WANTED: Carob Protein Bars

Waiting patiently, you crave the carob bar recipe that was promised over a month ago now. You can almost taste them. The carob powder sitting in your cabinet just isn't cutting it anymore....First, you need to get yourself some carob chips and a bunch of other trail mix-like-ingredients.

Alas, no picture, but here's the recipe that was so graciously passed to me.

CAROB PROTEIN BARS
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c carob chips
1 c peanut or almond butter
1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c raw sunflower seeds
1/2 c chopped nuts (peanut, hazelnut, almonds, etc.)
1/4 c toasted sesame seeds (To toast or not to toast, there's a difference!)
1/4 c ground flax seeds

Directions:
Melt carob chips using double boiler method or low in microwave in a glass dish. When completely melted, add almond butter and mix well. You will be tempted to try this concoction. I say "Go for it!" But do continue...
Add all other ingredients. Pour into an ungreased cake tin and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight. Turn onto counter. Let rest 10 - 20 minutes and cut into small pieces. They are sweet, so a 1/2 inch by 1 inch piece is not crazy.

The bars can be left at room temp for a few days, chilled for a couple of weeks, or wrapped well and frozen for a couple of months. They make great gifts and are a welcome addition to any potluck dessert table.

Substitute ingredients freely. Try chopped dates, dried apricots, candied ginger, ground almonds, whatever. I found a really sharp knife helps to cut the semi-crumbly bars. I also found that eating all the broken bits before retiring for the night to be less than ideal as a relaxation technique.

Gluten & Dairy Free "Pumpkin" Pie Crust

For Easter the craving for pumpkin pie was just too strong to deny! Not traditional, I know, but very tasty nonetheless. Since it still feels like winter here anyway, this "November" treat didn't feel too out of place.

The All Natural Allergy Cookbook gives a great recipe for a nut crust that you could use with any pie. While cooling, a few photos were taken of the finished crust. Unfortunately neither could we wait nor remember to take a picture of the finished pie. Maybe next time...

NUT CRUST

2 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp honey or maple syrup

1/4 c arrowroot powder

1/4 c buckwheat flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 c ground nuts and/or seeds
(almonds, walnuts, pecans, sunflower...)

Preheat oven to 350F & lightly oil a small pie plate. I mixed everything in the food processor because it was difficult to incorporate the dry thoroughly with the wet ingredients. Add everything but the nuts & mix.

Add nuts and mix until crumbly. Pour into greased pie plate and press down with oiled fingers or spoon. Bake 3-5 min. Let cool. Fill.

To make 2 crusts (which I did) use 1 1/2 times this recipe.

Springtime Flours

Amazed by the variety of flours needed for Gluten Free baking, I thought I would photograph my countertop "flour garden." There are over 15 different types, sold in either 400g or 2kg bags. I now store them all in my deep freezer just to keep the fridge clear.