Rustic Vegan Spelt, Apple and Poppy Seeds Cookies
Happy New Year friends! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful evening with your dear ones and that these festivities have brought you joy! Italy is currently divided in areas with different colours (red, orange and yellow) and we are in a sort of lockdown until the 6th of January, so in our case it was just Vittorio and I... and what a lovely evening we had. He treated me to a three-course fish dinner and then we watched Propaganda Live, one of our favourite shows. It probably sounds very tranquil...but it is just amazing how ordinary things can become extraordinary if you are with right person...
During the afternoon we played at writing down our good resolutions for the new year, keeping them simple and doable, and among mine there was sharing recipes and photographing also food that is not so pretty, but that is delicious and represents me more... In fact, I'm starting straight away with some rustic vegan spelt, apple, and poppy seeds cookies. No butter, no eggs. As we'd say here in Venice, 'Massima resa, minima spesa' (=maximum result, minimum effort).
With regard to food photography, during 2020 I tried to focus on my personal work. It hasn't always been easy because I work from home and our house, as you should know by now, is 45 square meters. Before the pandemic, Vittorio used to be away from morning until about 6 pm, so I had more space and more silence... but of course, with the lockdown, I needed to allow space for him too and, also, learn to accept interruptions. He's been great, I mean, I know he did his best not to bother me... still, no matter how nice he has tried to be, I can assure you that I can't wait to regain possess of the house, at least for half a day, preferably morning. Mostly because -unfortunately- I need silence and I can see from the big bags under my eyes and my loss of weight that, as Virginia Woolf would say, I really need a room of my own.
Ironic, considering that most people have been missing sociality! I think that when it shall be possible, the first thing I'll do is take a two day break just for myself, exploring another town, going for long walks, visiting museums, eating vegetarian food sipping tea, and taking pictures, with on the background only the sounds of nature. So...yes, this is my dream for 2021!
Another good resolution (except all the only apparently superficial things, like going to the hairdresser more often, or taking greater care of my hands...) is to stop -with regard to my work- being afraid of other people's opinion. I am what I am and I should not be afraid to show it. And this is true for each one of us! I had no idea that creative jobs could be so all-encompassing...and what is strange is that despite me getting older, the butterflies in my tummy seem to flap their wings louder and louder....
Anyway, I am leaving you with this very simple recipe for vegan spelt and apple cookies. I've added poppy seeds, but you can replace them with sesame or chia seeds if you prefer.
Let me know if you like them and, again, Happy New Year!
RECIPE
RUSTIC VEGAN SPELT, APPLE, AND POPPY SEEDS COOKIES
Easy - Vegan
Ingredients for 28 cookies:
230 gr spelt flour
30 gr poppy seeds
40 gr brown sugar
4 gr baking powder
100 gr peeled and sliced apple
60 ml olive oil
jam for the filling
Method:
With a hand blender, mix the sliced apple and the olive oil until you obtain a smooth mixture.
In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, poppy seeds and add the liquid mixture. Amalgamate with your hands, until the flour has absorbed the liqui. Shape a ball, cover in film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
When ready, put the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out. Shape the cookies with a cutter, if you like add jam, and bake at 180° for about 15 minutes.
That's all!
Talk Soon!
XXX