On days I’m a little overwhelmed or harboring heavy feelings at the state of events lately, I’ve pulled up a short video that harkens me right back to my 14 through 18-year old self. I can smell the straw and the hay, the musty dust in the barn air, the damp, oily, pungent scent of wool, and of lambing. The smell of iodine as we dipped new lamb’s navels. And this, one of the most soothing of sights. It’s slightly ironic that I had been thinking for a long while about sharing a non-dairy milk in this season. Since for adults, milk is not actually mandatory food. Yet most of us still drink milk or ‘mylk’, in whatever way. And it’s clear to me that my routine of watching the new lamb drinking one of its first meals, the soothing calm I feel when returned to old memories, is all about finding some comfort, and of the awe of watching new life, a whole new world unfolding.
For the last few weeks, I’ve been fairly quiet and unsure of my place in this current moment we’re in. I’ve experienced the range of emotions like a lot of people. I’ve been so close to just quietly closing my facebook account for sheer “can’t handle the vile and ignorance there,” but I’ve also understood – because I too was once extremely ignorant. And in some aspects, am only a little less so now. I’m still learning, along with most of us.
But I also have been sitting on several recipes and meals, several thoughts about our relationships to our bodies, and how we block out how we’re really doing in order to navigate our worlds. I’m not sure I have the bandwidth yet to to delve deep into those second topics, but we all need to eat, and in our own ways, find comfort amidst the sometimes dramatic shifts of the ever-changing seasons.
Today I’d thought to share my norm, a healthy seasonal recipe. But on this solstice weekend, what’s speaking to me more is that idea of comfort amidst change. So we have instead an updated recipe of the ultimate American comfort classic, Chocolate Chip Cookies. If you need a little treat, go ahead and make them, along with the non-dairy milk I last shared, and enjoy while watching the video linked above on repeat. The trio will be a comfortable hug to self. :)
Lastly before the recipe, a couple lines from a blessing I’ll share more about in coming days or weeks. Whether you choose to make cookies or not, I encourage you to meditate on the meaning of these words to you as you make a meal or treat in the kitchen, or during your next workout, next yoga session, or time in silence contemplating the solstice:
May your body be blessed.
May you realize that your body is a faithful and beautiful friend of your soul.
From A Blessing for the Senses by John O’Donohue in his Anam Ċara
Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten + dairy-free), makes about 24
These make a soft, chewy, chips-ahoy style cookie.
Recipe Updated: 1/28/23
1 2/3 cups / 200 grams gf all-purpose flour
1/2 cup / 50 grams quick oats, gluten-free if necessary
1/4 cup sugar / 50 grams
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup /112 grams non-dairy butter
1 egg or flax egg
1/2 cup / 120 ml brown rice syrup or maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. water
1/2 cup / 80 grams dark chocolate chips or 1/2 cup of rough chunks, from a dark chocolate bar
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. If using flax instead of an egg, mix 1 Tablespoon ground flax seed with 3 Tablespoons warm water and stir together to form a little slurry.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, egg or flax mixture, brown rice syrup, vanilla and water.
- Stir into the dry ingredients, and mix in chocolate chunks.
- Cover and chill the batter for about an hour or overnight.
- Divide into cookies on a baking pan and bake each batch for about 10 minutes.
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