Starting Up

I have not done that great of a job with this weekly blog concept, but I will be better once I settle into my summer routine. I had my boyfriend living with me for the last week before he went home for the summer, so my priorities were not my blogging.

We tried to do a lot of our favorite things together before he had to leave. We ended up going to Lincoln City and eating dinner over a bonfire on the beach with our friends. It was a lot of fun. I also got to host a great friend who came up for my graduation, so that was fantastic. After she left, we mainly watched movies and snuggled, which is completely perfect in my opinion.

I made him cookies for the plane ride back to NH, but unfortunately that resulted in his bag being searched. Luckily, he thought it was funny. I think these are probably the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made, and they are vegan. I'll try to recreate what I did from memory.

Yummy Chocolate Chip Cookies
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate chips
Parchment paper

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix oil and sugar until completely mixed, add vanilla and 2 tablespoons water to the oil/sugar paste. Mix until water emulsifies in the mixture. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients, then add slowly to wet mix. Add chocolate chips and drop by rounded teaspoonful at least 2 inchs apart on a parchment paper-lined baking pans and bake for ~10 minutes. Makes about 20 cookies.

Since my fella is gone, I've just been trying to pack up the house I've lived in for the last two years to prep to move into my summer sublet. It is harder than you'd think to move that much accumulated clutter. Unfortunately I also get emotionally attached to everything, so I try to keep a lot more than I should. I've made some interesting creations while trying to whittle down my cooking supplies before the move.

I used this whole wheat pumpkin muffin recipe from vegweb.com (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5635.0) to make sweet potato muffins using canned yams. I just mashed the yams up in the juice they come in, and used them instead of the pumpkin puree the recipe called for. They were awesome, but if I did them again I'd only use half the oil the recipe calls for, and add a cup of shredded carrot.

This week is my first week back full time at work. I wish I could have more of a break, but unfortunately life is expensive. Luckily, I am working four sets of ten hour shifts, and so I get three days off a week. I tried to be productive on the packing front, as well as getting some much needed exercise. I rode my horse today for the second time since graduation, and am happy to get back in the habit. There is a dressage show at the end of July, and I think I'd like to compete. It would be nice to have a goal to work towards for the summer.

Well, the next post I will write will be from my new house. It is exciting to go live with new people in a different area, though I'm sad to leave my old place behind. I am also going to try to live somewhat simply this summer, so hopefully I'll have time to paint, ride, and write a little.