Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars

Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

Nancy Krcek Allen's article in the May/June 2009 issue of Vegetarian Times, entitled "Herbal Essences," caught my attention right away. I absolutely love cooking with herbs, experimenting with different combinations, and discovering new pairings. There's just nothin' like cooking with fresh herbs. That's part of the reason I maintain an herb garden. That and herbs are hella easy to grow.

Since The Husband and I are on the wane, I selected the recipe that delivered the lowest amount of fat per serving (4g): Apple-Rosemary Oat Bars. Oh man, are these little babies delicious!

First, they are not too sweet. I love that. So they can easily be eaten with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, as a snack any time of the day, or as a light dessert. Whenever you want, really. Second, the lemon zest and juice really balance out what little sweet there is in the bars, adding a fun little zing to every bite. Third, the rosemary. How I love rosemary! Paired with apple, it's just fantastic. Fourth, the consistency is just perfect. Nice little crunchy bits on the outside and a soft, moist center. 

The only change I made to the recipe was I substituted spelt whole grain flour for the all-purpose flour. No problem there. The recipe offers several options with regard to nut butters - I used almond butter. Yum!

I'm looking forward to working our way through this batch of bars and I think this recipe could serve as a fantastic template to play with and create new herby, fruity bars. The possibilities are vast.

Winner!

Lara Bars = Love

So, if you couldn't tell by my lack of regular posts lately, I'm a busy girl right now. School, the mom gig, my spiritual training, and everything else I've decided to funnel down my own throat right now has left me with very little time to blog, much less cook.

I've sought out vegan shortcuts and have found and fell in love with LARABARs. They are in my cabinet, my purse, my glove box, and more. They travel well and they are damn tasty! In addition, they are...

• vegan
• no added sugar
• raw
• soy free
• dairy free
• gluten free
• kosher
• unprocessed
• non-GMO

They're so effing healthy, you're practically an enlightened being after having eaten one. Plus, they are individually wrapped and come in lots of fun flavors. My current favorite: Cocoa Molé - chile and chocolate. Hallelujerrrr!

Granola Bars

I've been wanting to try my hand at making granola bars for a while now. First reason being, my three-year-old eats at least one bar a day and I'd prefer it be something I've made rather than store-bought. It's cheaper that way and I know exactly what's in them. Also, I travel several times a year and am always looking for handy snacks to stash in my carry-on bag. Now that I'm vegan, it's even more important to have suitable snacks at the ready. Since I'm taking my next trip in about one month, I thought I'd start trying out some recipes now.

For my first crack, I veganized an Alton Brown recipe for granola bars.

Granola Bars

• 8 ounces old-fashioned rolled oats, about 2 cups
• 1 ½ ounces raw sunflower seeds, about ½ cup
• 3 ounces sliced almonds, about 1 cup (I used slivered almonds)
• 1 ½ ounces wheat germ, about ½ cup
• 6 ounces agave nectar, about ½ cup
• 1 ¾ ounces dark brown sugar, about ¼ cup packed
• 1-ounce vegan butter spread, plus extra for pan (I just sprayed the pan with a nonfat no-stick spray)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 ½ ounces chopped dried fruit, any combination of apricots, cherries or blueberries (I used 2 ½ ounces raisins, 2 ounces dried cranberries, and 2 ounces vegan carob chips ... What? ... Carob is totally a fruit.)

1. Butter a 9x9-inch glass baking dish and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread oats, sunflower seeds, almonds, and wheat germ onto a half-sheet pan. Place in oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
3. In the meantime, combine agave nectar, brown sugar, butter, extract, and salt in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat. Cook until the brown sugar has completely dissolved.
4. Once the oat mixture is done, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Immediately add the oat mixture to the liquid mixture, add the dried fruit, and stir to combine. Turn mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down, evenly distributing the mixture in the dish and place in the oven to bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

I'd make this recipe again, but I'd change some things. First, I'd use shelled seeds - sunflower or pumpkin - as the shells were fine for me, but my son had trouble getting them sufficiently chewed. Second, I'd reduce the cook time because the bars were a bit too chewy for me - like TMJ syndrome chewy. Or maybe I cooked the sugar mixture too long before adding the oat mixture. I'm not sure.

The flavor was good, but they need some work. I'd like to try using various types of dried fruit as well.