2540 Cookies

These cookies are from a vegan cookbook and are a staple dessert/pot luck contribution at our house. This has lead one friend to call them by our address, 2540 cookies. They are better for you than regular chocolate chip cookies and can actually claim one local ingredient by using NC maple syrup. Here's a somewhat decent picture:

3/4 c flour
1/2 c sugar
2 c rolled oats
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 banana
1/3 c olive oil
1/2 c maple syrup
1 T vanilla
1 1/2 c chocolate chips

In a large bowl, stir together dry ingredients (not choc. chips). In a food processor, blend banana, oil, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Add the chocolate chips and stir until well incorporated. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (I promise, it will make this much easier.) Spoon a heaping tablespoon of dough onto the paper and press together lightly. Bake for 12-15 min on 350 degrees or until browned. Makes 10-15 cookies, depending on size.

Fast, easy, delicious, and not altogether unhealthy. It could take variations of dried fruit and nuts to make them more like an energy bar. (from The Garden of Vegan)

Staple Food: Harmony Bowl

At the Laughing Seed in Asheville, NC, they have on the menu The Harmony Bowl, which is:
Layers of organic brown rice, organic pinto beans, grilled organic tofu, seasonal steamed vegetables, and our addictive sesame ginger sauce.

It is such a wonderful, simple dish that it is easy to recreate at home. The key is Annie's Goddess Dressing, which is similar to the Laughing Seed dressing, as seen at left. I usually have a bottle of that dressing on hand along with cans of pinto beans and brown rice. Then you add seasonal vegetables. Onion is the only constant, then I recommend mushrooms and broccoli. In the summer, yellow squash is a wonderful addition. In the fall and spring, any variety of greens will work. I cook a bunch of rice to use leftovers for something else latter. Saute the onions with the vegetables, then layer over the rice and pinto beans. Smother with as much dressing as you like. Tofu or tempeh can be good, but I almost never add them. The beans are plenty for me.