Joyful Vegan Family

Mom’s Stuff:
I’m going to be honest – I really tried to avoid most of the 9/11 remembrances today.  That might sound horrible, but I can only take so much.  I’m not watching TV and I didn’t pick up a paper.  Sure I saw posts on facebook, and I listened to some people who survived the World Trade Center attack recount their experiences on NPR (which is a bit easier for me since it isn’t visual).  One of the things I keep hearing about with all this 9/11 coverage (especially on NPR) is about kids now who have never known a world outside of 9/11.  I can connect this in my own life to the no-remotely-close event of the Soviet Republic collapse.  I remember my 4th grade teacher telling what had happened and explaining that the collapse of the USSR was going to be a defining event in our lives.  And while it did shape the world I grew up in, I never really understood a world WITH the USSR (and Cold War) because I was pretty young when it was all over.  I now have students in my classes who were five when 9/11 happened.  Some of them lived in Boston or New York, but quite a number of them weren’t even in this country.  They know of the event, but for them it is more like they don’t really remember life before 9/11.  This got me thinking about LP.  Not only will he grow up in a post-9/11 world, but he did not live through the event.  To him, 9/11 is really history.  He never saw it shape the world (for good or for ill) because he was just born into this world.  I wonder what it will be like when he learns about 9/11 in school.  I wonder what will be taught and what won’t.  I wonder if someday his homework will be to ask his mom and dad where they were when 9/11 happened.  And, if it is, will I remember to not only tell him where I was, but what I saw happen afterwards when patriotism was turned into a license to fight more wars?  Will I remember to tell him how confused I was in my college classes when we started debating about the concept of the “war on terror?”  Will he have time to listen before he works on the rest of his homework?

Is this what happens to history?

LP’s Stuff:
LP has been quite a singing and dancing machine recently!  He knows how to do all the moves to “See the Ponies Galloping,” “Me, me. mememememe” and “Obisaynasana” (all from Music Together).  He also has gotten more adept at following directions.  He will throw away trash for us and he loves to put leaves in a pile by the compost bin (a skill that will be helpful as fall comes our way!).  He has also be babbling quite a bit more, although it is not really words yet.  He likes to go around repeating “nya” and “mama” for fun, and most other objects are still “ga.”  LP has also been really fascinated with bikes, especially after spending last weekend in a bike shop while his mom got a new commuting bike!  He really wants to figure out how to petal himself – he might be riding a tricycle sooner than we think!

One more note on LP – tonight he was running around the house like a MANIAC!  He just ran laps around the living room yelling like Tarzan.  The G-man and I were flopped on the couch, exhausted!  I need to get some more carido in order to keep up with this kid!

Food:
We have been making our own almond milk the past few months, mostly for cost-saving reasons.  It is easy and cheap to make, but we are left with about a cup (or more) of almond pulp after making five cups of milk.  I don’t want to throw it out, and I don’t want to use it as a “bath scrub” (a common online suggestion) so I have been on the hunt for ways to use it in baking.  After some decent substitutions (added into pancakes after decreasing some flour) and some failures (muffins – MASSIVE fail!) I have discovered the holy grail – easy and “healthy” chocolate chip cookies!  So, for the benefit of all, a way to use almond pulp in a yummy dessert

Almond Pulp Chocolate Chip Cookies (Or “Are you going to use that damn almond pulp” cookies)

ingredients:
1 TB flax meal (ground flax seed – we  grind lots of seeds in our house)
6 TB canola oil
1/3-1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 TB almond pulp
3/4 cup wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Blend the flaxmeal with 2 TB of water.  Set it off to the side.
2) Use a wisk or beaters to mix the oil and sugar WELL.  Add in the vanilla, flax meal mix and almond pulp.  Mix well (I found that my handheld beaters worked well for this)
3) Add in the flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix with a wooden spoon until most of the flour is incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips.
4) Put rounded tablespoons of dough on a cookie sheet lined with a baking mat/parchment paper.  Bake at 325 for 12 minutes.  The cookies should be a bit puffy and light brown.
Enjoy and bask in the usefulness of almond pulp – natures best excuse to make cookies!

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