(late) Weekend Photo Drop

I hope everyone out there in hypothetical reader land had a marvelous 4th of July weekend. I headed to Mexico Beach with my girlfriend Blair and we crashed at her dad's new condo, relaxed on the  beach and cruised around Port St Joe. I wish I had better photos to share of everything, but I wasn't able to take too many that where worth sharing. I'm still working on being a better photographer and my camera is the best I've had, but still not ideal. (so, I do my best! What else is there really to life?)  

The best part of the trip was, without a doubt, walking the beach at night (jack and coke in hand) with our flashlights and finding little crabs and watching them scurry sideways into the water or pull their legs in to make themselves taller, kinda like how people puff out their chests and bow up for fights. On our walk back to the condo we all shut off our flashlights and let our eyes adjust and we were able to see the stars fairly well, fortunately the new moon was less than a week prior so the only light pollution was from the town lights. I bet it would be incredible to be on a boat in the middle of the ocean and get to stare up at all the stars! 

This sign made me really happy for some reason. It was on the way, off of some back road in Florida.

I scored the brown owl glass for free at a junk shop and it goes great with the rest of my owl stuff.  

Veggie Dog...forever alone. 

 I spent the fourth with my family. They weren't going to do anything special, but I convinced them to cook out since I won't get to do this next year with them. My mum made this delicious watermelon, lime and club soda drink to have with supper. That and hot dogs was a perfect southern summer dinner!

Steve-o (Broken End Stereo's tour manager, I believe) playing with DJ equipment.

That night I went to a party at a friend's house and this really great band from Tucson, AZ was crashing there for the night. The guys from Broken End Stereo, their tour manager and the merch girl where all there and they were all SO much fun. There are touring for 12 months on The Gila Monstour, which is a hella DIY tour. I wish I had thought about it in advanced, but I would have made them all something for dinner, but they are slated to make there way back through Valdosta in 6 weeks or so, so I will hopefully get to carouse with them one more time before I hop the Atlantic.  

Best part about vegan baking? Licking the beaters and say 'gtfo' to salmonella!

That brings us back to today, what a great long weekend! I slept until noon today and made some fabulous Vegan Snickerdoodles. They're a bit crunchy, but that makes them perfect for dunking into coffee or tea, which is how I plan on having them this evening. I hope you all an amazing weekend and have an even better week. Keep the peace and love yourself. 

-monica

Vegan Ginger Cookies

Sparkled Ginger Cookies (from Vegan with a Vengeance) http://www.theppk.com/

I was terribly bored the other day so I decided to bake something. I flipped through my copy of Vegan with a Vengeance and I was torn between these cookies and Mocha Chip Muffins. I really love cookies, but muffins are like bread and dessert at the same time. I also am a little nostalgic about muffins. It was always a treat when my mum would bake my brother and I muffins in the morning. It was a welcome treat and break from the usual cereal routine.

So instead of staying in limbo forever I let Renay, my soon to be sister in law, be the tie breaker. It was a no brain for her, as soon as I asker her which I should make the blurted out "Cookies, of course!". That was easy enough, because I'm terrible at making decisions like that, probably because I'm a fat kid at heart and just want both. 

Sparkled Ginger Cookies: from Vegan with a Vengeance

Ingredients:

 4 tablespoons turbinado or demerra sugar (regular sugar will work as well but coarse is best)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/2 cup canola oil

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup soy milk

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets. Place the turbinado sugar in a small bowl.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a separate large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, molasses, soy milk, sugar, and vanilla. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine well. Roll into 1-inch balls, flatten into a 1 1/2-inch diameter disk, press the cookie tops into the turbinado sugar and place 1 inch apart sugar side up on a prepared cookie sheet. 

Bake 10 to 12 minutes (don't overbake!), let cool on cookie sheets for 3 to 5 minutes, and transfer to a cooling rack.

They were spectacular. The most perfect cookies I have ever made. Perfectly round and cracked on top, spicy, sweet and chewy! I made a few modifications. I only had white whole wheat flour on hand, so I sifted it well and used it. I was also concerned about how soft the dough was after handling it, so I set the prepped cookie sheet in the fridge for 10 or so minutes to help firm them up. Bellissimo! -Monica