Spicy Ginger Snap Cookies

These little ginger snaps are so easy and quick to make that I find my self whipping them up a little too frequently. Whenever I want something sweet I usually have all the ingredients for these on hand and they are great crunched up in some vanilla soy ice cream! This recipe is from a cook book a friend of mine gave me freshman year called 'Cookies Brownies & Bars' by Elinor Klivans. I veganized* the recipe with a few minor tweeks

2 C. all-purpose flour
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
3/4 t. ground cinnamon
1 1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cloves (I had to buy whole cloves and grind them in a food processor because I could not find them already ground)
3/4 C. unsalted butter (at room temperature) *earth balance natural spread
1 C. sugar plus 1/4 C. for coating
1 egg *Ener-G Egg replacer
1/4 C. molasses

This makes around 20 cookies depending on how big you make the dough balls.

Preheat your oven to 325 F and grab two bowls one big and one medium sized. In the medium sized bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves. Set this bowl aside and grab the big bowl. In here you will first mix together the butter* and cup of sugar using a hand mixer on medium speed. After that is well combined beat in the egg* and molasses on low speed until combined. Next slowly add the flour mixture from the medium bowl until just incorporated scraping the sides down occasionally.

Now is the fun part. Take off any rings and wash your hands before you dig into this dough. Make small dough balls about a tablespoon of dough and then roll it in the 1/4 C. remaining sugar so it is evenly coated. Then plop the balls on the cookie sheet. Make sure they are spread out because they will spread out when cooking.

Bake for 15 minutes or until they look crinkley on top and slightly browned on the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes and then pop them off the cookie sheets before they get stuck! ENJOY!!

Breakfast Scramble

It's Father's Day weekend and I am home with the family which means great vegan meals all weekend! This morning I made my favorite breakfast scramble from 'The 30 Minute Vegan' by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. There are tons of different recipes for tofu scrambles but I really like this simple recipe to start and then you can add whatever veggies or spices you want.

1 1/2 T. olive oil
1 C. yellow onion, chopped small
4 medium-size garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 pound extra-firm tofu, crumbled into large chunks
3/4 t. paprika
3 T. nutritional yeast
1 1/2 t. soy sauce, or to taste
sea salt and black pepper

Start off with heating the oil over medium heat in a sauté pan. Next add the chopped onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft, around 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add the tofu. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining ingredients and coook 3-5 more minutes. Next I added a big handful of spinach, a tomato chopped, 1 t. oregano, and a small bunch of fresh basil from my parent's garden.

We had a lovely breakfast with a nice fruit salad with cantaloupe, blueberries, and blackberries

Yummmm I love being home! good food and family!