It's about minus sixteen around here right now. We've got snow. We've got freezing rain. We've got something called an arctic outflow. God knows what that is. And this isn't even the worse part of Canada; In Calgary, it dropped down to minus fifty-seven with the wind chill. That's right. Minus fifty-seven. Your skin would freeze off your face in less than fifteen seconds.
Screw being anti-stereotypical. Canada is goddamn cold.
Over December, Mr. C and I sought to escape the cold by hopping over to Southern California. San Diego, more specifically. Boy, were we pleasantly surprised. Not only is the city full of beautiful beaches, quirky neighbourhoods, and the most amazing community markets I've ever seen (sorry Vancouver. They had vegan tamales. They win), but the weather was perfect. I wore a skirt, flip flops, and sunglasses. More importantly, I ate fresh picked local produce right on the beach. The clementine oranges were a favourite. We even smuggled a bag full of them in our luggage.
California can grow fruit all year round. That's amazing to me. I mean, we only get local cherries and nectarines a couple of weeks out of the year. And that's if we're lucky. But, in San Diego, I could go down to a farm and pick up a little juicy orange almost any time of year.
In between scraping the ice off my windshield and freezing my toes off, I'm dreaming of California. And it's sun. And, most importantly, it's clementine oranges.
The Best Thing About California
It's the land of wine, theme parks, and the most outrageous gay bars (Thank you, San Francisco). What's not to like?
The Worse Thing About California
Traffic. More specifically, Carpocalypse.
Why Should I Visit?
Disneyland. DISNEYLAND.
Why Should I Not Visit?
Knots Berry Farm. Screw you, Snoopy.
Got A Cookie Recipe For Us?
Totally, dude.
Vegan California Cookiesadapted from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar
Makes about a dozen and a half cookies
2/3 cup agave nectar2/3 cup vegetable oil2 Tablespoons almond milk1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds1 teaspoons vanilla extract1/2 teaspoon orange extract1/2 teaspoon sea salt1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh orange zest (from about one and a half oranges)1 1/2 cups AP flour1 cup whole wheat flour3/4 teaspoon baking soda1/2 cup pistachios (coarsely chopped)1/3 cup mini vegan dark chocolate chips
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together your agave nectar, oil, almond milk, flax seeds, both extracts, sea salt, and orange zest until smooth and light (about two minutes). Sift in your dry ingredients: Both flours and the baking soda. Stir with a wooden spoon a couple times, then add your pistachios and dark chocolate chips. Continue stirring until the batter completely forms together.
2) Roll a generous tablespoon of dough into a ball, then press down onto your baking sheets so that they are slightly flat. Bake cookies for about 15 minutes, until the edges are golden and the tops are slightly cracked. Let the cookies cool on your sheets, then transfer into your mouth. Yum.
1 comment:
How do you survive in that weather! I guess these cookies help. The look wonderful!
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