Do you ever have dreams, thoughts, or “feelings” that almost seem to predict what kind of day you will have? Oddly enough, this has happened to me a lot recently. Over the weekend I had a nightmare that was eerily similar to a situation that happened at work on Monday at School #2… and today as I was walking into School #2 I had a premonition that there was going to be a crisis today.
Unfortunately, I was right! In my line of work, a crisis can mean many things but typically deals with a homicide in the neighborhood, death of a student or a student’s family member, or suicidal or homicidal ideation. Today’s crisis meant that it was a loooong day, but luckily things worked out in the end.
Do you ever have the feeling that you will have a good or bad day, and then it comes true??
And – when you DO have a bad day, how do you cope?
As usual, I came home and “coped” by baking!! I probably should have done something that didn’t involve baking and eating (I’ve done plenty of that recently!), but it was literally the only thing I wanted to do. I made up a batch of my cookie dough balls, but this time I used pine nuts instead of cashews. They turned out excellent!!
The reason I say I’ve been baking my brains out is because I baked well over 100 cookies this weekend, which took even longer than I expected. I made a ton of Vegan Russian Teacakes, and also made a new recipe:
Vegan Christmas Biscotti
- ¼ plus 1/3 cup canola oil
- 3/4 cup sugar2 T. flax meal mixed with 2/3 c. almond milk, let sit
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cups pistachio nuts
* Beat the oil, sugar, flax “egg” mixture, vanilla, and almond extracts.
* Combine the flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.
* Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients 1/3 at a time.
* Add cranberries and pistachios – mix til combined.
* Divide dough into two or three sections, and made flattened log on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. I use a metal spatula to smooth the tops and to make sure the sides are straight. It should be aboue 2-3 ” in diameter.
* At 300 degrees, bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove and cool for 10 minutes.
* Cut the logs into slices, and lay them out flat on your parchment paper lined cookie sheets.
* Bake at 275 degrees for 8 minutes.
* Once cool, drizzle or coat in melted vegan chocolate chips.
* Enjoy!
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Another meal I’ve been enjoying is nothing innovative, I know I’m probably not the first person to invent sweet potato chili, but I wanted to share the sheer simplicity of this recipe with you!
Sweet Potato Chili
* Canned beans (kidney, black, and northern beans)
* Canned tomatoes
* 3 large cubed sweet potatoes
* Salt
* Paprika
* Cumin
* Curry powder
* Chili powder
* Penzey’s Spices BBQ seasoning
Cook all in crockpot on high heat all day, or until sweet potatoes are tender. Voila! I just love the ease of being able to throw together canned goods from the pantry to create a healthy yet delicious recipe – I’m going to make a pot of quinoa to add into the pot, once the rest of the veggies are done cooking.
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I’m off to attend a holiday party for Mike’s law office – have a lovely night! 
I'm a school social worker who is also a newlywed (and had a Big Fat Greek Wedding, no less!) living in Chicago. I am starting this blog to talk about the training process I will go through to prepare for the Chicago Marathon, while also raising awareness for Ceasefire, a Chicago anti-violence program.
the sweet potato recipe looks terrific – how i love the crockpot!
when i have a bad day i usually take a nice bath, eat a hearty and healthy meal, talk about what’s bothering me…seems to do the trick!
That sweet potato recipe looks awesome! I love that there are no onions in it. I am going to try it out.
It sounds like we probably deal with a lot of similar stuff and populations (I’m a public defender). When I have crisis days–usually, I have to run or do yoga. Something physical. But, sometimes all I can do is go home and cry into a glass of wine. I’ve had a couple of those days lately. (Not that that is a helpful answer…)
Sweet potato chili is all I’ve eaten for the last four days! I however, am not as inventive as you and I followed someone else’s recipe.
Mmmmm that chili looks unreal for my savory lovin’ taste buds.
As for bad days? You can find me on the couch, absorbed in someone else’s life on television, eating peanut butter and honey. Totally.
Oh gosh. I made biscotti once for a friend studying in Italy… it took SO long! Or maybe I was just hungry to “try” some
Yikes. Luckily my bad days don’t involve all the horrible things that your days involve, I’m not sure they even compare. I hope you are okay.
When I know it is going to be a bad day I usually just sigh, throw my hands up, and plow through, and promise myself a cozy evening – if possible. I plan a nice meal and decide that I will feast in front of the tv watching a funny movie. That usually works.
Your biscotti is beautiful! I need some for breakfast this morning!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while now… thought I would finally comment and tell you how much I love it!
[...] Reviews « Christmas Biscotti + Sweet Potato Chili Recipes [...]
Mmmmm girl, these biscotti’s look frickin amazing!! I must bake these!
Chili is a fave meal of mine and this one is so simple! Love it!
XXOO
[...] of goodies for us, but she had vegan falafel balls and hummus! So sweet! I brought along some vegan Russian teacakes, pine nut chocolate chip cookie dough balls, holiday biscotti, and pumpkin streusel [...]