My dearest friends moved into their very own beautiful house yesterday in Eagle Rock. It has fig trees, along with orange and lemon and loquat in the backyard. There's a big front porch looking out onto one of those quiet tree-lined streets with nice neighbors. All us movers were incredibly jealous. Though apart from being unspeakably happy for my friends, I am excited for me too, because it means a lot more time in this food-friendly neighborhood.
As everyone else toiled at the old apartment (sometimes it's convenient to have a baby), Desmond and I walked down to the Taco Spot. It was good. There are three different kinds of vegetarian tacos that can easily be made vegan. All the vegetarian choices, and there are many, are clearly marked on the menu. Desmond and I had the tofu tacos. (I got the okay from the Doc last week to broaden baby's diet. I'm so excited! She didn't specifically mention tacos, but he did just have little bites of soft tortilla and beans, which he enjoyed heartliy.) I agreed that lunch was delicious. The taco combo came with three soft tacos filled with marinated tofu and topped with guacamole and finely diced onions and cilantro. The beans and rice were basic, but well-executed. They were moist and flavorful, everything that you want from your side of rice and beans. And the salsa - there was love in every single one I tried, and I'm not talking about some icky kind of love that you don't want in your salsa. These sauces were made with care- that's something rare and special to find in the salsa bar at the healthy Mexican place down the street. This is an order at the counter sort of establishment with a couple of tables out front on Colorado and maybe a dozen inside. It's comfy and clean, and the food is solid. I will go again, quite possibly the next time I'm in the neighborhood, which will probably be tomorrow. (D & K - I think you need to make the guest room a priority. Oh, and I was of course kidding about the convenience of baby getting me out of work-it was a quick taco stop to give us cleaning strength.)
As everyone knows, a moving day is incomplete without a full jar of cookies, and I think that no cookie says home sweet home like the snickerdoodle. It's all that cinnamon and sugar- it's like a realtor's candle from the 99 cent store. Here's my vegan recipe (adapted fairly literally from the excellent Classic Cookies pull-out by Joanne Chang in the special holiday baking issue of Fine Cooking magazine from winter 2005):
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cream of tartar
2 earth balance buttery sticks, softened at room temperature
1 1/2 cups evaporated cane juice
2 replaced eggs
2 Tbsp. cinnamon
Heat oven to 350. Whisk together flour, soda, and cream of tartar. Prepare the egg replacer. Beat the butter with 1 1/4 c. sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula. Add replaced egg. Beat until thoroughly combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl again. With the mixer on low speed, slowly blend in the flour until incorporated, about 30 seconds.
In a small bowl, mix the cinnamon and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls into the cinnamon sugar and roll around to coat and form a ball. Set the coated balls of dough about 3 inches apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake until golden brown on the edges and slightly soft in the center, about 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the sheet for 1 minute before transferring them to a rack to cool.
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.
Mmm...smells like home.
