- See more at: http://blogtimenow.com/blogging/automatically-redirect-blogger-blog-another-blog-website/#sthash.7ohWPPsG.dpuf Eat Your Kale: March 2012

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Making a Home

I am loving life right now. Things in Boston are going really well! It took some time to get things figured out at work -- I needed to find a good balance of clients, and now that it's figured out, things just feel right. I have never doubted my decision to pick up and move to an unfamiliar city, but I definitely had some bumps along the way as I settled in.

I could not be happier with my apartment. I'm on the second floor of a house that was built in the 1700s. It has the original hardwood floors, original brickwork from where the the wood furnace once sat and I have a back porch where I can feed the birds and enjoy a view of the Bunker Hill Monument, which is just a couple of blocks away. It has so much more character than anyplace I've ever lived before. I love it. Jakers and Mabel also are really happy - they love all the windows and squirrel-watching that allows. :)

I was able to get moved in and unpacked while we were living in corporate housing, so it was nice to be able to get totally settled before actually living here. I tend to move fast - I don't want to live in limbo. So I had everything decorated and feeling like home in the first month. I'm still working on a few things (need to buy a comfy chair and figure out some storage needs), but this feels like such a comfortable home for me and the babes. :)

I've been doing a good amount of baking and cooking, too. I have been baking cookies on the weekends, so I have something sweet through the week (and I like to offer the dog walker something extra, so Jakers gets to be their favorite stop!). Below is a gingersnap recipe that I found and baked today. I used to bake gingersnaps with my Grandma...so while they aren't top of my list of "favorite cookies", they are a sentimental favorite. :) And it's a nice change of pace from my usual oatmeal chocolate chip and peanut butter rut. (Just realized I've never shared my pb cookie recipe on here. That will change soon!)

Vegan Gingersnap Cookies
Courtesy of Food.com (with some tweaks)

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons ground ginger
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon ground cloves
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • ¼ cup molasses
  • ¼ cup soymilk or almond milk
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Powdered sugar for dusting
  1. Sift dry ingredients, except sugar, into a bowl and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl combine wet ingredients, including sugar, and whisk until blended.
  3. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
  4. The dough will be quite sticky and you may need to dampen your hands to work with it. Roll the dough into little balls (about 1 Tablespoon) and flatten out to your liking.
  5. The thinner the cookie the crisper it will be - a slightly thicker cookie will yield a crunch on the edges and a slightly chewy interior.
  6. Press the coarse sugar onto the tops of the cookies and bake about 8 minutes at 350 on a greased cookie sheet. (I prefer a non-greased baking stone.)'
  7. Put on cooling rack and once cooled, dust with powdered sugar.