C is for Cookie!

Yesterday I went to the library to pick up my book that was on hold, and of course I can't leave the library without perusing the cookbook section, and I found a couple new to me books. The first isn't so much of a cookbook, as maybe a lifestyle book? It's by Victoria Moran who wrote Main Street Vegan.

She seems to be saying what I think is common sense which is when you eat in regard to all living beans, including the earth you will naturally look and feel your best. Clearly she goes into a lot more detail which I'm sure I will write about once I start reading it. Like her other book, a lot of it might be stuff I already know, or agree with, but I'm always looking for more facts and information so that I can help more people understand veganism, and perhaps consider making the change. I've leafed through the book, and she gives suggestions for handbags, clothes and cosmetics that are vegan. I think that is so helpful, because often the food is what gets all the attention. I'm also super excited about The China Study Cookbook. A lot of the recipes jumped out at me. There is a recipe for coconut corn chowder that looks AMAZING! There are tons of recipes that have been dogeared by other people, which I LOVE. One of the recipes is for a mushroom soup, and it has been dogeared numerous times, so you can be sure I will be making that recipe!
When I got home from the library I was drenched, and needed cookies. The perfect scenario would have been to walk into my apartment to the smell of baking cookies, but this is no fairy tale. So, I baked my own vegan chocolate chip cookies. I went full cookie, I didn't mess around with applesauce or bananas. I used coconut oil. I needed vegan toll house style cookies. I used this recipe.  I had the bright idea to add some roasted, salted sunflower seeds that needed to be used to the batter, and it worked out just like I wanted. It adds that lille bit of salt to the cookie. Yum.

That was the first one I ate. Look at all of those melty chips!

I haven't made good old fashioned cookies in quite awhile. I always try to make the cookies with applesauce or bananas as a sub for vegan butter or oil, and while they are tasty in their own way, these are the cookies of my youth. Just a kinder version. It's the holidays after all!
My plans for what I was going to make for dinner were ruined due to my poor planning, and so I decided to make mac and cheese! From a box! Boxed mac and cheese and chocolate chip cookies, plus lots of cats on a Saturday night. Could I be more of a cliche? I decided to try the pizza flavor of mac and cheese from So Delicious.

As all boxed mac and cheeses, it is super easy to prepare. Mix cooked pasta with some plant milk and plant butter and sauce packet and you have yourself a meal.I added some white beans that needed to be used, and they went perfectly. I don't know if pizza is what jumped to mind when I first tasted it, but it does have a slight tomato-y, Italian flavor.The sauce is thick and creamy, the pasta is a gluten free pasta so it holds it's shape and texture well. I added a little dash of Italian seasoning, and crushed red pepper to the top.

I have now had both their cheddar and now the pizza flavor and they are both tasty. I do prefer the

   cheddar, but that's more because I am a traditionalist when it comes to my mac and cheese. Both the pizza and cheddar flavors are gluten free for those of you with wheat sensitivities. It was creamy and cheese-y and warm and it really hit the spot. So Delicious has not made one single thing that I haven't really enjoyed. I love having quick foods like this available to us vegans too. And no weird food colorings here.
Have you tried any of the boxed vegan mac and cheeses?