A Calorie by Any Other Name..

I cannot account for my absence with any sensational stories, but I do have something pretty faboo to share. A revolution just occured in my kitchen; a collision of recipes by 2 of my sidebar recipe goddesses (yeah, her and her) yielded something that trips the taste fantastic.

And so, without a word further about the zillion other things that I would normally allow to steer my focus astray, I present to you:

KCal Bars (Since they've already been called "Energy bars" elsewhere)
1 tablespoon oil (or the same amount of butter will do)
1/4 cup chopped raw walnuts
1 cup chopped raw almonds
handful (each) raisins and cranberries (unsulphered)
2/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1 1/4 cup barley flakes (or rolled oats)
1 1/2 cup crisp brown rice cereal (or your cereal of choice)
1/2 c agave nectar (though you could try using honey, brown rice syrup, etc)
1/2 c almond butter
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tablespoon vanilla

Toast all nuts and coconut on a baking sheet for about 5-7 minutes, or until coconut is profoundly golden (I did this at 350F).

In the meantime, gather barley flakes, cereal, raisins and cranberries in a large bowl. When nuts and coconut are sufficiently toasted, dump them into the big bowl as well.

In a small saucepan, over scant medium heat, combine the agave nectar, almond butter, vanilla and sea salt, stirring constantly. As soon as the mixture begins to boil (this takes under 5 minutes) pour molten heaven over big bowl of dry ingredients and stir until everything appears evenly coated.

Transfer mixture to a lightly greased pan (I just used grapeseed oil) and press in the mixture with wet fingertips. I used a small square pan, I think 8x8 for thicker bars. Allow to cool to room temperature and then cut bars into desired size.

I defer to my modest lexical empowerment to describe the amazingness of these bars, but since a visual is often helpful, please refer to my poorly taken photograph: