We’re going to get real here for a moment.
Is that alright with y'all?
I mean it is the beginning of the week so it just makes sense.
Sense to deal with the heavy up front.
What do you do when you have to say goodbye to your best friend?
What if it’s an unusually rainy-surpisingly-not humid Saturday evening in July?
You make granola bars.
“Wait, what?” you say.
“We just made a leap from goodbye to granola bars?!
That’s not even real."
Yeah, it’s real.
In the only way that any type of deflection of raw-quite-possibly-self-loathing-human-emotion might be real.
Is that too much?
Well, getting over/older is real.
Change is real.
And before y'all go getting your panties in a bunch–no.
No one died.
No one got married.
No one had a baby, either.
Those ain’t reasons for letting go a relationship.
How shallow do y'all think I am, here?
I am just putting myself out there.
Talking about how dang hard it is to let go.
To let go of a relationships.
Especially those that lasted just a little over a decade.
It’s hard.
It is a hard fucking thing to do.
Especially at an age when friends + their circles become small + smaller.
I get that things change/evolve.
Currently. I just ain’t a fan.
Not a fan of the teeny circle right now.
Don’t get me wrong I love the lil dog + all…
I’ll hold my own though.
I keep moving.
To sit still + be that’s not for me.
I wake up, swallow hard + push forward.
So on a rainy Saturday in July when I made these.
These here chocolate ganache covered florentines/"granola bars” that didn’t work out because I used the wrong size pan–I was busy.
Doing what I do best.
Moving forward.
Seriously, don’t worry about me.
I just needed to exhale.
OR
better yet
open up the freezer + take a crack at that sheet pan of delicious.
Granola Bark with Chocolate Ganache
Prep: 15 mins, maybe
Cook time: bake 45 mins, whisking up the ganache: 5 mins
Yield: 1 sheet pan
Here’s y'alls ingredients–for the cookies that is:
1/3 cup maple syrup
¼ cup granulated sugar
½ tsp flake sea salt
1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
½ cup pecans, chopped
½ cup sunflower seeds, unsalted.
(If y'all happen to have salted that’s fine just omit the flake sea salt.)
½ cup currants
½ cup coconut flakes
1 ounce crystalized ginger chopped
Preheat y'alls oven to 300.
Take y'alls baking sheet, should be a 13x9 and wrap in aluminum foil.
Get into those corners before wrapping the edges.
Go ahead + liberally rub down the foil with about a tsp of olive oil.
Next grab a small bowl + whisk together maple syrup. sugar + salt (if y'all are using unsalted sunflower seeds). Now slowly whisk in the olive oil.
Set aside.
Break out y'alls blender or food processor + frappe ½ cup of the oats until ground–about 20-30 seconds.
In large bowl mix together all your dry ingredients + then add your syrup mixture. Toss until well coated.
Find your foil covered baking sheet + press the mix in the pan.
Spread it out evenly, y'all.
Now, slide that bad body into the oven for 23 minutes.
When the timer goes off rotate and bake for another 22 minutes.
While your bars/cookies are baking, make that ganache.
It’s the easiest thing in the world to make.
In fact, you might find yourself making it all the dang time.
Chocolate Ganache
Prep time: nil
Cook time: nil
Yield: 1 cup
3 simple ingredients:
1 lb good quality chocolate chips (Valrhona)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp coffee grinds – (CDM medium roast coffee + chicory)
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat add all the ingredients.
Whisk until melted + mixture is smooth.
Set aside.
Now it is time to take the sheet pan of delicious out of the oven + allow to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Once the bars are warm/cool to the touch slowly pour on the ganache.
Spread the ganache as you go with a knife.
Or your hands–however you prefer.
Kidding.
Maybe.
Next move that sheet pan to the freezer until set.
About 20 minutes.
Then.
Then you eat.
Not quite the whole sheet pan.
But just enough.