Granola Bars

I've been meaning to make my own granola bars for the longest time. For various reasons (missing ingredients, laziness) I never got to it. Two weeks ago things changed. I was staring at the pantry deciding what to make for dinner and it hit me...bam! I had everything in there to make granola bars...so I made granola bars for dinner. can you say #bestwife?

This recipe is easy and measurements can be approximate and substitutions are okay. easy right?

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 1/2 cups dates
1/2 cup chopped apricots
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried mango
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tbs of flax seed powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Toast oats, almonds and coconut for 10-12 minutes. Toss often. Once done, remove from the oven and let it cool.

In a food processor crush dates. They will turn into paste like texture.

Add everything in large bowl and mix. Add more honey if needed. You'll have to get your hand dirty with this one.

Line a pan with parchment paper and spread the mixture. I wrapped my hand in saran wrap to flatten everything out. Score for easy cutting and leave it in the fridge to set it. And enjoy!

Husband and co-workers approved. I hope you do too!

Lotus Root Fries

Soooo.....yeah, I've been kind of MIA? Sorry about that! Last week I was grocery shopping (exciting stuff is happening around here—hence the absence!) and I saw someone buying lotus root. I've never seen or heard of it. So I asked the person buying it few questions. She told me that she is planning to use it in Asian food. So I bought one. I wasn't really sure what to do with it but I decided to cut it open and see what i'm up against. It reminds of potato, except crunchier. One thing i've learned from watching countless hours of TV is that everything tastes good fried...so I made fries. This vegetable is pretty! I mean look!

 right??? I dipped them in flour (add salt and pepper to the flour for some taste) and fried for few minutes until golden brown. Sprinkle with some lemon juice and chaat masala (if you don't have any then salt, pepper and garlic would work too). Sprinkle some parsley and enjoy!! I recommend some ice cold beer and burger.  But by the time I got the beer, the fries were gone...so yeah Enjoy!