By Popular Demand

The recipe for zucchini chocolate-chip cookies!  People actually demanded this.  I'm not just pretending that people are demanding things so I have an excuse to post them (although, let's be honest, I'm not above doing that, either).  

Anyway, I got this recipe from Barbara Kingsolver's book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is actually a super great book, with the bonus of lots of good recipes in it.  Her book made me think much more carefully about eating locally and about what I eat in general, without grossing me out, boring me, or making me feel terribly guilty and overwhelmed by problems I cannot solve.  And it inspired our little backyard garden that has kept us well stocked in zukes, cukes, okra, peppers, broccoli, and cherry tomatoes all summer long.  

So here's the cookie recipe.  It makes about two dozen cookies.

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup honey

1 tbsp vanilla extract

~ Combine these ingredients in large bowl. ~

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

~ Combine in a separate small bowl and blend into the liquid mixture. ~

1 cup finely shredded zucchini

12 oz chocolate chips

~ Stir these into other ingredients, mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheet covered in parchment paper.  Flatten with back of spoon (small but important step).  Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. ~

They have more of a cakey texture than regular chocolate chip cookies, but I think they are absolutely delish. In fact, you may find yourself wanting to eat them for breakfast.  Which is totally fine.  Because they have zucchini in them, therefore they are a health food.

I would also like to say that I've read two things recently that have stuck in my head and I continue to mull over, so I wanted to pass them on. 

The first is a poem Brianna posted on her blog.  You know how reading those lines of Gilgamesh was like a take-your-breath-away kind of gut punch for me?  Well, this poem made tears spring to my eyes, but in a good way, like a sympathetic hug from a friend.  I keep going back to it when I think about living with good intentions.  I've copied it into my "grief journal" where I've collected all kinds of poems and quotations, and I just can't stop reading it.  Brianna lost George in the spring of 2010, and just recently brought home his baby sister, Clio, so she knows something about looking for a glimmer of light when everything feels very dark.

The second is a post written by Josh and  posted on Glow in the Woods.  It's about searching for our lost loved ones in the world around us, and missing them so much.  It's really beautiful.  I think that whatever our religious beliefs may be, there's simply no way to escape the longing we all have to have our babies here with us, and our desire to feel them near us.  I liked his perspective, and his honesty about how hard it is to feel that presence we so desperately crave.

Anything else I should be reading?  Or eating?  One can never have too much reading material or yummy vegetarian recipes, so don't be shy.