At Whole Foods they have these yummy sesame seed bars baked in honey until they are almost like candy bars. I thought I would give it a try. I didn't really have enough sesame seeds, so I kind of substituted with other nuts. And so, Mo's Granola Bars were born.
What you'll need:
1/3 c of almond meal* (ground up almonds)
2/3 cup dried unsweetened coconut flakes (tiny)
1/3 c ground oats*
1/3 c slivered toasted almonds chopped coarsely
1/3 c toasted pecans chopped coarsely
1/3 c raw pumpkin seeds (green ones)
1/3 c raw sunflower seeds
2/3 c sesame seeds
2/3 c honey
5 dashes cinnamon
8x8 baking pan
1/2 T butter (to butter the pan, and whatever is left just throw in with the honey)
*If you can't find ground almonds in the store and to grind your oats, all you need is a coffee grinder or food processor.
Set the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the 8x8 baking dish with 1/2 T of butter. In a small sauce pan, heat up the honey to a very liquid state - not boiling though. If you have left over butter, just throw it in with the honey. No point in wasting it. You can also heat up the honey in the microwave, but I like to watch it, so it doesn't boil.
Mix all dry ingredients plus Cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. With a spatula, stir in the heated honey and coat evenly. Transfer to your buttered baking dish quickly and press firmly into the pan, spreading the mixture as evenly as possible.
Baked for 20 minutes in 350 oven. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes until firm but not hard. Cut into squares, bars or whatever sized pieces you prefer.
To keep fresh, I wrapped each bar in parchment paper and the sealed them in an airtight container.
On this Independence Day, I'm going to take a minute to exercise my right to free speech and get on my soap box. I'll try to make it short though...
I've often thought that for my generation freedom and independence was a given, and something we take for granted. Because, it's not like we've had a hand in fighting for it.
However, as I was reading the news this morning about more unrest in Egypt, coupled with a recent conversation with my Dad and thoughts about last weeks SCOTUS ruling, I took a moment to reflect. We (and by we, I mean Americans) may not be fighting for freedom and independence from government rule, but we are still fighting for freedom of oppression from each other.
It is our constitutional right to have beliefs and opinions, but it's how we act upon them that either sparks a fire for bias and prejudice, or cultivates a deep reverence for diversity.
Unfortunately, bias seems to come much easier than understanding. I suppose because you don't have to educate yourself...I think the saying is "ignorance is bliss." Except that it's not. It's just lazy.
We've all succumb to laziness in some form or fashion, whether we want to admit it or not, but we have to keep pushing ourselves to fight for and towards the founding principles of this country...freedom and equality. We are the melting pot of the world after all, so if we can't embrace our differences and see the beauty in that, then we've failed ourselves, and as a role model to those who are literally still fighting for this dream.
I got a ZOKU popsicle maker for Christmas, and now that it is summer and steaming hot outside, I'm bustin' it out for some yummy frozen treats.
The easiest recipe so far has been pouring Simply Fresh Orange Juice with whole berries mashed or thrown into the popsicle slots. Basically, no mixing or thinking required. Just freezing and eating!
However, I have experimented with blending strawberries, honey and greek yogurt, which is really good as well. But, my favorite concoction so far is mixing Rosewater with fresh mashed up raspberries and some greek yogurt. It tastes like it should be full of calories, but it's nice knowing that the yummy treat is good for you.
*You can find online or in specialty stores such mediterranean markets or Whole Foods.
Reserve a few raspberries (10) to slightly mash and fold into popsicle mixture later. Take all ingredients - yogurt, raspberries, rosewater and milk - and blend together in a blender. Fold in reserved mashed raspberries. Pour into prepared Zoku quick pop maker. Follow freezing times instructed for the pop maker. Makes 4 popsicles.
"Postcards from San Diego - Pass Me the Wine Please"
San Diego may be known for beer, but if you go about an hour and a half north towards Ramona, there is a great little winery by the name of Hellanback Ranch. Not easy to find, so be sure to get directions. To learn more about the Winery and its owners check out this fun video:
Earning our keep...
So, we actually had the opportunity to help in bottling 40 cases of wine while visiting.
This was truly a great experience, and I'm really hopeful that we'll get to make it back for the harvest this year!
On bottling....
Even though bottling is just one part of the process of wine-making, I have a whole new appreciation for every bottle opened. Because when it's a small-boutique style winery, believe me, there's a lot of love and care that goes into that bottle. My arm can attest...I sealed roughly 480 bottles by hand!
So after earning our keep and bottling, I got to snag a few shots around the ranch, dogs, pigs and all.
"Postcards from San Diego - Food & Drink Recommendations"
Recently I traveled to San Diego for a little fun in the sun, beer tasting and wine bottling. And before I get to the posts highlighting my photography excursions, I thought I would share a snapshot of all the great food and drinks we got to check out while there.
Mission #1: Find Pliny the Elder. And the results....
Well, I finally got to try this famous Double IPA (Pliny the Elder) by Russian River Brewing Company...and I have to admit, I understand what all the hype is about. It was one of the best IPA's I've ever had. Hoppy, but super floral, and so smooth that it goes down way too easy. It's worth the trip out to the west coast and searching for the bar that has it on tap.
Mission # 2: Eat, drink and be merry. And so we did, at the following:
Alpine Beer Co. - A short drive outside of San Diego. Recommended Brews (besides all of them): Pure Hoppiness and the Mandarin Nectar.
Polite Provisions - Crazy good cocktails are served up at this trendy little spot. Just check out their phone number - 691.677.DRUG, and you'll have no doubts that as manufacturers of local tonics, elixirs and cures that you will find a remedy for whatever ails you.
Green Flash Brewing Co.- What can I say. It's really great beer, and they have a lot to sample. Opt for the samples sizes, so you can taste a variety, and definitely try the Palette Wrecker, but please save it for last. It is named this for a reason.
Alesmith Brewing Company - They have a really fantastic nut brown ale, among other things. Definitely worth a visit, since they're only available right now in California.
"Postcards from Portland" - Cannon Beach & Coastal Concoctions
I know it's been sometime since my last blog on Portland (or in general), but I didn't quite anticipate my intense travel schedule last Fall, or, the rest I would need following. But, it's a new year. I'm feeling refreshed after the holidays, and I am looking forward to writing more this year. So here's to Day 3 of the "Postcards from Portland" series, and a big Happy New Year for all those who continue to stop by The June bug Theory Blog!
Day 3 of our adventures in Portland led us out of the city again, this time, to the Pacific Coast towards Cannon Beach, where we took in some local organic coffee, saw a rather large protruding rock in the sea, tested our tootsies in the frigid waters of the Northwest, and drove to a seaside town straight out of the Goonies, where we picked up some more local brews and tried some oyster shots.
But, before we could pack that all in, we had to get some goodness stuck to our ribs, and what better way than with a second helping of Pine State Biscuits. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, those biscuits are that good, so much so that we sought out the location on SE Belmont Street in Portland. And the second time around with the Money Ball Double Down, Biscuit with homemade Pimento Cheese and coffee, was just as good as the first time.
My mouth is watering now just thinking about these and seeing the pictures again...
The Money Ball Double Down (translation - two eggs on top of a biscuit smothered in gravy)
Homemade Pimento Cheese (yummy)
Bellies full and caffeine kickin', we headed for the coast. And did I mention our ride (aka rental car)? None other than a Subaru Outback, which felt kind of like we were living the Subaru ads, as we drove through the West Coast forests just twisting and turning on the roadways with the low lying clouds just above our heads.
Alas, we emerged from the fog like state, arriving at Cannon Beach, which was about an hour and half outside of Portland. First stop, a local coffee shop, called Sleepy Monk Coffee Roasters where the coffee is roasted locally. Then a short walk over to the beach and there it is...Haystack Rock.
Haystack rock
If you're a child of the 80's, I would expect the photo above and those below, might strik a sense of nostalgia and familiarity as the backdrop to the infamous GOONIES movie, which was filmed in Astoria, Cannon Beach (Haystack Rock) and Ecola State Park.
We took a nice stroll on the beach, took way more photos than you probably would care to see, and remember earlier that I said we tested our tootsies in the frigid waters...well, I think this says it all...
The water was only in the 50 degree range, but to this southern girl, it felt icy cold.
After drying off, we headed up to Ecola State Park for some scenic views of the area and a peek at the Tillamook Rock Light (a deactivated lighthouse on a rock less than an acre, which now acts as a columbarium...for cremated remains).
Ecola State Park View
Tillamook Rock Light
Ecola State Park View
Ecola State Park View
By now, it was getting well into the afternoon, and we needed some fuel...so we drove up the coast towards Astoria to Fort George Brewery + Public House.
Upon our entrance into Fort George, this beautiful menu of coastal concoctions was on the wall to greet us....
If my memory serves me correctly, we chose the Sunrise Oatmeal Pale Ale, and the Vortex IPA, and purchased the 22 oz. Roses on Roses in a bottle to take back to Portland.
In addition to our brews, we opted for some unbelievably fresh oysters from Willapa Bay, shot-style with lemon and spicy cocktail sauce. This might have ignited our love for Oysters...if only they could be so fresh all the time.
Willapa Bay Oyster Shots
Fort George Brews
After all the fresh fare (Albacore Tuna Fish & Chips, Sausage) and brews, and some discussions with our bartender, we contemplated driving to Eugene, OR, which apparently is home to some other really great breweries....but, reality set-in, and we decided that this would have to wait for another trip to the Pacific North West.
So, we headed back to Portland. All in all day 3, and a well-spent birthday for Vladi, was complete with a visit to Cannon Beach and bellies full of Coastal Concoctions.
Stay tuned...I promise, day 4 will be posted much sooner.
Thanks for Reading and Happy New Year,
Mo
PS - I will leave you with this one more tidbit...for those of you wishing to re-live the 80's for a few minutes.
