice Squares,” in The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight,...

This is attempt number two at vegan, gluten-free challah.  It was too sticky to shape, but it rose like, well, yeast!

Chocolate pizzelles have been on my list of “things to make” for months.  I made a batch in 45 minutes to give to a friend for her birthday.

Sometimes I see a recipe or make something and have a conviction that it’s a dish for someone I know.  Even if I’m not going to see him or her, I  know  that s/he will enjoy this dish.  Sometimes it’s obvious based on people’s preferences (chocolate cookies for my chocolate-loving mother, pudding for my aunt), but sometimes it’s more obscure.

I have done something unspeakable to almond butter: microwaved it in plastic. I bought chunky almond butter in bulk and stored it an old soynut butter container.  As I neared the bottom of the jar, since I hadn’t consistently stirred it before consumption, the butter at the bottom was dry.  In order to make the muffins below, I microwaved the almond butter in order to make it stir-able, and I went thirty seconds too far.  Oh well.  The muffins suffered no ill effects, and my brother ate probably half the batch before and after the bike races in which he participated last weekend.

Brick by brick, Clock by tick, No matter how thin, No matter how thick. Papa told Mama, and Laura told Nick, 'You can move a mountain If you do it brick by brick.' The above song is from the original computer game Lego Island , circa 1998.  One-day-at-a-time philosophy crops up in the most wonderful of places.  One brick at a time, I'm reorganising this blog into a more functional resource, letting the archivist brain run wild.

Wow!  Thank you to all who attended the “Desserts for the Often-Deserted” talk at the Lawrence Library.  Your willingness to share your stories and ask questions made the event more cozy and like a chat among friends, a dessert circle.