A little Neil Diamond for yah

Hello, my friends, hello. It’s good to need you so. It’s good to love you like I do. And to feel this way… when I hear you say… Hello.

Okay. I have no idea why I just wrote that haha. I think I’m in just one of those moods. Anyway, I got my trigonometry test back on Monday night. PAHAHAHAHA yeah. That’s what I did when I looked at my test. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. I got a 72%. I’m not gonna cry about it though. Instead, I’m gonna dance. Tap dance to be specific haha That’s what I did when I got home from school Monday night. And last night, too. I’ve been in this crazy tap-dancing mode. Many of you don’t know that I tap-danced for a while, and I just miss it so much!! So for the hell of it, this is a picture of my best friend, Mitchel. He's wearing my beautiful tap shoes… kind of haha. I didn’t feel like looking for a pic of myself because this one is just better than any one I have of me wearing them. He will probably shit himself when he sees that I posted this, but oh well. As long as I get a kick out of it...

Ok. Enough of being a bad friend. Here’s some food to make up for it haha This was from my cooking video: The Blonde Experiment. I made a recipe for vegan blondies and I’d say they turned out pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. Oh I love Larry David!!! But that’s besides the point. Haha I cannot stay focused today!!!

Here’s my recipe:

Maple Macadamia Nut Blondies
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup macadamia nut butter
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp maple extract
1/4 tsp xanthan gum + ¼ cup water
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 cup + scant 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8 in. pan with canola oil cooking spray.
Mix applesauce, nut butter, sugar, maple syrup, and rice syrup together in a stand mixer. Combine xanthan gum and water in a cup and allow it to set for a few minutes. Add the extracts to the sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, combine yeast, flour, and salt and stir together. Add the xanthan gum to the sugar mixture and blend. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix. Fold in macadamia nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips. Pour batter into pan and bake for 22-24 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.

So Blonde

My birthday party ended up being so much fun!!! I had all my family there and my cousin, a missionary in Nicaragua, came, too. Everyone was in a wild mood and I don't even think people were drinking that much. I mean, there was the Sangria and wine (I had both and they were so nasty). As for the presents, my grandma gave me a pair of her pearl earrings that my grandma bought her. They are so stunning, and it was really unexpected. Then, my great aunt gave me her pearl necklace so I would have a set. If I ever get married someday, that's what I'm wearing! And of course, there was the food. Oh, the food. Let's just say I was not a vegan or vegetarian yesterday. But hey, you only live once, so eat what you want to eat!!!!!! I just hate putting a label on myself for the kind of food that I eat. So as of now, this is what I am: I am a person who lives on a diet free of meat, dairy, and eggs throughout the week. I eat honey because I like it, but that doesn't mean I hate bees. And if I want a piece of chicken once in a while, I'm gonna have myself a piece of chicken!

Whoo that feels good to get that off my chest. But now for the recipe. I'm doing an experiment for biology where I have to transform traditional blondies into vegan blondies. I made up this recipe using my knowledge of fats, proteins, and all of that other stuff. haha I really, really, really like these and so did everyone at the party. They kind of taste like marzipan (that almond sugar candy) and have the consistency of fudge. They do have a weird glossiness to them, but hey, it was my first experiment. I don't even know if I can consider them blondies, but that's what I'm callin them!

Here's the recipe:

Marzipan Chocolate Chip Blondies

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup brown rice syrup

½ tsp almond extract

1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tbsp water

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 in pan with Canola Oil cooking spray.

Mix applesauce, canola oil, cane sugar, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup in a stand mixer. Beat until smooth. Combine Ener-G egg replacer in a cup with 3 tbsp water. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Add Ener-G egg replacer and almond extract to the other mixed ingredients. Blend. Add in baking powder, flour, and sea salt. Stir, not beat, until well-combined. Add pecans, shredded coconut, and chocolate chips and stir.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-27 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.