Political Biscotti from "The Urban Vegan" 250 Street-Smart, Animal-Free Recipes"When it comes to carob and chocolate, people tend to be very “either/or.” People tend to always consider these ingredients separately, as two distinctive flavors that were never meant to come together – sort of like Palestine and Israel. But the fact is that the sweet bitterness of dark chocolate and the earthy mustiness of carob are inherently complementary, as evidenced by these perfectly balanced biscotti. The dates act as a sort of sticky-sweet peacemaker, a culinary UN if you will.
Here they are, shaped into "logs" after the first round of baking...
Here, they're sliced into biscotti before second round of baking. Incidentally, I resisted buying silpat mats
for ages, but now I can't live without them. Not only do they prevent cookies from sticking; these superior non-stick surfaces are perfect for rolling out dough and making pasta. Cleanup? Just a quick rinse.And now for our regularly scheduled episode of
"As the Fur Turns"
Buttons is adjusting, slowly but surely. Last week, I decided to stop handling her so much. It was the right choice; she's less nervous and no longer buries her head in the cushion when I pet her. Now, she visibly enjoys all the head scratching and even "instructs" me as to where I should massage. As you can see, she and Pablo have become fast friends. Perhaps they recognize each other from the gutter?
Today is the first day I felt comfortable enough to open the cage door and see if Buttons wants to venture out for a bit. Pablo immediately jumped right into the crate and started to groom her, as if to say "Clean yourself up, girl, and let's play, already!" So far, she hasn't budged.
Poor Bossa Nova is not so smitten. In fact, she's a bit in denial, as you can see here. She still hisses at Buttons, but then again, she hisses at everyone, so I'm not terribly alarmed. On the whole, she's been oddly level about Buttons. I'm giving her extra love – and extra treats whenever she goes near Buttons.
With snow in the forecast tonight and the wind chill dipping to -4 degrees Fahrenheit in Philadelphia, both Buttons and I can rest a little easier. She's beginning to realize that loft life is not too shabby. I still plan on finding her a good permanent home once she adapts and sheds some of her shyness (still a few months away). Interested? Put your dibs in now!
