Today is a combobulation of random things, very much like my life at the moment! We're in the midst of celebrating the Biblical fall festivals and are having a great time with the current one, Sukkot. We haven't built an "official" sukkah (we intended to do some camping out in our little old home-away-from-home camper, but unfortunately I still do not have the cushions done for it because of an unexpected out of town excursion...), so we have a sukkah built out of...drum roll please...POPSICLE sticks! And "Little People" are dwelling in it for the week. Yes, Little People :-D.See them? Aren't they cute?
Next year, I hope to build a real sukkah as cool as theirs is!
On my unexpected out of town excursion, I had a really great find. Since I love birds, I was so excited to stumble upon these adorable little salt & pepper shakers!
And they go so well with the sweetest appetizer dishes that I had recently purchased!
Tonight on those adorable dishes, we enjoyed great new twist (and it's even grain-free) to the old classic rhubarb bars. It turned out so tangy and delicious! The kids were raving about them. Here's the recipe if you want to give them a try!GRAIN-FREE ORANGE RHUBARB BARS
Filling:
- 4 c. chopped rhubarb
- 1/3 c. honey
- zest & juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tbsp. corn starch (okay...i confess i cheated GAPS a bit here)
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 c. raisins
Boil all ingredients except vanilla and raisins in saucepan for 5-10 minutes, until rhubarb is fully cooked. Stir in raisins and vanilla. Set aside.
Bottom crust:
- 2-3 tbsp. butter (enough to thoroughly moisten almond meal)
- 1 c. almond meal
- 2 tbsp. honey
Spray 8x8 baking dish. Melt butter and mix with almond meal and honey. Press in bottom of pan. Layer rhubarb sauce on top of bottom crust.
Crumble topping:
- 3/4 c. almond meal
- 1/3 c. pitted dates
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 c. grapeseed oil
- 1/2 apple cut into slices
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/4 c. walnuts
Put all ingredients except walnuts in food processor and process until it forms a coarse meal. Add walnuts and pulse a couple times to just coarsely chop them. Layer crumble on top of the rhubarb sauce in pan. Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes and then bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes, until baked through. Cool. Can serve topped with ice cream or whipped cream if desired.
