Raspberry Energy Bar and Cross Country Running

It takes a certain type of young man to run cross country, I think.  Not only does it take a good bit of physical strength and endurance, but mental tenacity while training and running for miles in hot, humid Savannah weather, too.   Under the passionate dedication of Coach MacKay, my two older boys had the amazing opportunity to run on the Savannah Arts Academy team this year. The team won the regional title and will be heading to the State meet in a few weeks.  Go Panthers!

These homemade whole grain raspberry energy bars made with wheat germ, oats, flax seeds and berries are a wonderful nutritious filler before the race.  And they taste wonderful, too!

Raspberry Energy Bar

Cooking oil spray
2 cups whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened (2 tablespoon divided)
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
3/4 cup sugar-free raspberry jam
3/4 cup fresh raspberries
1 tablespoon lemon juice

 Preparation 

Preheat oven to 375° F. Line a 13 x 9-inch pan with foil by spreading two sheets of foil perpendicular to each other over the pan, with extra foil hanging over the edges. Grease the foil with cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, wheat germ, granulated sugar and salt in a large bowl. Beat in 14 tablespoons of butter with an electric mixer on low until the mixture looks like wet sand, about 1½ minutes. Reserve 1¼ cups of the mixture for the topping and put the rest into the pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to press it into an even layer. Bake the crust until the edges begin to brown, about 14-18 minutes.

Mix the reserved flour mixture with the oats, nuts, brown sugar and flax seeds. Add the remaining butter and pinch the mixture with your fingers into small clumps. In a separate bowl, lightly smash the raspberries, jam and lemon juice together. Spread the berry mixture over the hot crust and sprinkle the crumb streusel on top.

Bake until golden brown, about 22-25 minutes. Let the bars cool completely in the pan. Remove bars from pan by lifting up the foil edges. Cut into 24 squares.

Avocado Love

  

Last summer, my husband turned his routine annual medical trip to New York into a fun mini-vacation with our teen daughter. And ever since their trip,  this New York City-loving duo have been harping about the fresh guacamole they had at a Mexican restaurant.  

My engineer husband, who has been married to this ex-caterer/church cook for two decades, rarely talks about food.  Oh, he loves to eat good food, but he rarely has a full conversation about it.

So when he mentioned several times that he wanted to make guacamole like they did in that New York restaurant, (translation = Kay, please make it the way they did in that New York restaurant,) I listened.  

      

And to my delight, I spotted this handsome stone mortar and pestle at my favorite local Korean food store.  It was so heavy that the lady had to triple bag it. Now it's the most used piece of equipment on my kitchen counter.  

 And our avocado repertoire has expanded from simple guac to Edamame-Guacamole and Avocado fries.  Pretty fun and fancy, right? 

I know, it seems wrong to FRY a perfectly good avocado, but it really works, and they are just delicious: crunchy Panko exterior with the goodness of a soft, nutty inside texture.   

My kids begged for more.  

These avocado photos were also featured in
 Miss Sophie's column on Savannah Morning News today.

Print This Recipe! 

Panko Avocado Fries with Hoisin Dipping Sauce

2 firm but ripe avocados

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup+ panko bread crumbs

3/4 teaspoon sea salt divided (in flour, egg wash, panko bread crumbs)

4 cup of canola or vegetable oil for frying 

In a small deep fryer or in a cast-iron pan, heat oil to 350 degrees F. 

In three separate shallow bowls or pans, put flour, beaten eggs, and panko bread crumbs in that order.  Add 1/4 teaspoon sea salt in each.  

Halve the avocado, peel, and slice avocado into 10-12 wedges total per each avocado.   

Dredge wedges in flour, egg wash, and then finally gently roll them in panko.  

Deep fry in batches until golden brown.  Drain on a wire rack or on paper towels.  Serve immediately with your favorite dipping sauce.  

Hoisin Dipping Sauce 

1/4 cup soy sauce 

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 teaspoon green onions, chopped 

1 tablespoon water 

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 

1/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger 

1/2 teaspoon white sugar 

Combine all the ingredients and whisk until well blended.  Add more hoisin sauce if you want to thicken the sauce. Cover and refrigerate until needed.  

Gently warm in a sauce pan before serving. 

Print This Recipe!

Edamame-Guacamole 

Makes about a cup

1  avocado firm, but ripe, peeled, seeded and diced in chunks

1/2 cup frozen shelled edamame, thawed

1 small clove garlic, finely grated

2 tablespoon cilantro leaves, chopped

1 teaspoon jalapeño, chopped

2 tablespoons grated onion

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 lime, juiced

If you own a stone mortar and pestle, this is a great recipe to put it to use.  If not, use a food processor with a blade attachment.  First put into processor (or mortar) edamame, garlic, salt, cilantro, jalapeño, and pepper, and process until finely chopped.  Add lime juice and whirl a few more times to incorporate.  Add diced avocado and pulse 4-5 times until well blended.  

Serve this healthy guacamole in a pretty bowl with warmed tortilla chips.  You will need to double the recipe. It's never enough.