So, that chocolate cake I made as a gift to myself? Lovely Beautiful Daughter and I (mostly it was just me) demolished it through last week. It became my 10:30 am snack each day, and it was interesting how much I looked forward to getting a slice each morning. I know I can't do that all the time. If I did, I'd be spinning my wheels with getting the last few pounds off.
The first morning Lovely Beautiful Daughter was here last week, she cut a slice of cake, and in her best Stockard Channing voice from Practical Magic, said, "In this house we eat chocolate cake for breakfast." And that's exactly what Lovely Beautiful Daughter did each day she stayed with me last week. The happiness I felt over her enjoying a simple thing like chocolate cake for breakfast made my days all the better.
This week I wanted to bake something that didn't use white flour. I really want to move away from using white flour and gluten free white flour. While there's nothing inherently bad about white flour, it just doesn't fit with my whole food plant based eating goals. There's no fiber and it's nutrient deficient. The foods I want to eat need to have health benefits of some kind, and since I do like baked goods, I need to learn how to bake with alternative flours.
Like almond flour. So today I searched for a cookie recipe that involved almond flour. This
recipe turned up, but it called for an egg. Feeling daring, I figured I could substitute ground flax for the egg, so I gave it a whirl. The results: beautiful, yummy chocolate chip coconut cookies. They kinda remind me of the Girl Scout cookies I love so much. Now, I have my 10:30 am daily snack for the rest of the week and they don't contain white flour. The one ingredient they do contain that's not so healthy, though, is coconut oil. I thought about substituting applesauce for the oil, but I wanted to see how they turned out with the ground flax for this attempt. My next attempt, whenever that happens, will be subbing applesauce for the oil, which will make them even healthier.
Presently the snow is falling and has been most of the day. We've gotten another inch or so and more is coming. The boys and I have ventured out for short jaunts in the field behind the house, long enough for them to do their business, but then we head right back inside. It's just too cold to be out for very long.
The owner of the dog that attacked Ado stopped by last evening to pay part of what is owed for the vet bill. I am very grateful the owner is stepping up and accepting the responsibility. During our conversation, I learned the dog had been euthanized about a week after it attacked Ado because it had become aggressive towards the owner. I also learned the dog had a history of aggression towards all other animals (the current owner didn't know this when taking on the dog; this information only came out after the dog had attacked Ado and had become aggressive toward the current owner). I feel badly for the owner. Had the previous owner been forthright and honest about the dog's aggressive behavior, perhaps steps could have been taken to prevent it attacking Ado and becoming aggressive toward the person who had tried to give it a decent home. The whole situation was just very unfortunate.
For the rest of this cold winter day, I'm going to cuddle on the couch with my two furry friends. I have some grading to do while they nap, along with a couple of books to read. Maybe I'll try to find a movie to watch. And the fireplace will definitely be going because cold winter days are all the better while sitting in front of a fire in the fireplace.
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