dairy free

Cocoa Oat Biscuits with Rosemary & Flaky Sea Salt

September 5, 2018 By Courtney West Leave a Comment

It has been gloriously cloudy, rainy, and much cooler the past few days in my neck of the woods. It’s almost as if we hit September and Mother Nature decided to give us a gift after enduring another hellish summer. As far as I’m concerned, fall starts with the month of September so I’ve been using the first few days of the month to bring back all the cozy rituals I like to do this time of year. And, I’ve been racking up a lengthy list of baked goods to play around with in the kitchen now that I’m more inspired to turn the oven on. It’s entirely possible watching the latest season of Great British Baking Show miiiiight have had something to do with it 😉

I was craving a somewhat simple cookie, or biscuit as the Brits would say, to go with my tea. Since I finally replenished my cacao powder I knew it would probably go in the mix along with some flaky salt (obvs) and something herbal since I have a plethora of things from the garden drying in my studio at the moment. Thus, these vegan and gluten free biscuits were born.

Ultimately I decided to pair up rosemary and cocoa in these because it’s one of my favorite flavor combinations in baked goods. They contrast each other quite well as the resinous and piney flavors of the rosemary cut through the bitterness of the cocoa. Even though these are gluten free, I made it easy on myself (and you) by using only oat flour. Not only does oat flour perform well for binding, but it lends that signature sweetness of the oats themselves. These are finished off with a sprinkling of flaky sea salt to balance out the flavors and break up the mundane brown of the exterior.

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Sage + Black Tea Latte

August 21, 2018 By Courtney West Leave a Comment

The Chinese tallow trees are always the first to sport red leaves. It usually happens in early to mid-August around my house, the red leaves shining like a beacon for the season to come that will hopefully bring with it a reprieve from the heat. I used to see these leaves as a sort of false hope or even cruel joke. But now I’ve come to see that perhaps, like me, they are just longing for fall’s crisp air and dappled golden sunlight.

As much as I love fall I’m also a realist. I know that we won’t get pleasant temperatures here for a while so I have to make do and adapt. Enter this lovely autumnal beverage! It’s a super simple way to enjoy a fancy tea latte without having to leave the comfort of your home (and air conditioning). Plus, you can make it extra cozy with a blanket, your favorite crystal, and your journal or a book. While a fall picnic most certainly won’t be happening here for a while, there’s no reason I can’t recreate it indoors with a little imagination, eh?

Sage is one of my absolute favorite herbs with its grounding aromatic qualities and earthy, herbaceous flavor. The genus name salvia is a derivative of the Latin word salvus meaning “healthy”. Historically sage was used to promote increased wisdom, long life, protection, and prosperity in folk herbal traditions. Personally, I like sage for its anti-inflammatory, carminative, and nervine properties though it has a host of other benefits when used medicinally. Outside of the kitchen I use clary sage essential oil to provide a feeling of being grounded or to cleanse and protect my space.

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