Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Pumpkin Pumpkin Pumpkin. Its the end of December, I'm still holding on!

These cookies rocked! The recipe came from Vegan with a Vengeance. I've got to say, the best part about vegan baking, is worry-free spoon licking.

The flax seed was optional. I thought I would try to do it in my food processor. Bad move...the blade hovers right above all the seeds. The blender is the way to go on this one.

Also, never try to open a can with a knife. My can opener is from space so Nick and I thought it would be an alright idea to open the can with a knife. He cut his finger open, and I ended up with pumpkin up and down my arms. The good news is that we emptied the can of all its contents.

The cookies themselves we're chewy, gooey, and delicious. I didn't have one remaining by the time I got home last night.

My First Adventure...Ginger/Flax Muffins

My first adventure in the kitchen today was to cook the Ginger Flax Muffins that the Post Punk Kitchen just posted on their blog.

Here is a silly little side note: I LOVE the Post Punk Kitchen. I cannot stress that enough. Isa's "Vegan with a Vengeance," is pretty much my bible. We both come from Jewish upbringings and she has created recipes that hit reaaaal close to home. If you're thinking about investing in a vegan cookbook, go for Vegan with a Vengeance. I cannot get enough of it.

ANYWAYS:

My mother never followed a single recipe correctly. She would mossy on out to the store and get all the ingredients, mix them all together and call it a success.

So when I'm cooking, and I can't find the 1/3 cup because, shucks, we never had one, I am forced to improvise. No one should have to eyeball 1/3 of a cup of soy milk!

This recipe called for ground flax seed. Isa says that flax seed is a good, nutty, alternative for eggs. For each tablespoon of dried flax seed, you add 3 tablespoon of water, and grind (I did this in my blender). The result is a sticky, gooey, gluey mess, a lot like beaten egg whites. Getting it out of the blender was a pain in the backside too. Next time I'll use a food processor.

I substituted maple syrup for molasses, pumpkin soymilk for unsweetened soymilk, fresh chopped ginger for ground ginger, and a mix of confectionery sugar and hard-as-a-freakin- rock brown sugar instead of the real stuff (solely because I misread the sugar box before I headed for the store).

Yeah, yeah I am a BIG time substituter. Sue me. Anyways, they came out wicked freaken good. See for yourself: