Homemade Granola Bars

It's that time of year again when I start spending more time in the kitchen. It's finally cooled down to the point where I chop vegetables without sweating, let alone turn on the oven. And in an effort to get healthier, I've been trying to cook more vegetarian meals. This past week's new efforts included pasta puttanesca (I swapped anchovies for artichokes instead) and couscous with a hearty stew of chickpeas, spinach and mint from a Times recipe (garlic hot sauce is a very fine alternative to harissa).

But one of the recipes we've been tinkering with all summer is the homemade granola bar. It's quick and easy to make, and something you can eat every morning at the office, so it makes sense to keep coming back to it and trying to improve.

The original recipe is from The 4-Ingredient Vegan by my family's nutritionist, Maribeth Abrams. Check her out!

Preheat oven to 350. Convection ovens work great with these.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup agave nectar
1 tbs flax seeds, ground
2 tbs coconut shavings
2 tbs hazelnuts
2 tbs chocolate chips
1 tbs brown rice flour
1 tbs organic soy flour
about 2 tbs water (however much you need to make the dough stick)

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Spread evenly on parchment paper. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes. Let cool. Slice into bars.

I gotta say, the raw "dough" for this recipe is quite delicious -- and safer than cookie dough!

Caravan of Dreams Realized

"A meat and potatoes kind of guy" is an understatement when describing the eating habits of my dad was up until a few months ago. He'd eat meat, sure, but only cheeseburgers void of any kind of condiments (and that includes tomatoes and lettuce and the other semi-healthy burger veggies). Potatoes, yes, there were potatoes, but only the kind doused in butter and cream and cheese and if its not piping hot he would not eat said caloric potatoes. And that was about it. Most kinds of dessert were fair game, as long as it wasn't anything fruity. Lemon ice being the only exception.

So when my parents came to visit the other weekend, pulled out their vegan-approved list of places to eat and suggested we have lunch at Caravan of Dreams, I was quite skeptical of how this would turn out. It's one thing to hear over the phone that a new healthy lifestyle is happily consuming my parents' lives. It's quite another to witness a real invitation to an organic vegan restaurant that isn't palpable sarcasm.

I quickly scanned the menu myself and was almost a bit skeptical. "Live" nachos? What does that even mean? Am I the only one picturing the Mexican hat dance unfolding on the platter in front of us?

Well, I honestly don't have a lot of comparison for vegan fare, but even so I'd have to say Caravan of Dreams is pretty good. My beet ravioli (live, of course), was thankfully not doing any kind of jig. The walnut and sundried tomato filling inside vinegary slices of beets were mild, the hemp mint cilantro dressing gave it a nice kick. Rob's rosemary shiitake mushroom burger was pretty slammin' with a large grilled onion and a nice flavorful tarragon ali-oli. Dad's hummus was nice and smooth with finely chopped onions on top to mix in (though he declared his homemade version was better) and Mom's rice and veggie platter was better than what I've made at home. 

 

For dinner they asked us to take them for their first Indian cuisine experience. Dad eating hummus and garlic naan with chicken tikka masala in one day is a little much for me, and definitely a little much for a single post.*

*In case you were wondering, we went to Bay Leaf in Williamsburg and guess what? Hey Mikey, they liked it!

Caravan of Dreams

405 East 6th Street