Energy Bites {Jamie Oliver}

It’s that lovely time of year when the leaves start to change color and the skies are clear but you can’t leave home without a coat and everyone is cuddled up with blankets and a hot cuppa (a word I only started using recently). All this loveliness comes at a cost, because with the changing weather we get the dreaded, the most avoided and annoying thing ever!

The common cold.

Last Monday I went to work and it seemed like everyone had one. Tuesday my day off, I felt my throat start to tingle and itch and by Wednesday I knew I was starting to get a cold. So, I sent the hubby to the store for pineapple, oranges, and lemon so I could make the ultimate cold buster juice. Curtesy of The Juice Master himself Jason Vale. The other ingredient for this Buster Juice, as I call it, is Manuka honey.

I already had Manuka honey in my cupboard patiently waiting for me to make these Energy Bites originally called “My Tasty Energy Balls: Apricot, Ginger, & Cashew.” That title and this recipe comes from Jamie Oliver’s latest book Everyday Super Food. Having watched (most) of his shows and following his popular Food Tube YouTube channel I think he probably got a laugh out of calling them “My Tasty Energy Balls.” The 8 year-old in me laughed.

There isn’t a better time then when you have a cold to give yourself as much energy as possible. With the juice and these bites I think I’ve escaped the worst of the cold. I was still sneezy, had itchy ears, and sounded a bit rough, but I could still breath and didn’t have the pressure headaches. So, I would never say that these things cure the common cold, but they have helped me endure it a bit better!

Energy Bites

100g unsalted cashew nuts
20g sesame seeds
80g dried apricots
20g puffed brown rice
thumb size piece of ginger, about 4cm
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons manuka honey

Blitz 40g of the cashews into a powder - set aside to cover the bites later. Place 60g of the cashew nuts along with the sesame seeds, apricots, and puffed rice into a food processor and blitz until it’s all chopped up. Then finely grate the ginger into the food processor bowl and add the mixed spice, give it a pulse or three before adding the honey. Mix it for a couple of minutes, scraping down the sides if and when needed. Once it’s ready roll into about 24 bites and coat in the cashew powder and store in an airtight container.

tip: You can toast the cashews and sesame seeds in a dry pan on a medium heat for added flavor as suggested by Jamie, but I didn’t. Also wet your hands before rolling the mixture into balls to avoid it being too sticky.

notes: Recipe adapted from Everyday Super Food Jamie Oliver. My husband bought me a copy because he knows I like Jamie Oliver and thought I’d enjoy this book as well. We are terrible gift givers on special occasion’s, but it’s because we do things like buy each other stuff when we see it and just give it to each other instead of saving it.

Memory Triggering Cherry Oatmeal Bars

My sister, Janet, and I always have conversations about memory. It seems to be that mine is a bit better then hers and we wonder why? What makes me remember things that she doesn't or things she does that she wouldn't have expected me too?

In my opinion it has a lot to do with triggers. The obvious trigger being someone bringing up a memory "hey remember...." and the second obvious would be photos. But there are a lot of triggers in our senses.

When my husband came to visit me in the early days he brought Davidoff Cool Water, his choice of scent at the time. Every time I catch a whiff of it now I am automatically overwhelmed with the memories of that time we spent together in the early days of our story. Music and even books trigger a similar reaction.

I was looking for a bar to take along on a picnic and for no particular reason I grabbed my Fat Witch Brownie book by Patricia Helding. After opening the book I was transported back to when it was one of five baking books and I had yet to start my blog and I was still just dipping into the whole baking thing. It's hard to put into words how I felt as it was a realization of how far I've come. How much I have learned. How big my book collection has grown ... scary. I bet my husband is glad it's not a shoe obsession,  though it hasn't been cheap, shoes are way more spendy!

Anyhow, Janet and I will probably never know why my memory seems to trigger easier? Maybe I just dwell on the past more then she does? Maybe it's because I spent most of my childhood observing more then participating? Either way now any time I make or even look at these Cherry Oatmeal Bars, I will be transported back to a sunny day spent with my youngest daughter and long for the days when she was still little.

Cherry Oatmeal Bars:
190g/12tbsp unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of rolling oats
1 cup plain flour
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
75g/about 1/2 cup of dried cherries
handful of chopped cashews (optional)

Grease a 9in baking pan with butter. Preheat the oven to 350C/180F. Melt the butter, brown it to have a nuttier taste, or not. Let it cool before adding in the vanilla.
Combine the oats, flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. Make sure there are no lumps before pouring in he melted butter and vanilla mixture and mix well. Fold in the cherries and nuts if using.
Spread the mixture into the prepared pan, using your hands to flatten.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for an hour before enjoying!

I have a tendency to always over bake oatmeal aka granola bars. I don't know why I'm always worried about under baking them? When ever time I over bake? Anyway even though these were a bit on the brown side they were still tasty! Perfect treats for a picnic and I used the rest for my breakfast the next day, I just poured a little milk over them. Yum!

notes: Now that summer is approaching there will be a lot of picnics to be had so be prepared for a lot of bars and other easy transportable baked goods! - Fat Witch Brownies by Patricia Helding Amazon UK & USA;