Thursday, February 3, 2011

blizzards and baking

so yesterday was a snow day. well, technically, I'm usually home all day anyway, but I used this as an excuse to be lazy! after the crazy tuesday night we had, I needed some rest!

first the hot water heater for the whole building went out. that was not good because our dishwasher is broken and I couldn't handwash the dishes. oh and we couldn't shower! yuck! wes finally got home from work at about 11pm and that is when the carbon monoxide detectors in the hall started to go off. I wasn't too concerned until the detector in our unit started beeping. we bundled up, grabbed panda and went down to the lobby. here is panda in her fleece and bundled in a blanket.



there were a few other tenants in the lobby. one of the girls called the fire department to see what was going on. apparently the snow blocked something with the hot water heater (which was broken, but still on!) and caused the carbon monoxide to build up. scary! so they shut it off and told us to leave the front and back doors to the building open for an hour to let it air out. we were also told to crack the windows in our apartments. that was amusing because the snow was covering most of the windows! so we sat in the lobby for an hour but the detectors were still going off. the girl called the fire department again, they returned and said their meter was showing zero for carbon monoxide. they then explained that there is a filter in the detector that needs to be aired out or it will continue to beep. so we had to reset all of the detectors. of course the unit across the hall from us is vacant and the detector just kept going. finally today someone came to shut it off. after all of that excitement we finally went to sleep at about 1am! that is way too late for this old lady! we slept in the next day and that is why I decided to be lazy!

I did lots of internetting and panda playing. then I was finally motivated to bake. I went grocery shopping on monday and I made sure to buy all the fixins for cookies and chili! I decided to make some good old chocolate chip cookies. vegan style of course! I used the recipe from Isa and Terry's AMAZING, "vegan cookies invade your cookie jar." this is THE BEST chocolate chip cookie recipe by far! even my non-vegan family members stole some for the road the last time I brought them to a party. I also like that they have normal ingredients. there is nothing crazy in these!



here's the recipe:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup unsweetened nondairy milk (i use my regular vanilla soymilk)
1 tablespoon tapioca flour (i use cornstarch because i can never find this!)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (i usually use whole wheat)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chocolate chips (sometimes i use less because i feel like they don't stick in the dough enough)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. lightly grease two large baking sheets. (i don't do this.)

2. combine sugars, oil, milk, and tapioca flour in a mixing bowl. use a strong fork and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until the mixture resembles smooth caramel. mix in the vanilla.

3. add 1 cup of the flour, the baking soda, and salt. mix until well combined. mix in the rest of the flour. fold in the chocolate chips. or use your hands if they aren't sticking in there.

4. for two dozen 2-inch cookies, roll dough into walnut-size balls and flatten to about 1 1/2 inches. i use my trusy little kitchenaid scooper thing for this. the recipe says to bake for 6 minutes, but i usually leave them in there for 10. it might depend on your oven. let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack. enjoy!

oh, our hot water was finally back on at about noon today. thank goodness for warm showers!

4 comments:

  1. OMG! What a night!

    The cookies look so good! I may have to try this recipe. :)

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  2. Those cookies look good! I learned something new reading this, I've never heard of tapioca flour!

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  3. Man, what a crazy week you've had! Panda is so cute all bundled up. Those cookies look delicious!

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  4. That was a crazy night you had.....and I'll have to try these cookies. I have a vegan friend and her cooking and baking is delish!!!

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