Bureaucratically-Induced Donner Party Incident ... OR... the California DMV

The California DMV, as other bloggers have noted, is probably the closest thing to purgatory that can be experienced while yet residing in the human body. After 30 minutes of waiting you get a ticket... to wait. And wait I did. For 3.5 more hours.

Three and a half hours of my life that I will never get back, spent small talking and commiserating. Despite wanting to read my book, the searing headache brought on by a distinct drop in blood sugar and an even more distinct lack of caffeine kept Jack Kerouac's Wake Up out of the picture.

But I digress... and complain. SO. After 4 hours of waiting and 6.2 minutes of submitting paper work, having a photo taken and taking a written test (NAIL BITER of a line to have that thing graded, btw!) ... I emerged triumphant!

We have gone from



to



(ain't she got a cute butt?!)

+ I passed the written test (only missed one, thank you! apparently, so long as the bed of my truck is higher than 24 inches, my buddies can ride in the back. huh.) and am now a licensed CA driver!

So. What does a gal like me do after surviving what was nearly a bureaucratically-induced Donner party incident?

Makes cookies!



Vegan Oatmeal Fig-Almond Cookies, to be exact.
(adapted from Cooking Light Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies)


Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1 cup regular oats
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup organic turbinado sugar
• 1/4 cup raw organic agave nectar
• 1/3 cup organic almond butter, softened (peanut butter, cashew butter, whatever.)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 "flax egg"* (or 1 egg)
  
• 1/4 cup chopped almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped organic dried, unsulfured figs

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring with a whisk; set aside.

Place sugar, agave nectar and almond butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. I used a wooden spoon and counted it as part of my upper body workout

Add vanilla and flax egg; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in almonds and figs. Drop dough by tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until edges of cookies are lightly browned. Cool on pans 2 minutes. Remove cookies from pans; cool on wire racks.
*Flax Egg: Combine 1 Tablespoon Ground Flax Meal with 3 Tablespoons Warm Water and allow it to sit until it slightly 'sets' and the flax absorbs the water. It's my Go-To vegan egg replacer for baking!

In other exciting news, my basil is still alive! Looking a bit surly after the transplant... but the patient is showing signs of improvement. Keep him in your thoughts...


May or may not accomplish anything else today. Seriously considering an evening of writing, sketching, reading and perhaps a few X Files. Apparently, sitting around with the disgruntled masses is quite taxing.