Thin Mint Cookies! (with a yummy peanut butter variation)

Girl Scout cookies were no doubt the best part of being a girl scout. Sad, I know, but those darn cookies could be eaten by the box they were so good. I loved them all, Tagalongs, All Abouts, but of course, the best of them all, the Thin Mint.
What could beat a chocolate mint cookie with a catchy name like that?

A vegan version, of course!!!

This Mint Cookies:
~1 C white whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
~ 2/3 C vegan sugar
~ 1/2 tsp salt
~ 1 Tbsp baking powder
~ 1/4 C + 2 Tbsp cocoa
~1/4 C grapeseed oil (or any mild flavored oil will do)
~1/4 C applesauce
~2 Tbsp agave
~2 Tbsp water
~ 1 tsp peppermint extract

~ Choclate for melting


1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2) Mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cocoa. Add the oil, applesauce, agave, water, and peppermint, and mix until combined.
3) Mold the dough into small round patties and place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or to get them to be crispy when they cool. The time will vary depending on how big you molded the cookie.
4) Once the cookies are cool, melt the chocolate in a double boiler*. Dip the cookies in the choclate and get them well coated. Transfer them onto parchment paper (I like If You Care brand) to cool. Store once the chocolate has hardened (...or eat them)

* You can also use a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water, although the bowl can move around, so it's easier to burn yourself by doing that.

Peanut butter variation:

The one combo that is better than chocolate and mint, in my opinion, has to be choclate and peanut butter. But what about all three?
I blended about 1 C of peanuts with 4 dates and a few spoonfuls of store bought peanut butter (unsalted), blended in my food processor, and got a stiff, tasty, peanut butter that could be easily molded into a patty to fit ontop each cookie.
This peanut butter stayed on the cookie when being dipped in the chocolate, and stays in shape when you take a bit of the finished Thin Mint.

My sister likes them a lot, and I'm very happy with how they came out too! I'll be working on a dehydrated raw version, and hope I can get something like that to match up.
Tomorrow, these lil' cookies will be bagged up and placed in a handknit (by me) bag with little knitted bunnies for my mom for Mother's Day,and here's hoping she'll like them too!

MacaRAWne and Cheez

I don't think I have ever had a hard time being vegetarian or vegan. The only thing that makes things a little difficult would be eating out at restaurants that aren't able to comply (Because when I order a baked potato and steamed broccoli-the only two vegan things on the menu- with nothing on them, I mean NOTHING, not melted butter!!!). But other than that, I have had nightmares about accidently eating meat (obsessive?), I have no yogurt cravings, could care less about ice cream or cream cheese, and cheeses kind of gross me out- especially melted.

Although, I did nonchalantly say to my sister that if there were anything I miss, it's macaroni and cheese. I would never eat that again (well, exept for vegan versions, of course), but the dish does hold a lot of memories for me, like lunch at my grampa's, making it for dinner while on vacation, mixing in ridiculous amounts of broccoli to it...

I have tried to find some vegan substitute to match up to dairy mac and cheese, but to no avail... And then I tried a raw recipe for i... I've made quite a few changes to it, and I have to say, of all the vegan mac and cheeses I've had, this is my favorite, despite the pasta being carrots!


MacaRAWne and Cheez: Serves 2-4
6-8 carrots, grated (or more if you want)
3/4 C finely chopped broccoli florets
1 avocado
1/2 C nutrional yeast
6 Tbsp water (more or less, to your preferance)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp nama shoyu
Salt and Pepper, to taste

~Mash the avocado with the nutrional yeast, water, lemon jice, garlic powder, and nama shoyu. Add salt and pepper to taste.
~Mix in the grated carrots and chopped broccoli.

I think it goes best on top of a handful or two of spinach or lettuce! And with some dried basil or oregano sprinkled on top, too... yum!

Italian Veggie Soup (Stew?)

It seems my mom is getting a little more interested in the food I make. Although she draws the line at certain raw foods and rather foreign cooked concoctions (such as anything Indian), she's beginning to have me make meals for her, and even will have juice as meals, too!
And I enjoy it. I'm strange, and packing lunches gives me a sense of pleasure. (I swear, being able to pack lunches is the one reason why I would want kids)

Although this was a few weeks ago, she asked me to make her soup with lots of veggies. Which was fine with me! I've since made this recipe twice, and it's just so good! And it was a great way to use up some of the vegetables that had been in our fridge for some time, too.
Now, I'm not really sure whether it should be called soup, as it was more veggie than broth, but whatever works, I guess...




Italian Vegetable Soup
~Swirl Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~4 cloves garlic, minced
~1 large onion, diced
~1 C carrots, diced
~2 medium potatoes, diced
~3 celery stalks, chopped
~1 medium yellow squash, diced
~1 medium zucchini, diced
~2 C vegetable broth
~2 C water
~1 24 or 26 oz can of tomato sauce
~2 bay leaves
~2 Tbsp dried parsley
~1 Tbsp dried oregano
~1/2 Tbsp dried dill
~1 Tbsp dried basil
~1/4 nutrional yeast
~ 1 can kidney beans
~ 1 can corn
~ Salt and Pepper to taste

1.) In a large pot, heat the oil on medium-low. Add the onions and garlic, and let cook until the onions are translucent.
2.) Add all of the vegetables (carrots, potatoes, celery, squashes), herbs, water, broth, tomato sauce, and nutrional yeast and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let simmer for 40 minutes.
3.) Add the beans and corn and allow to simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste (it may be salty enough depending on the tomato sauce and broth used)
4.) You can add some more water or broth if you want it more liquidy.




I love adding some kale to mine once it's ready to be served. The heat of the soup just in a bowl makes the kale crispy and warm! :)

Why wool isn't ethical...

There are many people who will wonder "Why vegan? Why not just vegetarian? What harm does milk, eggs, honey, and wool do?". Well, there are numerous reasons why not to eat animal products that don't kill the animal, but as far as wool goes, a sheep must be sheared. Cows and goats need to give birth to produce milk, I'm sure eggs aren't pleasant for a hen to lay (and I'm sure she'd prefer it if a rooster fertilized it for her), and bees go to great lengths to make honey (not to mention honey is basically bee regurgitation).
I always get questioned why I don't eat honey, but not usually for wool. I have, however, received the slightest bit of teasing from a vegetarian uncle of mine. Details are fuzzy, but I remember him saying "Poor, naked sheepies" over some article of clothing made from wool. I'm not surprised most people don't know the conditions of sheep for wool, but wool just isn't ethical.

Much like their made-for-meat counterparts raised in factory farms, sheep live in poor living conditions and are fed unnatural, inorganic diets.
Similar to how how factory farm animals go through tail-docking, castration (male sheep suffer from this too), teeth-clipping, beak-trimming, and dehorning, sheep go through something called "Mulesing". (See Right)

Mulesing is a practice where lambs are forced onto their backs so chunks of skin and flesh can be "hacked from their rumps with gardening type shears". A sheep's skin will naturally form wrinkles- which, when living in close confinement in their own feces, are a breeding ground for flies. Mulesing is done, usually without the benefit of anesthetics, to prevent the flies from laying eggs in the sheep.
This practice, however, often leaves open wounds on the sheep, which become infested with maggots.




A sheep's production of wool is based on breed and genetics. If a sheep does not produce a profitable amount of wool, s/he will be sold for the meat industry.
Since the sheep was not bred specifically for meat, the meat will be considered "low-grade", and sold at a very low price.
Every year, millions of sheep are shipped from Australia (the biggest wool producer in the world), tightly packed onto open-decked boats "for a journey many will die from" to be slaughtered for the cheap, low-grade meat.

Sheep who are ill, weak, or injured often will collapse and be trampled to death.

Below; Sheep wait to be packed onto a cargo chip
Inside a live-export ship


Others will die from exposure to the harsh conditions of the sea, disease, heat, cold, or starvation.

Every year, tens of thousands of sheep will die from these live-exports.

Those who survive this three-week voyage are instantly taken off to the slaughterhouse. The sheeps are slaughtered by a slit in the throat. Pre-stunning is not done, and the sheep are left to bleed to death.


And if the ethical reasons were not enough to give up on conventional wool, environmental reasons should be.
About 4,000 tons of manure and 2 to 6 million liters of urine are washed into the sea each voyage, along with the bodies of the sheep who didn't survive the trip.



Above; a truck bringing sheep from ship to slaughterhouse overturns.
Below; Sheep Slaughter


Another thing to note: in March, 1980, a live export ship, the Farid Fares, caught fire and sank, bringing 40,605 sheep with it.


Although, I wouldn't say wool is all bad. I will never wear fur, leather, pearls, or silk. I won't ever eat meat, dairy, eggs, or honey. But I can see myself raising sheep and shearing them every spring, throwing their wool, dying it with natural dyes, and knitting it into eco-friendly clothing and toys.
It's much more environmentally-friendly than acrylic, polyester, or inorganic cotton (more pesticides are used on cottan than any other crop). And, unlike other animal products, the sheep really don't have to give anything up if they are treated with love, dignity, and respect like they deserve.

But no matter what, wool will always be itchy, and organic cotton will always be better!


Sources:

http://www.mapleleafweb.com/forums//index.php?showtopic=13533
http://animal-lib.org.au/subjects/animals-for-food/48-sheep-live-export.html