2006-01-23

good day.

Today was just filled with gustatory delights! And since I'm kind of a thick girl, it's plain to see that gustatory delights are my favorite kind of delights.
This morning we trecked out in the rainy muck to go to brunch at Lush as part of a local vegan meetup group. We've been to Lush for dinner a few times, but never to brunch. Let me tell you, the brunch is the best reason to go there! Ken and I shared a cinnamon roll that was the size of a baby head, and then I had a big ol' plateful of tempeh, mushroom and potato skillet hash with a side of grits. Awesome! Ken had praline pancakes with fresh berries, and I had a bite of that, too. It was way too much food for us. Yum.
After that, we went right back home, got back in the pajamas we just got out of a few hours before, then took a nice afternoon nap. I woke up and piddled around on the computer for a few hours, then decided to make a vegan shepard's pie by copying a non-veg recipe I saw on a Food Network cooking show earlier in the morning. I used the veggies I had on hand, since I was not about to put clothes back on and go out. It turned out really tasty! But I suppose anything that involves a mashed potato crust would probably be good.
I don't know if I've mentioned here that I have been working very hard over the past few years to find the perfect vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe. Believe me, I have made some good ones, but never have I made a batch that I could consider completely perfect. Even a lackluster chocolate chip cookie is still good in my opinion, much like pizza. I mean, chocolate chips, flour, and various oils pretty much equal love in food language. But finding the best combination of these has proven to be a challenge.
For years I used this recipe as my "go-to". They turn out good most of the time, but they really don't do well with even the slightest bit of over baking. They get hard and dry very easily. After hearing so many people say that they liked Akasha's recipe the best, I started using her recipe more often. What I don't care for about hers is that they are always very flat, and too soft, if there is such a thing. I also find having to cream margarine and sugar together very annoying.
Okay. So off to the recipe books I went. Pretty much every vegan cookbook has a chocolate chip cookie recipe in it. I tried Sarah and Tanya's recipe next, because I have had great luck with other recipes from their books. In fact, HIAV and GOV are probably my favorite cookbooks of all time. That being said, I HATED their choc. chip cookie recipe! The cookies were far too "bready", and much too dry. A big disappointment.
I recently decided to give Isa's chocolate chip cookie recipe a go, because the rest of her book kicks fucking ass. Her cookies turned out just okay. They tasted way too much like blackstrap molasses, and were too... eh, just not quite what I wanted. Back to the drawing board.
Tonight I decided to try out Dreena's chocolate chip cookie recipe. Honestly, I didn't have high hopes for these because Dreena's recipes tend to be a bit healthier, and frankly, I don't eat cookies for my health. Her recipe calls for a mere 1/4 cup of sugar, and then some maple syrup and blackstrap molasses, so my assumption was that the cookies wouldn't be sweet enough for me. Well, I am very pleased to announce that this recipe is in the top running for the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe! They came out of the oven looking a little bready, but they were actually quite soft and just sweet enough! I'm impressed and amazed. Especially because this recipe only varies slightly from many other recipes I have followed for chocolate chip cookies. My only complaint about the recipe is that it only yielded about eight cookies. What the heck is that about Dreena? She must not know that I like to eat my cookies ten at a time, usually while standing over the sink.
Don't judge me.
So anyway. Today was nice. A great brunch with my husband and a bunch of nice people I barely know, a relaxing afternoon of being a lay-about, discovering a great dinner recipe, then happening across a runner-up for my perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe contest.
Well it's not really a contest exactly, more like a life goal. But whatever.