izzy rael — common comfort

blog

summer polaroids

i have three weeks until i leave for los angeles. back home i go. 

it's weird. i'm living these summer moments home candidly and with the intention and the knowledge that they will be my last in this sort of situation, as a high schooler living in new york. that's weird to me. i won't be seeing anyone from home until november. what????? i'm on my own. 

i thought i'd reflect on a few photos that don't exactly sum up my summer but thought were indicative of the sort of stuff i've been up to. they're not in no particular order because chaotic order is more style. or organized chaos, i guess.

i've been walking around and eating and dining and making and doing and cooking and baking and reading and relaxing and visiting museums and seeing people and eating ice cream and dying on the really hot days. 

i remind myself every few days that i must really savor these moments with the people i love here. this is not an ordinary moment. thank you to everyone who's made it special.

⌇

i take photos, blah blah blahizzy raelComment
crispy + chewy chocolate chip cookies
DSC04904.jpg

do you ever have those moments where you're like, "holy sh*t i'm a genius"? i had that today. not for any sort of real epiphany or creation or idea, but for, you know, cookies. 

these are the perfect cookies. i even made my own chocolate chips to go with them because i'm bougie like that. carob chunks to be exact. sea salt. unbelievably crispy + crunchy on the outside and the perfect chew on the inside. the most optimal serving of 8 cookies. enough to fulfill the cravings for a few days without overdoing it with 2 cookies every day. 

holy sh*t, i'm a genius.

something that you may or may not know about me is that my digestion is god awful. i have trouble digesting the most basic and most small amount of food. it sucks and i've been dealing with it for a while now. 

foodies on instagram have presented new knowledge to me: for example, aiding and healing your gut with collagen powder, bone broth, gelatin, and digestive enzymes. it's slow but steady. i'm still figuring out what makes my stomach want to jump out the window. i haven't gotten very far in the past few months. 

i'm leaning towards a somewhat aip-type way of eating. aka no eggs, grains, legumes, nuts/seeds, dairy, nightshades, and chocolate. the chocolate really hit me here. (i can already confirm that nightshades mess me up). it looks more restrictive than it is... i've been eating a lot of carob powder, coconut butter, and a wider array of fruits than when i was on keto. i'm feeling better.

hopefully i figure out what's up. 

well, this spiel is really just an introduction to these cookies. they are aip-compliant and so freaking good i could cry. lately my aip creations have been garbage. 

these beg to differ. 

crispy + chewy chocolate chip cookies

makes 6 large cookies / 8 smaller cookies

-

what you do

1. first, make the chocolate chips (recipe below)

2. preheat oven to 350˚F. in a medium bowl, mix coconut flour, coconut oil, maple syrup, sea salt, and vanilla powder. 

3. add coconut milk, baking soda, and other 1 tablespoon of gelatin over cookie dough. don't stir in yet.

4. in another small bowl, mix together 1 tablespoon of gelatin with 1 room temp tablespoon of water. then add in 2 boiling tablespoons of water and whisk vigorously until smooth. 

5. add gelatin/water mixture over cookie dough and mix everything together.

6. wait at least 5 minutes for the dough to absorb liquid. stir in homemade chocolate chunks or carob chips.

8. using a small ice cream scooper, form 6-8 cookie dough balls (make sure there are chocolate chips on top for aesthetic purposes).

9. bake on parchment paper for 14 minutes, or until the outside of the cookies are verrrrry golden and crispy.

10. wait to cool and firm up before eating.

 

 

 

what you need

  • 1/3 cup coconut flour
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil (softened)
  • 3 tablespoons maple syrup (maybe even a little less depending on your sweet tolerance)
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla powder
  • 1 pinch of sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons grass fed gelatin, separated
  • 3 tablespoons water (1 room temp / 2 boiling) [***note: sub gelatin and water for 1 egg)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut milk (i used canned)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/3 cup homemade chocolate chunks (see recipe below)

homemade carob chunks

makes a bunch of carob chunks

what you do

1. in a double-broiler, melt cacao butter 

2. i used a muffin tin to make molds for my chocolate and then chopped them up (you can use a normal chocolate mold if you'd like). anyways, cut up strips of parchment thinner in width than the width of the muffin tin. place one in each muffin tin with one end sticking out. these will help you remove the chocolate afterwards.

3. make powdered coconut sugar by either blending or coffee-grinding coconut sugar for 30 seconds (or until very fine).

4. remove bowl with cacao butter from heat and add carob powder and coconut sugar until there are no lumps. the chocolate mixture will be quite thick. 

5. evenly distribute chocolate into 4-5 "lined" muffin tins depending on how thick you want the chunks to be.

6. freeze for 30 minutes. remove using the parchment "tabs" and take off the parchment from the chocolate. chop into large chunks and keep stored in the freezer.

what you need

  • 3 tablespoons (42g) cacao butter
  • 6 tablespoons carob powder
  • 2 tablespoons coconut sugar

 

 

 

 

i love cookies

⌇

i make foodizzy raelComment