Gluten-Free Vegan Leftover Oatmeal Maple Cookies

I had some leftover oatmeal this morning from a lovely farewell breakfast with two dear friends of mine who are driving across Canada before moving to New Zealand. One of them is cursed with intolerances and candida, the other eats everything. Both are adventurous, and love to eat, so cooking for them was a total treat. After saying goodbye, I was feeling sorry for myself and envious of their journey as they move on to more visits in Montreal. My self-pity was amplified as I tried to study for an exam for a correspondence course I'm taking in statistics. As if to match my mood, an amazing amount of rain started coming down in sheets- and I was determined to do something comforting. 

I dream of the oatmeal cookies my mom used to make us. They were always so perfect, and before she could get through her batter, the yield would be reduced by about 1/3 from my brother and I sneaking into the kitchen and plucking them from the cooling trays to share with friends. I told myself I was "helping" since I would try and take the ones that looked a bit darker than the others or had broken edges- she probably wanted a really uniform-looking batch, and I was a very selfless child. 

Well, I "helped" myself through this batch, too, mostly from a lack of willpower and a considerable amount of time since my last freshly baked cookie. Plus, I have to review everything before I tell you about it. In this case, I reviewed a second cookie just in case I missed something when I had the first one. And then a third, in case I missed something in the second. 

Roasted Pear and Candied Maple Walnut Salad with Dandelion Greens and White Wine Dressing

It's tough to come back to a city after days in the wilderness. The stillness of the water, dipping an oar through bouquets of lily pads and cooking around an open fire is hard to let go of. I gave a sad sigh as I plucked pine needles out of my bag at lunch today, and had to analyze and then suppress my urge to pick up branches from the ground that looked perfect for kindling on my jog home.

One big advantage to civilization is fresh vegetables. Ever considered dandelion greens? When I was little, I used to use the milk from their stems as juice for "potions" in my backyard. That, partnered with an alarming amount of accidental finger-licking afterward, has lead me to carry a somewhat negative connotation toward ingesting any part of this plant. Then I started coming across articles and recipes about their edible properties, and began to wonder why everyone was weeding and not harvesting this plant. Since I am currently yard-less, I began my own exploration of paths and fields around the city. I then quickly decided public and dog-ridden parks were not ideal for harvesting greens, and settled for grocery.

Dandelion greens are best when harvested at a very young or old age, when their bitterness is minimal. In their adolescence, they can be a bit overwhelming. To alleviate the bitterness, it helps to soak them in cold water overnight. Either way, they are rich in vitamins, antioxidants and calcium. One cup has 10% of your daily calcium intake, 32% of vitamin C and 112% of vitamin A (Self Nutrition Data). So, if you don't have a good harvest in your backyard, and aren't lucky enough to live by a somewhat sanitary field, you can find them in the grocery store in the late summer months. The sweetness of the fruit and candied nuts are a nice contrast to the slightly bitter greens in this salad.

Raw Vegan Sushi Rolls with Sunflower Seed Paste and Fresh Veggies

I'm taking to the woods on a back-country camping trip today, and have been dehydrating food for the last week. This is not particularly aesthetically pleasing- especially the curry- and I have yet to discover how desirable these meals are once rehydrated. Therefore, I won't be sharing any of those experiments with you yet.

What I will share is the result of an impromptu craving for sushi last night while packing, and a lack of sushi rice in my kitchen. I will definitely not take credit for this idea. I had my first raw sushi roll from Four Sisters, an Ottawa-based family business that makes organic and natural prepared foods. They're on board with the slow food and hundred-mile diet philosophies, and sell their products in natural food stores in the city. I am a huge fan of veggie sushi, but not a huge fan of how easy it is to overeat when the delicious morsels tucked inside tend to be surrounded by so much filler. I was so intrigued by the replacement of rice with seeds that I had to try to make my own.

You can play around with this recipe and substitute any of the veggies inside. Marinated mushrooms, steamed asparagus or sweet potato would be terrific additions or replacements. For my first go, I chose simple, which translates into using whatever I had in my fridge. I couldn't muster up the energy for a fancy dipping sauce (planning six days of meals really takes the wind out of you), but basic soy sauce worked just fine.

Tomato Woes, Raw Coconut Date Rolls & Short-lived Feelings of Invincibility

I had a step forward last week. I was strict with myself - even foregoing the occasional glass of wine - and by mid-week felt confident and optimistic about a tomato trial. Many people who have issues with tomatoes can handle them cooked. I think the premise is that it lowers the acidity, and may remove certain proteins with high heat or processing. This could mean big things. This could mean soups, chilli, pasta sauce, salsa... buckets and buckets of salsa.

So, at a group dinner hosted by friends, we made brown rice gnocchi with simple herbed tomato sauce. Other than my sad comparison to everyone's side baguette- garlic-inflused vegan "butter" spread on a rice cake- it was perfect. And- no stomach ache.

I drummed my fingers into the following afternoon before proudly declaring myself cooked-tomato friendly and announcing that I would have pizza for supper (I was once that girl in the cafeteria asking for two extra sides of pizza sauce for one slice). I picked up tomato paste on my way home from work, singing all the way home. Oh, the possibilities.

Well, I must have been overexcited, because my usual freestyle gluten-free pizza crust tasted terrible. So terrible, in fact, that I could not eat it. How could I make it time and time again without fail, and then let myself down on such an important occasion? It was 9pm. I was sad, famished and exhausted. So, what did I do? I hastily scraped the tomato paste and vegetables off of the crust, spooned them onto the only immediate vessel (lettuce) and ate them.

I do not believe in regrets. Everything happens for a reason. If you can't see the reason right away, you must be patient. I think the reason for this painful result of my short-lived feelings of invincibility is in a lesson to take it slow. I may be able to have the occasional cooked tomato for now, but perhaps I should hold off before spooning its purest of forms onto my plate.

Either way, ambitious thoughts of tomato-sauce featured weekend dishes were set aside for the time being. I was little bit blue about it. Since tomatoes were off the menu, I busied myself with other ideas. Sometimes I like to make myself feel better with sugar, and sometimes with salt. This weekend, I chose sugar, and the simplest of recipes: the date roll.