Homemade Granola Bars!

It's been busy, busy around here. But I am still trying to find time to cook and experiment in the kitchen. This morning's project was homemade granola bars full of peanuts, sun flower seeds, raisins, and shredded coconut mixed with granola, oats, peanut butter, and honey. Still working on perfecting the recipe but it was a first trial run. Tasty, but rather crumbly. I like the idea of knowing what goes into them and cutting down on the processed sugars and other mstery ingredients. Plus, one pan of homemade just beats the overpriced ones in the grocery.

Ode to Almond Butter

Yesterday, I baked. I was flipping through one of my cookbooks ("Table for Two" a dairy and egg free cookbook) and was debating on making the recipe for peanut butter cookies (vegan at that). But instead of using good old fashioned peanut butter I went to another pantry favorite of mine- almond butter. I discovered it while living at a youth camp where I worked as finding new ways to keep things on hand that were meat-free and tasty. I started using it part of the time on my pancakes instead of peanut butter (a family favorite) and even got my foreign vegetarian roommate embracing it on pancakes as well. The cookies turned out great and just the right amount when you are cooking for yourself. Of course everyone else in my family looked at me like I was nuts making cookies without butter or eggs. Yummy.

"God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear,

To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here".~Robert Browning