From the Garden Journal

. . .it’s raining again, and has been raining every day for the last week.  We can’t seem to get a break long enough to plant in the gardens.  Even if it stops, the ground is too wet.

. . . our first potatoes are up

. . . our buttercrunch lettuce is up

. . .the heirloom lettuce is up

. . .the heirloom peas are up and a few spinach plants

. . .the solar bird house has not yet been visited by birds. 

The inside actually lights up at night, after a full day of charging in the sun.  I’m not sure the birds will enjoy a night light.

No Flour? No Problem ~ Baking Up Cookies

I baked a new cookie recipe today, and it does not contain flour.  It is not an inexpensive recipe either.  It contains an ingredient we have never tried before – Almond Butter.

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup Almond Butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.  These cookies will need to be baked on the center rack of your oven.

In medium bowl, stir the first six ingredients together.  Add chocolate chips and almonds.  Drop by rounded teaspoons on parchment paper lined cookies sheets.  Do not press dough down.

Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and allow cookies to remain on cookie sheet for a few more minutes to allow the cookies to set.  Remove cookies from cookie sheets, and cool them on cooling racks.  

Yield:  2 1/2 dozen approximately

Now, I asked myself, "could I have made my own almond butter?"

The answer is yes.  There are various recipes on-line, tutorials on YouTube, and recipes in cookbooks. 


I thought I was doing a pretty good job baking a more "organic" chocolate chip cookie, until I found another recipe at Clean Eating.  They swap out the brown sugar for Sucanat, and use dark chocolate.  I will definitely be trying their recipe also.

Today, I also canned another 3 ½ pints of jelly – Candy Apple Jelly.