OATMEAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES

Yayyy it's officially the end of the semester! Congrats to all my student friends graduating this semester! A secret: The real world is just like college except with bad suits and more coffee. It would suck, except for awesome delicious vegan cookies, like the ones I'm about to share with you.
You're welcome.

Vegan/GF Oatmeal* Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Musical Accompaniment: Alexi Murdoch: "Slow Revolution"

2 cups walnuts, finely chopped 
2 cups bob's redmill gluten free oats
3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar
3.5 tbs earth balance, melted (or any kind of vegan butter/margarine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tazo chocolate disk (or vegan chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350
Spread vegan nonstick spread (i used earth balance) on cookie sheet
put 2 cups of walnuts in food processor and grind until very fine
Mix together the flour, half of the oats, baking soda, cinnamon and brown sugar
Add to food processor and grind for about half a minute
Mix together agave nectar, melted earth balance, applesauce and vanilla extract
Add to food processor and mix until sticky (about 30-45 seconds)
Pour contents into a large bowl. Fold in the other half of oats.
I didn't have chocolate chips handy, so I put 1 bar of  tazo chocolate in the food processor and turned it into chocolate chunks. Or you could be a normal person and go buy some vegan chocolate chips. Or add rasins. The possibilities are endless!
Scoop into 1 teaspoon balls and add to cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.

^^Allison inhaling the cookies :)

* Whether or not oatmeal is acceptable for people who avoid gluten is up for debate. Since I was making these cookies for a friend of mine whose partner is strictly gluten free, i wasn't taking any chances. So I bought Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Oats. yes, they make those. :)

Arugula and Black Bean Pasta

It's as easy as it sounds and perfect because I have been spending every waking minute writing papers for finals instead of cooking elaborate feasts.  Let's get right to it, shall we?

Arugula and Black Bean Pasta
Musical Accompaniment: Jeff Buckley, Grace

Ingredients:
1/2 lb of rotini (or any thick pasta)
2 tablespoons of earth balance
1 garlic clove, minced
2 handfuls of washed arugula
1/2 can black beans
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Juice from 1 lemon

Cook pasta as usual.
While pasta is draining, heat the garlic clove in the earth balance on medium heat.
Add black beans and stir until coated.
Add pasta to the garlic/earth balance/bean mixture and stir until well mixed
Put the two handfuls of arugula on top, cover for 1 minute (so the arugula steams, but is not wilted).
Remove from heat.
Add lemon juice and sprinkle with pepper and salt.