Vacation and Granola Bars

Well hello everyone. Long time no blogging! I had good intentions of doing some cooking with my sister while I was home to Spokane but that didn't happen. I also had good intentions of blogging about that cooking while I was there in her beautiful and gigantic kitchen that should belong to me and not her (just checking to see if she is reading) but of course that didn't happen either. I did however make some granola bars right before we left which I was very thankful to have in the car to snack on for a 20 hour drive! I was just going to take along the homemade granola from the previous post but a couple of you asked how you could turn that into a granola bar so I gave it a whirl for you. But first some vacation photos..........

For those of you who don't know I am from Spokane Washington and I will ALWAYS claim it as home! We usually go home every summer and do all the things you never do while you live there. Like go and enjoy downtown. I love the clock tower at Riverfront park almost as much as I love the view as you come down the hill driving east and the whole downtown comes into view!

You know this one! I miss those mountains so much! I wish you could see it in person because it is very picturesque.

We also went to visit the small local zoo called Cat Tales. It is really about tigers, and cheetahs, and a baby lion cub, and other cats but they also have a bear and Evan got to feed it some watermelon. Evan redeemed himself from our trip to the Seattle Zoo when his two year old sister hand fed a giraffe and he was too scared to do it. Don't tell my pre-teen boy I told you that though! I'll be in big trouble.

It was so cool when he fed him from the top hole and the bear stood up with his paws on the wall. Incredible to be this close!

Faith really enjoyed all the statues much more than the real animals which is strange since she stalked my sisters cats all week long trying to hold them like babies. I am sure the cats were super happy when we left.

My niece Shelby got to feed the GIANT tiger! Very unlike the bear he was super lazy and didn't even want to come over and eat for a while but they some how coaxed him.

The animals are amazing and majestic. Plus it just isn't something you see up close and personal everyday. God the creator never ceases to amaze me.

My favorite was this little lion cub however. He was playful and fun and his toys were cardboard boxes. The zoo keepers said he is a lot of work though. He needs a baby sitter in his cage with him all the time. He is probably the equivalent of a two year old.

We also made a trip up north almost to the Canadian border to visit Gardner Cave. Here we are about to descend into the earth. I must admit that it freaks me out a bit.

It was only 39 degrees in the cave and there was water dripping all over because of the amount of rain the state has received. I did want to go, but I kept thinking the whole time I was down there about miners and how they feel and how horrible it has to be for them if they ever become trapped underground.

It was very educational and very interesting. You are not allowed to touch anything in the cave. The oils on your hands make the stalagmites and stalactites turn black. The guide showed us where someone had touched this piece a couple years ago and said it would take years for those marks to go away.

The other cool thing about going up to the cave was that we got to walk the trail to Canada. It is just a short 1/2 mile hike and you are on the border.

But you can't be too adventurous or you might end up in big trouble!

I wish you could see it better in this picture but the line behind Evan's head is the border. The trees are cleared all the way along the United States and Canadian border from East to West like that. My kids are standing in two places at once! Very cool claim to fame!

We spent the fourth of July in downtown Spokane enjoying the rides, the park, the food, the IMAX theater, some mini golf, the big red wagon, some pony rides, some glow sticks, and of course some fireworks!

That is my dad and Evan on the Ferris wheel. Faith and I were in the cart below. Ferris wheels do not go fast. It takes way to long to load and unload those things when they are trying to balance the weight all out!

So we stuck to the faster rides after that. This is my sister and Faith on the Sizzler. Faith is a dare devil. The scarier the ride the better for her. The girl gets miserably car sick but when it comes to the rides she is a-okay. I don't know if she loves it so much she ignores the sickness or if it is just different. Fun to watch though!

Miles and the kids. We staked out our spot for the fireworks early! I must also mention that the weather was absolutely perfect that day. Sunny and 80 degrees with no humidity. Sorry to the Minnesota friends who had 100 degrees and about as much humidity. We even had to put on our sweatshirts and curl up under the blankets when the sun went down. We also went and hunted down some coffee because we needed to warm up a bit. Spokane let me count the reasons I love thee!!!!!

The fireworks did not disappoint!

My sister also forced me to be her photo shoot subject. She is an amazing photographer. She makes me look better than I am in real life. I think she gets tired of photographing kids and horses so she recruited me.

We decided there might be a little cowgirl in me after all. My sister is a horse person. She is a breeder actually. She owns lots of horses and most of the mamas had cute babies following them around. I am the complete opposite of my sister. I think the horses are beautiful but they tend to be a bit on the dirty and smelly side for me.

Plus she showed me picmonkey.com which lets you add all these fun borders and change up the effects of your pictures. It is super easy to navigate and upload a photo if you want to play around with it some time. Thanks to my niece Shelby for the loan of all her cool clothes. It is good to have a teenage niece. Too bad we don't live closer so I could borrow them more often!

We had a great time, but it is always good to be home too and to get back to a routine. Unfortunately that routine also included a very strict diet for the week and probably into next week as well. We basically pigged out on vacation so now we have to pay the price. That means I have cooked very simple meals and haven't had much to blog about but I will get back into a better routine with that soon too.

So even though  my last post was about granola all you get is granola bars now! But hey, they are pretty healthy and Miles devoured them and you could even get your kids to eat them too. They are pretty quick to make but do take a bit of time to cool.

Measure out your wet ingredients first so they are ready to dump in. I used honey, brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla.

You can play around with these ingredients to find your favorite combination but I used oats of course, pepitas, cranberries, raisins, unsweetened coconut flakes, sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, and chopped walnuts.

Give it a good stir.

Then mix in your wet ingredients and stir until it comes nicely together. If it is not sticking together well you may need to add a bit more syrup or peanut butter.

Press the mixture into a 9 x 9 pan or I used this one which is maybe 7 X 11.

Bake until golden brown on top which took me about 20 minutes. YOU MUST LET THEM COOL COMPLETELY!!!! If you do not they will just become a crumbly mess and it will be granola not granola bars.

They were soooooo delicious!

This recipe doesn't make a ton though so I think next time I might make a double batch so they last a little longer.

It was very handy to have on the second leg of our trip when the breakfast at the hotel didn't satisfy me enough.

There you have it. Easy peasy!

I promise to do more blogging.

There. I said it. So now I must do it.

It might be pretty simple but I will do it.

For example next up I am going to share some of our favorite drinks with you.

Thanks for sticking with my very long post full of pictures.

 Granola Bars

1/4 cup brown rice syrup (or maple)

1/4 cup honey or agave

1/2 cup all natural peanut butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats

1/4 cup cranberries

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup pepitas

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions: Mix wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well. Add wet to dry ingredients and mix thoroughly until it holds nicely together. It may be necessary to add more syrup or peanut butter at this point. Press mixture into a  9 X 9 pan or a 7 X 11. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until starting to brown on top. Let cool completely before slicing into desired size.

Moroccan Chickpea Salad

Yesterday at the gym a friend asked me if this recipe was on my blog. Funny thing was I had purchased everything to make it almost two weeks ago intending to get it on my blog. It never happened and I used up the cilantro for something else so I had to get more at the store. And that my friends is why I am not a meal planner! If I make a plan I just can't stick to it! It is inevitable!

She tasted this salad at a church potluck. I like to bring "different" things to potlucks or get togethers because people seem to have an adventurous spirit when they walk through a line and pile things on their plates. Several people asked me that day for the recipe. It is an interesting combination and I think people are surprised how much they like it.

Hallelujah for the sun shining this morning. Picture taking went much easier! I guess I should always cook in the morning. Start by draining and rinsing two cans of chickpeas also known as garbanzo beans. I must say that I really do prefer chickpeas to be organic from a can. They are at Cashwise in the health food section. They just come out looking better and I swear they taste better but be cheap if you must.

Peel 2 carrots.

I have this special little tool that my mother-in-law brought to me one time. I think it might be an "As Seen on TV" kind of product. It works wonders if you need to julienne something. I am sorry for sharing what you can't have. You can borrow this from me if you want to make the perfect carrot strips too!

I just run it down the carrot like you would a regular peeler but it gives you these very thin strips that are perfectly sliced. The carrot will get too thin to slice so then I finish it up by cutting with my knife. It is nice to have both sizes in the salad I guess.

But the knife just can't get them as thin as I like them. Maybe you could slice them quick in a food processor with the slicing attachment. Enough with the carrots, I know!

Dice up 3 green onions, 1/4 cup of cilantro, and 2 Roma tomatoes. I also think cherry or grape tomatoes would be great sliced up.

You need about 1/2 cup of feta cheese and a little more to top the salad.

The RAISINS! The original recipe did not call for these but my sister and my husband both think the raisins make this salad what it is! My sister claimed, "That salad is a completely different salad with the raisins.!" You need about 1/2 cup plus a little more to top the salad as well.

Mix all of these ingredients together gently.

For the dressing you need 3 Tbsp. olive oil, 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, 2 tsp. ground cumin, 1/4 tsp each of sea salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne or use Franks Red Pepper Sauce. ( I was out) Mix together and pour over the salad. It is best if the flavors have a little time to blend which is why I made it this morning for lunch this afternoon.

Piece of advice: Don't substitute lemon juice from a bottle! Go get a fresh lemon before you make this. You very much taste the dressing on this salad and it won't be good with that bottled stuff!

It makes a beautiful salad and it is so delicious and unexpected. My friend Ann who asked me about this at the gym said, "Who knew you would like chickpeas?" When I served this to my friend Melissa for lunch one day my husband called me later to tell me that he was sick of hearing about my salad at work! (She works with Miles) I should have sent you with the leftovers that day Melissa!

Moral of the story is give it a try! I think you will be pleasantly surprised! I think one day I need to have a salad smorgasbord with all my favorite salads and invite a bunch of skeptics over for some taste testing. Sounds fun don't you think?

Recipe lightly adapted from March 2011 Clean Eating Magazine

Moroccan Chickpea Salad

2 cans chickpeas drained and rinsed

2 large carrots, peeled and julienned

3 green onions, thinly sliced

2 plum or Roma tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup raisins

Dressing

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

pinch of cayenne or Franks

Mix together gently in a bowl.  Whisk dressing ingredients together. Add dressing to the salad and toss. Top the salad with a bit more feta and raisins. Let sit for 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

FYI: The original recipe also calls for 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint and 1 red bell pepper diced. I leave these two things out every time because I am not a super huge fan of mint and I am just not sure about the red pepper being in there. Someday I will try it with those ingredients but for now I am just sticking with my excellent addition, the raisins!