Everyday Life for Four Seasons

I did a little cooking experiment today and it came out okay. I *still* have some of that leftover squash, so I decided to make a batch of squash cookies to bring to Fondue Night tonight. I used my vegan-ized chocolate chip cookie recipe and instead of using 1 cup of Smart Balance, I used 1/2 of it and 3/4 cup of squash puree. The cookies are not bad. They're a little moist, a little cakey, but they taste good and they are significantly better for your heart than regular chocolate chip cookies.

When I used to give out my recipe, I would tell people that I use the recipe that you find on the backs of all of the chocolate chip bags with just a few substitutions. Now my substitution list has grown so long that I think it's time for me to write down my recipe and stop substituting every other ingredient listed on the bag.

Heart Healthy, Butternut Squash Love Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 c. Smart Balance
Scant 3/4 c. sugar
Scant 3/4 c. brown sugar
(I use a little less than 3/4 c. of each sugar because the chips are sweet enough that it doesn't need that much sugar)

Add:
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 c. butternut squash or pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons ground flaxseed and 6 tablespoons water (this equals 2 eggs)

Mix together in a separate bowl:
2 1/4 c. flour (I would try using whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour, it may stand up to the squash a little better)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Scant 1 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour mixture with the squash mixture.
Add 1/2 package chocolate chips and 1/2 package butterscotch chips (Price Chopper's chips are dairy-free and I'm told Walmart makes dairy-free chips as well)

Bake at 375 degrees on an ungreased cookie sheet until they are light brown around the edges.


If you're interested in learning more about flaxseed, here's some neat info that I copied from Madhuram's Eggless Cooking site.

1. Just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal delivers 4 grams of fiber, as much fiber as 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked oatmeal! Studies prove that when this is added to the diet, harmful LDL cholesterol drops, while good HDL cholesterol stays put.

2. Flax seed contains high levels of lignans, a natural antioxidant, which can maintain breast and colon health by binding circulating estrogens that might promote unchecked cell growth. To get the lignans that are in just 2 tablespoons of flax seed meal, you’d need to eat about 30 cups of fresh broccoli.

3. Flax seed is a mega-source for the plant version of omega-3 called Alpha-Linolenic Acid. The oil in flaxseed is about 50% ALA. One serving (which is 2 tablespoons) contains 2400 milligrams of omega-3.

If you've ever wondered why my butterscotch-chocolate chip cookies are called Love Cookies, it's because they have a proven aphrodisiac effect on people when they eat them. I've documented it, it's true.


'A' played around with my camera today and snapped this photo of me.


Today is Veteran's Day. Years ago, when I lived in Amherst, Massachusetts, I worked for an organization called the Veteran's Education Project. Veterans would talk with school kids about the effect of violence on their lives and encourage them to manage their lives and relationships using peaceful strategies. That year, Saving Private Ryan had come out in the theaters and we showed it on the big screen at the community center in town on Veteran's Day. After the film, a panel of WWII veterans talked about how the violence they experienced during the war affected their lives. They then took questions from the audience and I will never forget when a woman stood up and started yelling at them for being a part of the violence and asking them how they could live with themselves. It was a sad moment for many of us in the room.

This Veteran's Day, I am thinking of those who have served our country and I am wishing that they all have the opportunity to talk to the community about the reality of violence and the reality of the work they do. They are underpaid and underappreciated and the expectations of who they are and what they do does not always match up with reality. Thank you, veterans, for your service.