A New Discovery

Yum...yum! These are truly some of the best peanut butter cookies that I have ever made! And believe it or not, there is even some health to them. The other day I came upon this cookbook called "The Joy of Vegan Baking." Because there were so many excellent reviews about it, I wanted to see what it was like. Well, I wasn't willing to pay for it without trying some of the recipes, so the kids and I headed to Barnes and Noble. This was one of the recipes I decided to try from the book. However, as is characteristic of me, I tweaked it to suit my liking. :) Below you will find the recipe after adaptations (wheat germ, whole wheat flour and less sugar) that I used to make these cookies. You'll notice that the title of this blog entry is "a new discovery." No it isn't the peanut butter cookies that are the new discovery. It was my substitute for eggs. In the original recipe, she uses egg replacer. I, however, decided to try my hand at flaxseed "eggs." I have never used flaxseed "eggs" before, but I must say, they were a total success!! And it was easy too! All you do is combine 1/4 C flaxseed meal and 3/4 C water in a blender and blend until it becomes like runny goo. You use 1/4 C per egg and the rest can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks I'm told.

Peanut Butter Cookies
3/4 C all-purpose flour
3/4 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C wheat germ
3/4 tsp soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 flaxseed "egg" (1/4 C flaxseed goo!)
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C vegan butter
3/4 C peanut butter
3 T soy or nut milk
1 T vanilla
1/2 C ground peanuts

Preheat the oven to 375. In a small bowl, combine the flours, wheat germ, soda, and salt. Set aside. Make "egg" mixture and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the brown sugar, peanut butter, vegan butter, soy or nut milk, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed to mix. Add flaxseed "egg." Beat. Add flour mixture and ground nuts. Mix thoroughly. Drop by rounded spoonfuls 2 inches apart on nonstick cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with a fork. Bake 8-12 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheet before removing and putting on a wire cooling rack. Enjoy!

Parenting Is Influence

Yeah for me...I've started a regular exercise routine again! And guess who wants to also!??

When the kids get tired of the actual exercise part, they are also quite happy to sit down and watch the rest of the exercise video! So this just goes to show you, example is a great teacher! Gotta be careful about what we as parent do and the example we set. The kids will want to do the same thing! Thus is also gives opportunity to start many good habits as well.

There's Just Something About Water

Why is water soooo attractive to kids?! :) Dillon has a new obsessive compulsive behavior....washing his hands. He loves to do it when he comes in, before he eats, after he eats, right AFTER a shower, anytime! And really he loves squirting soap on his hands just as much as he likes putting his hands in the water. I suppose in comparison to many other things, it isn't such a bad behavior at all...

Tulips and the Park

I've been wanting to go to a tulip festival in MI, but don't want to drive an hour to get there! Well, lucky for me, we happened upon a small tulip festival of our own right here in town. :) Right in the middle of downtown there is a small park and yesterday we discovered that there are tons of tulips in full bloom growing there. So we took advantage of the season...

The kids were much more interested in the park, but they were good sports and let me take my fill of pictures. They were quite intrigued with the small kid sized trees as well. The ones in our yard are way too large for climbing. Spring is finally here and we are thrilled about it! Now if it will only stay for good!

Someone's Had A Birthday We're So Glad...

It's David's birthday today and we had a little family celebration at lunchtime.

When we lived in California there was this place called Steve's Place Pizza that we LOVED to go to. And there was only one pizza there that we ever got. It had whole wheat crust and a pesto sauce. Then some veggies like olives, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, and onions. Most of the cheese we just left off, however, we did like it with feta. We have sorely missed this pizza since moving to Michigan. So a couple of weeks ago when I stumbled upon a truly excellent vegan pesto sauce recipe, I decided to try my hand at replicating our Steve's Place favorite. Well, let me tell you, it was a hit! In our opinions, it was just as good as the restaurant, and by far cheaper! So this is what David requested for his birthday.

Here's the pesto recipe that I used.

Pantry Pesto (adapted from frugalabundance.com)

1/2 C olive oil

2 T dry basil (how genius!)

1 1/2 tsp minced garlic

1 T dry parsley (opt)

1/2 tsp salt

2 T water

1/4 C pinenuts (the original recipe calls for walnuts)

1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese (I use Vegetarian Express' vegan Parmazaan Sprinkles - thevegetarianexpress.com)

I put all the ingredients into my mini food processor and process until everything is mixed and minced. This is also great on pasta!

So far it's been a pretty happy birthday....at least his tummy is satisfied!

Commitment

Dwight E. Stevenson tells a story from the days of the conquistadors that illustrates the importance of commitment. "When Cortez disembarrked his five hundred conquistadors upon the eastern coast of Mexico, he set fire to the ships." As his warriors watched their means of retreat go up in flames, they knew that they were commiting their lives to the conquest of the New World for Spain. They had to be totally dedicated to the mission.

In the same way, when we accept Christ and commit to the task of discipleship, we must burn our ships in the harbor. There is no room for retreat. There is no turning back. No room for wavering!

How is the commitment in your life? To Christ. To your spouse. To your children. Would you burn your ships in the harbor?

"I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back!"

Visiting the Farm

Now that David is a pastor, we have had the privilege of visiting many of our church members and what fun it has been. We've had dinner with some, gone four-wheeling, and just yesterday we visited a family who lives on a farm. Although I didn't get a picture, the biggest hit was the large trampoline (my children, however, call it a jumpoline!). What jumping fun they had! We also got to see a few animals. It's not a large farm, but we saw baby goats and their mama, horses, and baby chicks.

My kids are not use to being around so many animals, so sometimes the large ones that get in their face or the ones that chase them are overwhelming, but they still had a good time!