Before I forget...
Here's the recipe for the granola bars from book club.
2 cups oats
3/4 cup wheat germ
3/4 cup sunflower seeds ( I used half flax seeds, half pumpkin seeds instead)
1 cup nuts, crushed ( I did half almonds, half peanuts)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
4 Tbsp. butter (I used 2 T. butter and 2 T. Redmond coconut oil, which gave it a yummy flavor!)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. Real salt
8 oz. dried fruit (I just threw in a handful each of dried blueberries and dried pomegranates)
Mix nuts, oats, wheat germ, and seeds in a baking dish with sides (like jelly roll pan) Toast them in the oven for 10 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring every few minutes so that they don't burn.
Meanwhile, prepare a 9x13 baking dish for your granola by lining it with wased paper lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. (I used plastic wrap, sprayed)
Put brown sugar, honey, butter/oil, vanilla, and salt into a saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly.
When grains are toasted, mix everything together in a large bowl. The grains, the liquid "glue", and the dried fruit. Mix everything really well, making sure the glue gets all over everything.
Dump the mixture into your prepared baking dish, spread it out.
Fold over the sides of the waxed paper or add a sheet on top, and PRESS HARD all over the granola.
Let cool an hour or so.
ThenTurn the granola onto a large cutting board, peeling away the rest of the paper. Firmly press down with a big knife, not sawing, cut your granola into whatever size bars you'd like.
You can wrap them individually in plastic wrap, for an on-the-go snack. Or put them in an airtight container, between sheets of waxed paper so they don't stick together.
They are fine stored at room temperature.
Now you have a healthy (at least moreso than the kind at the grocery store), delicious, snack! Of course you can experiment with different combinations of nuts/seeds/fruits to suit your tastes.
Hi Everyone-
