Vegan chocolate chip cookies and chhhheesssseeeeeee!!!!

Really some of the most important "c" words in the English language (I could think of one more, but it's not too appropiate at the moment). Anyways, let's get on with some new stuff!

 First, let's talk about The Fresh Market that just opened in Evansvile. It is located in the same shopping plaza as the Target Greatland on the Eastside, by Babies R' Us. It just opened yesterday, and I made my maiden voyage this afternoon. I didn't really need anything, I just wanted to get the feel of it. It was BUSY!!!! It was a good thing I wasn't doing any real shopping, it was hard to move around in there! They did offer tons of organic fresh porduce and many other organic items, so that is a plus. I did notice alot of the produce was a little cheaper than my beloved Schnucks organic, but I wouldn't drive across town for it, if it was also available to me right now the road for just a little more. They did offer more options than Schnucks, so if there was something you couldn't find, it might be worth the trip. They had a candy bar that looked awesome (although I'm pretty sure a lot of it is off limits to us veggies) and a salad bar with fresh fruit that looked amazing! I did pick up a new brand of veggie burgers, that had a way more healthful ingredients list than Boca or MorningStar, so I can't wait to try them. One of the best things I thought they have is a fresh ground nut butter machine (thanks for the heads up Tasha!) They take dry roasted peanuts, cashews, and almonds and crush them right into spreadable butter!!! One of the best things about The Fresh Market is they are letting you sample the stuff! Candy, nuts, and the butter can all be sampled (atleast for now!) All of the nut butters were awesome, cashew was def. my fav. I went with the peanut though as it had the most protein next to the almond butter. The peanut was $2.99 per lb, but the almond and cashew were a whopping $7.99 a lb! So that might be a better treat item. The best part is there is no salt added to the almond or peanut, something hard to find in the natural jarred kind.! Ok, the best part of my trip, I picked up a bag of  Daiya shredded cheese! I had seen this at our local food co-op and the fellow vegan gentleman suggested it to me the last time I was there, it was just a little expensive for me at over $5 a bag. Well I purchased it here because I swore it said it was $3.99 a bag, but come to find out when I got home, it was $4.99 a bag!!!!! I would much rather give my money to the co-op, so from now on I will be purchasing it from there. The taste was pretty damn good for not being real cheese. Let's face it, nothing will taste like the real thing, ever. But this stuff melts and has a pretty close taste, esp. if you are using it in a recipe and not by itself, I think you would be suprised how good it repliactes it! The hubby made a grilled cheese and my 3 year old cheese lover ate it and liked it (and he is one picky little guy!)  It does have a little tinsy aftertaste so be prepared for that. I am really excited to try the mozzeralla on pizza now! All in all, The Fresh Market is worth checking out. And the flowers there are amazing!!!!  It probably won't be my first choice of shopping, but it will be a nice place to visit for treats and unique items.

So now onto the recipe! Vegan Chocolate chip cookies! Per usual, for baked items I turn to my girl Isa! So this is her recipe for CCC! These are super easy to make, and I am also including some vegan items that are really accessible and fairly priced, so check those out! I took them to work and all of my co-workers loved them!! Enjoy and til next time!


Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup margarine at room temp (I used Smart Balance Light Original with Flax, and I get it from Wal-Mart for about $2.50! and vegan certified on the label)

1 1/4 cups sugar (again I use Florida Organic Crystals and also found at Wal-Mart and vegan certified)

1 tablespoon molasses

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour ( I use whole wheat pastry, seems to not be as fluffy of a cookie, but otherwise the same)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt ( I used 1/4 teaspoon, I hate using a lot of salt in things)

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips ( Ghiradelli is accidentally vegan and also found at Wal-Mart)

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cream the margarine and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add in the molasses and vanilla and incorporate. Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and mix until a dough forms. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Now I recommend putting the dough in the fridge for about a half hour, allowing it to become a little more stiff (that's what she said). Otherwise it was alittle hard to work with.

 Roll dough into 1 inch balls or drop by tablespoons onto ungreased cookie sheets (I did both of those and the balls seemed to not get quite done in the middle, which I happen to like, so I recomend dropping). Bake for about 10 minutes until mildly browned. Allow the cookies to cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Remove and place on plate or wire rack to cool

P.S. The dough itself was fabulous and safe to eat since it was egg free! I'm gonna try it in a milkshake!

yum!

the cheese!

Grocery total for first month being vegan...

waaaaaaaaassssssssss $400 dollars! I realize that seems like a lot. Well it doesn't seem like, it is! But keep in mind that is a family of three who eat almost every single meal out of those groceries. So if you break it down per meal, it comes to about $4.75 per meal, for the whole family. That doesn't even include snacks (which this family does a lot of) so throw those in the mix, and the price becomes even lower per meal. Also keep in mind that everything I buy that can be purchased in organic, is. So if someone were more focused on the vegan aspect of things, you could do it even cheaper (but I will always support organic, and if you can afford it, go for it.) Something to consider as well, my family seems to be in pretty decent health (knock on wood several times, I even cringe saying that aloud with fear of one of us coming down with something horrible). My son nor I had been to the doctor since our 1 year check-ups a year ago. Granted we weren't vegan, but we bought a lot of organic, and knew where most of our meat came from. Something to consider next time you shell out a co-pay at your doctor's office. Also, being completely honest, that is almost the exact same amout I paid being non- vegan. One more thing to consider, I had to buy a lot of vegan staples that I didn't have formerly, so next month may not be quite as bad. I could have also made a lot of the same meals I had already made and spent less, but I really wanted to test and try lots of new things! So not too many recipes this week, I was still adjusting to all the change around here, but this week should be full of some good ones. Stay tuned and have a wonderful weekend :)

When life gives you shit, turn to chocolate :)

I love to share delicious recipes and support this vegan journey as much as possible, but I have to be honest, today I am struggling. Most days, I love it. I love talking about it, the cooking, and the satiisfaction that comes along with it, however today that is not the case. You see, these last couple of days have got me down. Nothing too terrible has happened, other than my partner in crime of three years has left me, to start his own journey into the world of preschool. Of course I am talking about my son. I have been thinking how great it is gonna be to have alone time, and be free to come and go as I pleased during the day, but honestly I just have felt lost. I find myself just counting the hours until he comes home. I know I gotta let go, but damn it's hard! I also haven't heard word on the job yet and have convinced myself it just isn't going to happen for me right now. I am a very firm believer in "everything happens for a reason", but sometimes it is just hard to remember that. Combine that with some other stuff no one really needs to here about and I am just in a little emotional. So all of this brings me to my point, food. I am defintely one who turns to food for comfort. I get joy out of food, especially when I'm down. Ice cream, pizza, mac and cheese are just a few of my favorite things. I have yet to find substitutes that are as good as the original. It doesn't help that a dish I had been excited to cook all week, turned out to be a flop :( The edmame pesto was not quite what I expected. I have a queasy stomach, so I am not one who can eat things I don't really enjoy, so that dish was a lesson learned. I wanted so badly to cheat, I was contemplating throwing all of this out the window. I started to make a list of all the vegan things I just don't love (nutrional yeast, fake cheese, sometimes tofu) and thought "I am never going to make it." Then a little voice told me to be strong, think of the greater good and all of the wonderful things I have made. Then I got the idea. I needed to use these big juicy organic strawberries up before they went bad, and what does a woman turn to when she is down? Chocolate of course! I melted some Ghiradhelli semi-sweet chocolate chips and made chocolate covered strawberries (thank god those little treats are accidentally vegan) They were awesome, and quite frankly saved me and my veganism. I hope as time goes on, I grow a little stronger, but I wanted to share this story, so you all know it isn't always as easy as I make it look. I have gained willpower through this and that's something I never really had too much of. So sometimes you win some, and sometimes you lose, but in the end, it all seems to work out!