It's funny when you think about the things you get excited about overseas. What you can take for granted at home, you are elated to be able to find or buy when living as an expat. My recent elation has been fresh cranberries. Even dried ones can be hard to find here. And canned cranberry sauce? Well, forget about it.
These bright red cranberries have been my toast all fall and Christmas season. I wasn't quite desperate enough to tackle homemade cranberry sauce, although I did think about. But I did enjoy cranberry muffins and even in my granola bars; those pops of tangy red...well, yum.
So, on my list of things of things to be thankful for...cranberries. Just another reminder that God's blessings and goodness come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. This one just happens to be little and round.
Recipe for Granola Bars
2 cups Oats
1 1/2 cup Flour
3/4 cup packed Brown Sugar
3/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 cup Honey
2 teaspoons Vanilla
1 Egg
Preheat oven to about 350 F (170 C). Mix the first 5 ingredients. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix just until moist. Drop by spoonfuls on a paper lined baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until desired crunchiness. Or press into buttered, foil lined pan (about 9x13 inch) and bake for about 25 minutes. Peel off foil, let cool and cut into bars. Either way you make them, they are good for several days or can be frozen. Optional additions are white or chocolate chips, raisins, walnuts, dried cranberries, etc. I also like to add some sea salt to the cookie shaped ones. The batter can also be stored in the fridge for up to about 5 days, so we just make a few each morning for a yummy breakfast. This recipe was adapted from Good Housekeeping magazine. ENJOY!
