How on Earth is it November already? Really- this year has gone by super quickly, it seems. The leaves are beautiful where I live, so I am not complaining at all. Plus, holiday season is coming up, and that means it's time for me to work on some dessert recipes that I- and my wonderful readers- will love to share with their family and friends this season.

In case you've ever wondered what my favorite dessert is, it's cookies. No question. But as I've mentioned before, I am usually pretty unskilled (read: terrible at due to lack of patience and instruction-following abilities) at baking. To my disappointment, homemade cookies are not a frequent thing in my house.

I tried to make this recipe several months ago, but I used way too much baking powder, and it tasted horribly salty. After that experience, I was only reminded by how terrible a baker I am. I struggle to follow instructions and have the patience to let treats cook fully.

Luckily, my craving for chocolate cookies last week got so intense that I decided it was time to redo my recipe with less baking powder and more chocolate (because why not?). The result was delicious! It is perfectly soft, and a good mixture between intense chocolate flavor and sweetness.

Maybe I'm not such a bad baker after all. :)

In fact, when I get home from a run with my mom this afternoon, I'm totally planning on making some decaf Earl Grey tea and enjoying one or two of these cookies- sounds like a perfect evening.

Double Chocolate Cherry Cookies
(makes ~20 cookies)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/3 cup vegan-friendly chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup dried cherries
• 1 and 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of liquid vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine the applesauce, oil, vanilla chocolate chips, and dried cherries.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the sugar, vanilla, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
3. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir until all the powder is combined in the dough.
4. Shape the cookies into balls and place them on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes at 350˚F.

In case you haven't experienced it or can't remember it, being a senior is high school is rough stuff. Don't get me wrong- the school work feels less intense. But it's the gosh darn college applications and finding the motivation to actually get up in the morning that makes everything so hard. And of course, I struggle with the realization that this time next year, I won't have a kitchen of my own to work in, or two little poodles to cuddle with, or even be able to come home from school and go on jogs with my mom.

This is the first year in four years that my brother and I are on the same campus, and it's been fun to wave to him between classes and find him at shared club meetings. But I am also really, really ready to get a change, to move on, to meet lots of new people, and to find out more about what I don't know.

The weather here in North Carolina is steadily becoming beautiful: the mornings are chilly and gray and the afternoons are bright and sunny. I can sit outside for hours and not get too hot or too cold- a phenomenon that exists in NC for about 2 weeks each year. But it always seems like a lot of stress comes when the weather is the most beautiful. I remind myself of this everyday, and I'll remind you as well: take a deep breath, smile at the sky, and treat yourself to an ice cream sandwich.

Don't treat yourself to just any ice cream sandwich! This recipe raw, vegan, wheat-free, dairy-free, and pretty darn healthy. Not only is it chocolatey and delicious, but it also contains the energy boost you need to get through your day (or at least to get you to your next ice cream sandwich bite!). It's nothing short of amazing, between the rich, chewy crust and the dense coconut ice cream on the inside. It's the ultimate guilt-free dessert, and I am super happy to share it with you!

Raw Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwich Bars
(makes 6 bars)

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup of oats
• 1 cup of dates, soaked in hot water
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of almond milk (heated)
• 1 teaspoon of coconut oil
• 2-4 tablespoons of coconut fat (the solid of a refrigerated can of coconut milk)
• 2 more tablespoons of cocoa powder or 1/4 cup of solid dark chocolate
• Optional: sprinkled cinnamon to taste
• Optional: 2 teaspoons of powdered sugar

Directions: 

1. Soak the dates in hot water for ten minutes.
2. In a blender, grind up the oats into a flour. Add in the cocoa powder, cinnamon, and dates, and continue to blend the mixture into a dough.
3. Separate the dough into 2 equal parts. Press one half into the bottom of a small bread pan, making it a flat surface. (This is the bottom crust of the sandwich.) Store it in the freezer while preparing the ice cream filling. Keep the other half of the dough in the refrigerator.
4. Clean out the blender. Put in the hot almond milk, coconut oil, coconut fat, chocolate, and powdered sugar. Blend until it reaches a thick, cream-like texture.
5. Pour the ice cream into the pan with the bottom crust on it. Freeze it for another few hours, or until the ice cream center becomes solid.
6. Once the center is solid, press the other half of the crust mixture on the top of the filling, being sure to cover the whole thing. Put the pan back in the freezer for another hour or so.
7. Slice it into 6 bars, each about 3/4 - 1 inch thick. They are best when slightly thawed.

Trust me when I say that I make a lot of chocolate shakes- loads of them. They're the perfect excuse to get chocolate in your breakfast. Basically, it's dessert for breakfast, and we can be proud of it too. Mmmmm.

After lots of experimenting, I have come up with this recipe and it is perfect for making a thick, creamy shake that is intensely flavorful and still super healthy.

On another (less yummy) note, school started for me this week and I have been a bit more busy than normal trying to bet back into the mindset of school work and pack for my senior class's 6-day hiking trip next week (woohoo!). I'm starting the year off trying to be more efficient with my work and also making time to run on the treadmill, read, watch movies, play with the dogs, work on college applications, and cook. I am going to continue working as hard as I can on producing content for this blog that I can be proud of and that I would love to read. The point I'm trying to get at is that my blogging may seem a bit more sporadic than normal for the next few weeks, but I ask you to bear with me because great, exciting things are coming to Tofu For Thought.

I hope you're enjoying a lovely end to the summer (or end of the  winter), and can spend some time outside as the seasons change and the weather gets more tame. Oh, and be sure to have some of this chocolate shake, just because. I know you won't regret it.

The Ultimate Chocolate Shake
(makes 1 shake)

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas, chopped and frozen
• 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons of hot water

Directions:

1. Combine the frozen banana slices and the cocoa powder in a blender. Drizzle in the hot water and stir it all around a bit.
2. Blend the whole thing until it reaches a creamy, even texture.
3. Top with chia seeds, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, or whatever else you wish. Enjoy!

This post is by my guest blogger and brother, Joseph. Read more about him on the About Me page.
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I remember all the entertaining stories my grandmother used to tell me about her days reviewing food around our city for a local newspaper. I can remember hearing her stories and thinking how fun it would be to wander around, eat food and write about it. Well, there’s only one kind of review that would really excite me: a review of all the best sweet teas around. I have always loved ordering sweet tea in restaurants because I just love the flavor! I dreamed that I would go everywhere from little local shops to big chain restaurants- just so I can fully embrace their sweet tea and write up a review.

Within in the past three months, my sister has introduced me to drinking hot tea. I'm not the most opened-minded person, especially when it comes to food and drink. You could call it miraculous that she was able to get me to like tea. I am a big fan of chamomile tea, heavily sweetened with sugar, of course.

One day this past week, I woke up and told my sister that I wanted to make sweet tea with her. As you can see, my plan worked.  :) We made a big batch of iced tea and added in some lavender for fun and topped it with lemon slices.

I took out my mason jar and poured some of it in, preparing my taste buds for the journey ahead. As soon as I tasted it, I knew it was homemade and filled with love. I can tell that this tea was truly brewed. At first, I can taste the black tea rather than just the 'sugary' water. By the time I swallow, I can taste this tiny kick of lemon and lavender. It was tangy and sweet but not overkill.

Although I may not have become the renowned iced tea reviewer that I had once dreamed of being (but who knows- I'm still young), I am super pleased to get the chance to review my own sweet tea recipe. I can only hope that you love this sweet tea recipe as much as I do. Thanks a bunch!

Joseph's Lavender Sweet Tea
(makes 3 glasses-full)

Ingredients:

• 3 bags of Earl Grey tea
• 4 cups of water
• scant 1 teaspoon of culinary lavender
• 1/2 cup of cane sugar

Directions:

1. In a large pot, bring the water to a slight boil. Add in the lavender and the tea bags and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
2. While the tea steeps, prepare a pitcher by pouring in the sugar. Then cover the top of the pitcher with a strainer.
3. After the tea has steeped to your liking, pour it through the strainer and into the body of the pitcher. Stir in the sugar well.
4. Cool on the counter until it reaches room temperature. Then store it (covered, if possible) in the refrigerator. Enjoy with lemon slices and sunshine!

English Muffin Pizzas for dinner is one of the few serious traditions my family shares. My parents used to enjoy these pizzas after they got married and were living in a small apartment with a tiny kitchen. Since then, we've enjoyed English Muffin pizzas for dinner every once in a while as a special treat.

They're super easy to make, and they're often our last-minute dinner of choice. We keep most of the ingredients in our house, and buy the vegan cheese as needed. Our local grocery store often has sales on English Muffins, so my dad will come home from the grocery store every once in a while with a pile of them. We all know what that means: pizza time.

You can tailor the toppings to whatever you like. Do you like artichokes (yay you!)? Then slap some airlocks on there. Are you more of a cheese-only person? That's cool too. Everyone has unique pizza topping preferences,  so feel free to use whatever toppings you'd like. The ones I listed below are just ideas that have worked well for my family.

Hopefully you and whomever you share these mini pizzas with can enjoy them as much as my family always has.

English Muffin Pizzas
(serves 1)

Ingredients:

• English muffin
• 2 tablespoons of pasta sauce
• 2-4 vegetable toppings (examples: avocado, mushrooms, peppers, herbs, kale, tomatoes, pineapple, olives, etc.)
• optional: shredded vegan cheese

Directions:

1. Cut the English muffin in half long-ways. Spread 1 tablespoon of pasta sauce on each of the halves.
2. Add on your vegetable toppings. Coat with a layer of vegan cheese, if you wish.
3. Place the pizzas on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
4. Bake at 350˚F for 8-12 minutes (or whenever the English muffin starts to brown or the cheese is well melted).
5. Let the pizzas cool for a few minutes before enjoying them.

More than any other time I can remember, my experiences this summer have changed how I view the world.  I spent almost six weeks at a summer program with the top high schoolers in the state. It was an amazing and transformative experience, from the abstract conversations, performances, films, and the wonderful people I met. I'm not usually a big crier, but I cried really, really hard on the camp's last day.  The people and the discussions had brought up questions and topics to me that I had never considered before. I was left with a much deeper thought process, an appreciation for abstract thought and art, and a greater confidence in myself and my ideas. Thanks to those changes, a notable amount of my interests have changed over this summer. So I think it's time that I wrote a new "Loving Lately" post about the hobbies/recipes/trends/ideas/whatevers that I have been - well - loving lately.
Here we go:

• Using YouTube and watching videos on life hacks, and cooking
• Drinking black tea
• Drizzling tahini and vinegar over salads
• Munching on cacao and dried fruit for dessert
• Spreading almond butter on medjool dates
• Looking at the moon
• Giving away anything I don't use on a regular basis
• Having long discussions with friends about jokes and philosophical justifications of the existence of everything
• Reading nonfiction books on topics that interest me
• Attempting creative writing

Oh, another thing I've been really into lately? Avocados. Just look at the number of avocados in my recipes and Instagram pictures and you'll know what I mean. So when I decided to add cocoa powder to avocados and blend it all up, I knew it had to be good. Avocados often serve as additions to savory dishes - which they often do, and they do well - but they have their place in sweet treats as well. Case in point, this amazing pudding.

Have you been interested in any of these things recently?
What have you gotten into? I'm interested to hear about it.

//

Cherry Chocolate Mousse
(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado, chopped
• 1/4 cup of almond milk
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 3 tablespoon of cocoa
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon + a few pinches at the top
• 1/4 cup of fresh cherries, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine all of the ingredients except for the cherries in a blender and blend until smooth and evenly colored.
2. Scoop the mousse into two small bowls and top with cherries and a few pinches of cinnamon. Enjoy!

I got back last Friday  from my five-and-a-half-week summer program in Raleigh. It was amazing: I learned a ton, met several wonderful people, and gained a lot of experience with living in a college setting.

There were really strict policies about using our cell phones and laptops. I, a seventeen-year-old blogger, am about as addicted to technology as anyone you know, so that was a struggle for me at first (which is why I have been a bit MIA here on the blog). But by the end of the first week, I was getting pretty used to handwriting everything and thinking before Googling.

It wasn't until I got back home and didn't look at my laptop very much or even know where my phone was half the time that I realized my thought process had changed a bit. It reminded me of an article by Nicolas Carr for The Atlantic that I had read earlier in the year. Carr mentions how the way in which people write determines a lot about what they write. I would argue that the ways in which people read, learn, interact, and write all influence what they read, learn, say, or write. For instance, I write a lot more quickly and thoughtlessly when I type, where as each handwritten word is more thought out. Similarly, I think about what I am going to say more when I am emailing or texting than when I speak in person. This also relates to a discussion often had in my English class at the summer program where we talked about how the style something is written in can say as much as the content of what is written. It's certainly cool to think about.

All this makes me wonder: how can individuals get ideas across differently or more powerfully through different means? Like, if a variety of teaching methods help different students pick up information, then can't different tactics help bring about more awareness to a larger group of people?

That's a lot of the reason I blog. While I love cooking, photographing and blogging as hobbies, blogging is a format to convey information that can be very powerful in leading people to question their habits and change how they cook, eat, and maybe even live.

Okay, back to the recipe. I used to be a big an of pesto, but I don't really like pasta (gasp!). This recipe is a perfect solution though: it combines the delicious flavor of pesto with the creamy texture of avocado and the cool crunch of cucumbers. It may not be super colorful but I assure you that it tastes amazing. In fact, I had a hard time holding myself back from eating them all while trying to take these photos. Let me know what you think!

I've been working on a cookie dough recipe for a while. I had no idea that there were so many different ways to make cookie dough: with chickpeas, white beans, oats, flour, etc. I finally settled on the classic base ingredient: flour. It makes the most classic cookie dough in my opinion, and it has the same taste and texture as the cookie dough we used to eat as little kids.

I made this batch of cookie dough bars while on a July 4th break from my five-and-a-half-week residential camp this summer. After spending several weeks eating microwave oatmeal and small salads, I was itching to get to my kitchen to prepare some real food for myself. This recipe was the first thing I made on the day I came home. My family and I are super pleased at how it turned out. Even though we had a house full of cookies and chocolate, we kept reaching for these cookie dough bars because they were so darn good. I'm certain that you'll agree with us.

These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars are crunchy, salty, sweet, chewy, and delicious. And not to mention vegan! Really, what's not to love?

My next venture? Seeing what happens when I bake this dough.
I mean, if the dough tastes this great, then I can only imagine how amazing the cookies it makes will taste!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bars
(makes 16 small bars)

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, melted
• 3 tablespoons of almond milk
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons of peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon of maple syrup

Directions:

1. Melt the coconut oil. Add in the almond milk, sugar, vanilla, and maple syrup.
2. Mix in the flour, salt, chocolate chips, and peanut butter. Stir completely.
3. Press the dough into an 8x8 glass baking pan. Store in the refrigerator for a few hours. Once the dough has hardened, cut it into 16 squares.

Can we please take a moment to appreciate the glory that is a fruit crumble?

Okay, thanks.
I know a lot of people who love cobblers. Sure, they're yummy, but they are often overly-sweet, have tasteless fruity innards and too many sticks of butter even to think about. There is no way to eat a traditional cobbler and feel good afterwards. No way.

That's why I prefer 'crumbles'; they have a thin crust and a crumbly top, but the emphasis is on the fruit. And that's where the emphasis should be: where all the flavor is. You know I'm a fan of anything that emphasizes real fruit.

Not only does this blueberry crumble recipe emphasize the sweet tang of fresh summer blueberries, but take a look at the list of ingredients. For a baked dessert, there are  surprisingly few ingredients, and there's no butter, lard, or any of that crud. Yuck. There's just goodness in this recipe: goodness and a bit of crunch.

Let me be frank: I suck at baking. Have you ever looked at my page of dessert recipes and wondered why there are so few recipes for baked goods? Now you know why. My baked goods consistently fail because I don't have the patience or trust to follow recipes. That's why I started writing my own recipes, really- I don't like following other people's recipes.

But let me tell you how proud I am of this recipe. I came up with this recipe randomly one weekend, and IT WORKED ON THE FIRST TRY! I was so proud. Now I am sharing with you my most beloved baking recipe and joy at coming up with it. Enjoy.

Also, I just want to put you on notice that starting June 16, I am leaving for a five-and-a-half-week residential camp. There are rules about when I can and can't use my laptop and phone, but I'll do my best not to go missing-in-action. I will be eating every meal at a cafeteria (which will take some getting used to, since I cook at least 2/3 of my own meals all the time), and I won't have a kitchen to prepare recipes to share online. Therefore, I will be using what free time I have to add to the resources, tips and random musings I share on my Blog page. Be sure to stop by every once in a while to take a look at what I've been working on. ;)

Chau!

There are gobs (that's a technical term) of recipes for avocado toast on the Internet. Really, just search for it. There's no doubt that they're all amazing recipes. How can you possibly go wrong with a a piece of toast and some avocado?

I have finally decided that it is time to share my favorite avocado toast with you guys. It's not a game-changing recipe or even a creative new idea for you. It's super simple and you've probably snacked on it several times. Although it's anything but boring when you add pepper flakes and Sriracha sauce.

In case you don't already know, avocado toast is many vegans' go-to snack or lunch. It's as simple as toasting a slice of bread and spreading avocado on top. There are endless amounts of toppings we can sprinkle or drizzle on it.

Now that I've shared mine, what is your favorite way to munch of avocado toast?

Spicy Avocado Toast

Ingredients:

• 1 slice of bread
• 1/2 ripe avocado
• a sprinkle of pepper flakes
• topping ideas: tahini, Sriracha sauce, cracked pepper, lemon juice

Directions:

1. Toast the bread.
2. Slice and peel the avocado. Mush it into a paste and spread it on the toast.
3. Sprinkle on the pepper flakes and any other toppings you choose. Enjoy!