This Story Began With a Pair of Pants

Funny thing happened on the way home. I forgot to pick up the dry cleaning and was having a proverbial pants crisis which required a 7:40 run to the cleaners. The only potential upside to that was that, other than fresh pants, for some reason I was craving a mini-chocolate chip cookie. Not something I would normally eat but the Beverlywood bakery is right next to our cleaner. They were of course closed when I got there. I had my pants though. Today was hectic and I did not get the full run-down on what Lisa had made. Waiting in our kitchen was a wonderful cookie the kids had passed up; and which I'm assuming was not a reject that fell on the floor. The best cookie I ever had. And, I'm pretty as punch pleased I missed the one from the bakery. So thank you to Lisa, the kids, and my pants. Michael

COOOOOKIIIIIEEEEEE

Our adventure continues. One of the happy side effects of this project is that I feel more...motivated to do stuff. Don't really know why, but, one thing leads to another. Yesterday I decided to tackle my sadly neglected garden. I figure I can do one small section at a time and soon it will be back in shape. I'll post some of those pictures as well. I do use the tomatoes and herbs in the garden in my cooking so it is relevant, and our daughter has discovered that she likes marigolds, so I put some of those in, and, of course, marigolds are very Indian.
Speaking of our daughter, she likes to look at the pictures in GR's Great Escape cookbook (I'll review that soon and post it to the reviews page). Last night she came across a picture of cookies (she is a bit of a cookie monster) and she hinted that she would like me to make them. So, I did. WOW! They are so good. I'll post the recipe on the recipe page shortly. She pronounced them, "Good; Mommy, please, I want more cookies." Michael thinks they are the most awesome cookies he ever had. Our son liked them as well. I brewed up some masala chai and had two after lunch. What a treat. They are made with butter and eggs, but you could make them vegan by substituting cashew butter and maple syrup or agave nectar for the eggs, butter, and sugar. I also made them from a combo of wheat, barley, and oat flours, due to I am something of a whole grains goddess.
I also felt the need to make a chutney. Pineapple-currant. Again from GR's Great Escape. I used chipotle chilies, 'cause that is what I had and because I like them. Gave a nice smokey flavor to complement the sweet. Good with the leftover sweet potato parathas and tangy chickpea stew.

Lightly spiced sesame and cashew nut cookies
adapted from the recipe in Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape
3/4 cup mixed whole grain flours (wheat, barley, oat)
pinch of baking powder
pinch of sea salt
1/4 t. ground cardamom
2-3 T raw sesame seeds
3-4T unsalted butter
1/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1/2 egg beaten
1T milk
Mix the flour, baking soda, salt, cardamom and sesame seeds in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, cream the butter and sugar, then add in the egg and milk. Fold in the dry ingredients to form a stiff dough. Drop the dough into walnut sized balls onto a baking sheet (I line mine with a Silpat) and leave room for them to expand. Flatten the balls and press a cashew onto the top of each. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes (keep an eye out so they don't burn).
Vegan option: Instead of the butter, eggs, sugar and milk, cream together 1/4 - 1/3 cup of raw cashew or almond butter (cashew butter gives a bit creamier feel) with 1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar. Blend in the dry ingredients and proceed as in the main recipe. Unless you are a committed vegan, make the dairy version first, because you really must taste these. You can also use all white flour to make these more delicate and light.