Gingersnap Gingerbread Geodesic Domes

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1 large egg
1/2 tsp pure vanilla
2 cups mix of whole grain wheat and white flour

1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2 - 3 minutes).

Add the molasses, egg and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined. Cover and chill the batter for about 30 minutes or until firm. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roll out the dough and cut the necessary number of shapes to create your gingerbread "house". This dome used trapezoids, pentagons, and hexagons. A regular house might use rectangles and triangles. Design one on paper, mock it up in cardboard and then use those cardboard pieces as patterns for your final product.

Bake for 12 minutes. You'll need to recut the cookies once they're done baking to give them nice sharp clean edges.

Do this while they are still warm so the cookies don't snap or shatter. Make the 1 inch snaps out of the left over dough.

The houses will not be for eating as you will be using Royal Icing to put them together. Royal Icing is made using 1 lb powdered sugar, 1 tsp of water and two egg whites. Beat until smooth and glossy. If you want it colored, drip in food coloring now and mix until the color is fully incorporated.

Use the icing as mortar, sticking tiles to your frame, together, or to add details. Use your imagination!

Leto's dome for school got plugged with orange candies at each corner, creating a blue and orange igloo.
Short i sound...
i...i...igloo!

Mannie's dome had curly peaks of icing in the corners.

The Occupy Buffalo Food Tent got this one in honor of their dome that allows them to gather together in the cold and wind in general comfort to talk about different issues. They are one of the very few Occupy groups in the United States treated with respect and dignity and the City of Buffalo is actually listening to and working with them.

These gingersnaps are easy to make with applesauce as substitute for eggs. You end up with a snap more like the Swedish Anna's Ginger Thins, which are super duper scrumdiddlyumptious!

My Ethical Garden

Come and visit my new website My Ethical Garden.

Here you'll find all kinds of resources, ideas,
and photographs of Ethical Urban Agriculture.

NY Locavore Challenge - Coming up this September!

What is the Locavore Challenge?

Show your support for local, organic farmers, food artisans, markets, co-ops and restaurants by taking the Locavore Challenge this September. Join a collective movement of new and seasoned locavores by registering for the Locavore Challenge. Choose your level of commitment (Bite-sized, Meal-sized or Feast-sized) and the activities and events you plan to participate in.  

It's your personal challenge, but TOGETHER we are showing NY that there are thousands of us... hungry, active and ready to change our food system. Register at the link above and send me an email when you do so I can keep of my extra challenge of recruiting the most people ever!

I will be committing my family to the challenge of eating nothing but local, seasonal, and organic for thirty (30) nights, for the whole of September. And to do this I need a bit of support. Eating locally, seasonally, and organically is not too difficult when you live on your own or if you incorporate only part of the three into your meals. However, to apply all three to every meal can be very pricey for a family of five. So to meet the challenge and photo blog about the dishes every evening in September, I am looking for the support of a few benefactors who would like to see what is feasible and in turn would like to support a worthy effort.

1. I will list the breakdown of cost alongside the ingredients in each recipe.

2. I will show price comparisons to commonly used conventional non-organic and non-local ingredients typically found in stores.

3. I will make recommendations of ingredient exchanges for meals that incorporate foodstuffs that cannot meet those three requirements.

4. I will blog weekly observations to be posted either Saturday or Sunday as to the successes or difficulties of that week along with information that can be used by others who are also committing in what ever way to the challenge.

If you would like more information about this specifically, would like to participate in the challenge (even if you're not in NY), or want to learn more about this blog, don't hesitate to comment below or send me a message!

If you would like to also donate to this blog's specific challenge, scroll to the bottom of the page and make a donation. I'll include your name in the weekly observations!

Thank you for your support!