Botanical Medicine Facts ...and Cookies!

- Black tea is simply fermented green tea. During the fermentation process, more gallic acid is hydrolyzed, making the tea more astringent and increasing the amount of tannins (as discussed in a previous post).

- Cyanidin is a phenolic compound that gives plants a blue or purple color (examples: lilacs, blueberries, eggplant). These colors give the plants a protective coat and their deep hues protect the plants from the harsh UV rays of the sun.

- Lobeline is an alkaloid found in the tobacco plant family. While it isn't the smoking tobacco we are all used to, it does smell like it. Lobeline is used in smoking cessation because it smells like tobacco, BUT it induces vomiting. It is thought that through lobeline treatment, patients will learn to associate the smell of smoke with a queasy, sick-to-the-stomach feeling.

- COOKIES:

If you haven't noticed already, I love to cook, but I absolutely adore baking. Ever since I went vegan (over two years ago), and I suddenly wasn't able to buy baked goods from grocery stores or local bakeries, I started teaching myself how to bake. Now, once a week, I bake a batch of goodies (muffins, cookies, brownies, granola bars, scones, etc.) for about a week's worth of cravings (I have a serious sweet tooth!). This weekend I managed to bake twice ; I made 3 dozen cookies (don't worry, I froze 75% of them!) because midterms are coming up and wanted to make sure I had a good supply of studying snacks on hand. The first batch of cookies were ginger and the second batch were almond butter cookies. I have decided to share the later cookie recipe with you all because it combines a lot of unique ingredients, it is gluten free, and because it makes some tasty cookies.

The recipe is not my own, but from the website www.nourishingmeals.com: http://www.nourishingmeals.com/2009/12/gluten-free-vegan-flourless-chocolate.html.

My substitutions: I used oat bran flakes instead of quinoa flakes, I used more dates instead of honey, and I used carob chips instead of chocolate chips.