Good Ol' American Apple Pie

Slice of Apple Pie!

Ok... I usually (and by usually I mean ~80-90% of the time) eat vegan. When I don't eat vegan, I'm particular about where my meat and dairy come from. My man wanted me to make him an apple pie for Memorial Day weekend (yes... I'm finally getting around to publishing the post now - chaos!). Anyway, I decided to use up some lard (yep... lard) that I had in the pantry wrapped up for eons to make the crust. I wish I could deny, but its the best damn crust I've ever had. Along w/ the crust, I came across a recommendation to utilize more than one type of apple in the pie. I always thought it was a "must" to use Granny Smith only in the pie filling. Not to knock Granny... she is wonderful; however, I have come to find that adding a different type of apple is just what the filling needed to stand out.

On to the important part:
Good Ol' American Apple Pie

The Ingredients:

Crust (makes enough for base and covering of filling):
2 C White All Purpose Flour
1 tsp NaCl
3 tbsp Sugar
6 tbsp Butter (cut into small chunks)
6 tbsp Lard (cut into small chunks)
6 tbsp Ice Cold Water

Pie Filling:
2 Granny Smith
2 Red Delicious
2 Pink Lady
3/4 C Sugar
2 tbsp Flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp NaCl
1 tbsp Cider Vinegar

What To Do:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Crust:
When you cut up the butter and lard in the chunks, it helps to chill them first in the freezer.  Use your own judgment here.  It can't hurt if its in for a bit.  I'd say give it ~ 10-15 minutes in there if was at room T to begin with.
Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Using your hands, mix in the chunks of butter and lard.  Break up the bits of butter and lard into even smaller chunks and keep incorporating into the dry ingredients until well mixed into a crumbly mass (you decide how crumbly).
Place in freezer about ~ 10 minutes. 
Take out of freezer and make a well in the center of the crumbly mass and add the 6 tbsp water.  With the back end of a fork, work from the outside in to mix your crumbly mass with your water.  Only do this enough to form a dough ball.  DON'T OVERMIX or you won't have the flakiness.  Cut the dough in 1/2, roll in balls, place in plastic wrap, and put back in the freezer while you make your filling.

Filling:
Place a bowl of cold water w/ a couple of tbsp of lemon juice close by.
Peel and slice the apples.  Add the apples to the lemon/water so they don't oxidize and turn brown (this isn't critical).
Drain the lemon/water from the apples when finished cutting and peeling them all.
Add the rest of the filling ingredients together with the apples and mix well.  Set aside.
Butter the bottom and sides of a pie pan (I used a glass one).
Take one of your dough balls out of the freezer and roll out to form your bottom pie crust.  I left hunks of butter and lard.  I did not get all of my pieces "pea size" as is usually recommended - up to you.  Place rolled dough in your pie pan, poke some holes in the bottom w/ a fork, cut extra dough off, crimp sides or press down with a fork, and fill with your apple filling.
Place in freezer for ~ 5 minutes.
Remove other dough ball from freezer, roll out as above, and place on the pie.  Cut excess dough off and crimp/press edges to seal.  Cut or poke some holes/lines in the top of your crust.
Place pie in the freezer for ~ 5 minutes.
Brush top of the dough w/ some butter and sprinkle w/ cinnamon and sugar if you prefer.
Bake for 1 hour at 400 degrees.
Let pie sit for about 1/2 an hour before you cut and serve.  If not, you will have filling juice running rampant.  This pie is better warm or refrigerator cold.  Piping hot doesn't allow the juices to set.

Finally - after all of that - dig in!

The whole pie w/ its mountainous crust!

My Thoughts:

Goals for the future regarding the crust:
1) Must get organic and/or local farm lard (I used the last of the pantry stuff I had and it probably came from a massive feedlot pig - not where I want my critters to come from).
2) Ditto on the butter.
3) Try to veganize the crust and see if it even comes close.

As stated above, try different apple types. Ensure that you have at least one "cooking/tart" apple like Granny, but feel free to put in one or two other "mushy" ones. They won't bake up mushy, but they give a softer texture and sweeter taste.

For years I always made the pie crust in one shot on the counter and then put the filling in and baked immediately. I decided to go through the freezing stages indicated above and I really believe that this (along w/ the lard addition) is what gave this pie crust the wonderful texture and flake that it had. The taste would have been there no matter what, but that freezing process really helped.

Wheat Pita Bread

Wheat Pita Bread - Yum!

Homemade pita bread is pretty simple... and there are so many ingredient variations to this that work well.  You can eat it plain, make it into a mini pizza, cut it and stuff it or just wrap your goodies up in it.  This is an easy recipe to make/tweak and doesn't go "clunk" in your gut when you eat it.  I'll list what ingredients I used for this one and list some other variations that have worked well too!

The Ingredients:
1 packet highly active rapid rise yeast
1 1/4 warm water
1 1/2 C white flour
1 1/2 C wheat flour
1/4 C olive oil
1 tsp salt
~1/4 C extra white flour for dusting

What To Do:
In a mixer bowl hand whisk (just until mixed) the yeast and 1/2 C of the water.  Then whisk (or stir w/ a wooden spoon) 1/4 C of white flour and 1/4 C of wheat flour (just until mixed).  Cover bowl w/ plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes.

Remove plastic wrap from bowl, attach dough hook to mixer and add the remaining 3/4 C warm water, 1 1/4 C white flour, 1 1/4 C wheat flour, olive oil, and salt.  Knead on the lowest setting for 8 minutes.  The dough will be smooth and elastic - very elastic.  It will almost seem too wet but trust me... the flour amounts are dead on in this recipe.  Place dough in oiled bowl, turning once to coat, cover w/ plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, place oven rack in middle of oven and preheat between 425-450F.  Place a pizza stone in the oven to heat up as the oven preheats.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface (here is where your extra 1/4 C will come in - you may use more or less depending).  Punch the dough down a few times and divide into ~ 8 balls.  Flatten and stretch the balls out into a 6-7 inch disc by hand.  Flour will be used each time from your extra 1/4 C but don't go overkill.  Transfer the discs to oil coated baking sheets to sit for 20-30 minutes.

Place 4 pitas (or however many will fit) on your pizza stone that has been heating in the oven.  Bake 2 minutes on one side, then flip and bake 1 minute more on the other side.  Transfer to cooling rack and let cool completely.  Repeat w/ remaining pitas until all are cooked.

My Thoughts:
This turned out to be a light and fluffy pita - love it!  After letting the pitas cool, my favorite way to prepare these is to crank up the broiler and put some pizza sauce, feta, or any other topping you want and broil it for a few minutes until the cheese is melted and the pita gets a crisp brown top (but maintains it's soft center).  Then I sprinkle Italian seasoning, garlic salt, or any other spice I'm in the mood for and it makes one awesome mini pizza.

Other variations I enjoy are just dipping the pita in olive oil as an appetizer or throwing some greens and dressing on it and folding it up like a gyro would be.  Never tried the gyro part and now that I think of it, that would probably be pretty good.  Rye makes a super good swap out for the wheat if you want to and I especially like adding caraway seeds to it when using rye flour.  I'm thinking of trying an oil switch (maybe walnut oil).  I'd also like to mix in some seasonings w/ the actual dough instead of putting them on top (rosemary or coriander would be nice).

Also, when handling the dough after it has mixed for 8 minutes, it helped to coat my hands in olive oil, so that I could get  the dough transferred over to the bowl.

This is a recipe that I just started to use and know that I will be utilizing even more in the future.  My issue is not eating all of the pitas in one day ;-)

Adapted from pure & yummy

The Glory of Montana's Crazy Mountains

Facing East Towards the Crazy Mountains on MT 86

When I die I want my ashes sprinkled in the Crazy Mountains. Sounds weird but hey... what can I say. These mountains are my absolute favorite place on Earth. I've stayed on the East and West side of the Crazies and both are beautiful. When they come into view I always whisper to myself "I can die now". People talk about Sedona and Moab being vortex areas - areas of a high energy of sorts. I can definitely say that is true of Moab; however, I have never been to Sedona. But the Crazy Mountains...that to me is the ultimate place of energy. I guess we each have our own place like that somewhere. Onto the details and information:

First, some Crazy Mountain history and geology:

The Crazies range in elevation from 5,590 to 11,214 feet and cover an area of over 136,000 acres. These mountains are part of both the Gallatin (south) and Lewis and Clark (north) National Forests. Their jagged jawbone look is due to the alpine glaciation that has taken place over thousands of years. Many alpine lakes (known for the fishing opportunities and their beauty) exist in these mountains. The Crazies display one of the largest igneous rock exposures and are somewhat of a “geologic weirdo” in that they rise up in the plains and consist of much younger rock than the closest mountain ranges. This is one of the “possible” reasons for the naming of these mountains. Another legend states that a woman went crazy due to the death of her family and went into the mountains, never to return or be bothered again. The Crazies were utilized by Native Americans for more than 11,000 years. The Crow and Shoshone hunted in these mountains and camped in them until being pushed out by white settlers moving westward. Many critters call the Crazies home. The world’s largest concentration of badgers live here along w/ mountain goats, bear, elk, deer, mountain lion, and various birds.

Second, the hiking/camping/primitive cabin opportunities:

Parking is available and free to the public at Half Moon Campground (on the east side) and camping is available for a small fee via an honor system drop box.  This is a sweet little camping spot among big evergreens and not far from a waterfall on the trail. The map I have linked to below under the access section will show you the hiking trail system and the location of all access points.  I have not traveled far enough in on the west side; however, I know that there are cabin and trailhead locations based on maps and information on the National Forest website.  Hiking up to the falls from Half Moon further on up the trail that parallels Big Timber Creek was awesome!  That was back in 2004 and was way before my hiking passion peaked.  I wished I would have hiked on up to a glacial lake further, but hey... that's another reason to go back.  I attempted to do some hiking from the west side two years ago; however, as stated below under the access section, that didn't work out too well.  The trail system is a bit erratic to say the least.  Once you get up and into the Crazies, you are pretty much on your own w/ peak and lake bagging.  Much of it will require bushwacking and map/compass navigation (both of which I would love to try in these mountains).  There are some forest service cabins for rent, which you can check out at : http://www.recreation.gov/.  The cabin names are Ibex and Porcupine if you wanted to search by cabin.

Third, the photography opportunities:

What can I say about the photography... how 'bout just looking at some pictures?  Unfortunately, when I stayed on the East side, I wasn't in the digital world yet and have not scanned the pictures I took onto my computer; however, I've got pics from the West side:

Abandoned House - facing East toward Crazies

Taken from the yard at Horse Camp Cabin vacation rental

Sunrise over the Crazies - taken facing East

Fourth, the red tape and access to the mountains:

The Crazies are considered roadless, which may lead you to believe they are protected from development of any sort.  Despite the fact that these mountains are part of the National Forest system, these mountains are NOT considered wilderness.  Much of the surrounding land is privately held and these folks tend to restrict the public (which is their legal right to do, as their land is their land).  There are three major access points that I am aware of (and one which I have used) to get into the Crazies.  I stayed at a cabin (covered below) along Big Timber Canyon Road on the East side.  Outside of Big Timber MT (along I-90), you will take US191 North to Big Timber Canyon Road on your left.  Head towards the Crazy Mountains on this road (and it is glorious in the morning I tell you).  In about 14 miles, you will wind up at Half Moon Campground and the trailhead.  I was able to get back there w/ a PT Cruiser.  I had to dodge a few potholes and rocks, but all went well.  There was a guy back there w/ a 5^th wheel, so you will be ok – just watch out if you have to pass someone.  You will encounter private land here!  At one point, there is a gate to a Dude Ranch – you will go through the gate (make sure you close it when you are through if it wasn’t open) and continue on towards Half Moon.  As long as you stay on the road and don’t go wandering around someone’s land, you will be fine – just respect private property.  

The West side has access via Cottonwood Road.  I stayed at a cabin off of Shields River Road and attempted to access via Cottonwood Road (off of US89 outside of Clyde Park) w/ a Nissan Altima (yeah I turned around – that didn’t work).  You can get out on the dirt roads so far and then there will be a warning sign for the road ahead.  I started out and it wasn’t long before it got funky to say the least.  A jeep (or any high clearance vehicle) will make it w/ no problems.  You could probably do so w/out 4x4 even; however, a low clearance sedan is not the vehicle to take. There is another area on the West side that gives more northerly access via the Porcupine Road.  You will follow the Shields River Road until you hit Porcupine Road, then turn right on Porcupine, which takes you to the trailhead/cabin rental area.  I didn't even attempt that one in the sedan ;-)  I know my limits.

Checkout this link to a map of the Crazy Mountain area: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb5138817.pdf

Or contact the Gallatin NF Yellowstone District office at: (406) 932-5155

For Lewis and Clark NF, contact the Musselshell District at: (406) 632-4391

Fifth, some vacation cabins to stay at:

Horse Camp Cabin in the Shields River Valley

I have stayed at two vacation home cabins on both sides of the Crazies.  On the East side, I stayed at Crazy Peak Cabin (beautiful place) where I woke up every morning in the loft, sat up, and stared out at the sunrise hitting the mountains.  The kitchen/living room was an open floor plan w/ a small porch area to just sit and look out over everything.  I loved it there and would definitely return.

Check out this link for pictures/details on this cabin: http://www.cabincreekmt.com/crazypeak.html

On the West side, I stayed at Horse Camp Cabin (another beautiful place) where I sat on the porch every night and watched the sun set over the Crazies.  Another open floor plan w/ a huge kitchen area for me to cook my rib eye and drink my wine.  Check out this link for pictures/details on this cabin (and other cabins in the area that may interest you): http://bookings.mountain-home.com/Unit.mvc/Details/35306

Links that are worth while to checkout (and where some of my historical and geological information was obtained from):

http://www.sweetgrasscounty.com/recreation/CRAZYMTS.htm

http://www.fs.fed.us/

http://www.bigtimber-montana.com/

http://www.livingston-chamber.com/

If you are in the state of Montana, I would highly recommend spending some time in (or along side) the Crazy Mountains.  Even if you don't rent a cabin, hike, or camp out... it is definitely worth it from a visual perspective to just drive around staring at it all day!

Scratching the Surface of Kings Canyon/Sequoia NP

My best friend (whom I love dearly and would do anything for - just love love love her) and I decided to go to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park last August to escape life and do some hardcore hiking and sightseeing.  Her brothers live in SF/Oakland, so we stopped by to see them before embarking on our SEKI (shorthand for Sequoia Kings Canyon) adventure.
Check out this link for more SEKI details: http://www.nps.gov/seki/index.htm

Amandy handled all of the arrangements.  She did the research and booked the reservations w/ the lodge we stayed at and for the tent camp along the High Sierra Trail.  First stop was the Wuksachi Lodge which is located off of the main road in SEKI.  This was a nice rustic lodge to stay at w/ all the modern amenities most people require.  The night we got there was pretty cool, as they had a power outage and their generators could only provide hot water.  We loved how there were no lights and no TV.  We stayed there for two nights so that we could acclimate to altitude for a day.  We did a short 4 mile hike the next day after we arrived and drove around looking at the typical national park road side scenes such as the stunning overlooks and the General Sherman Tree.  Oh yeah... forgot to mention that when the two of us get together its total chaos!  Lots of silliness and laughter - oh yeah!  You should have seen us at the General Sherman Tree - crazy!

General Sherman Tree

The second day, we headed towards the High Sierra Camp at Bearpaw Meadow.  Amandy booked two nights up there and its a 11.5 mile hike one way via the High Sierra Trail.  We headed up and about a 1/2 mile in we ran into a mama bear and two cubs - ohhhh boy!  My pictures were out of focus and look like crap, but the experience was something else.  We had three backpackers coming the other way walk us around the bears.  We were warned as we went along of other bears; however, we never saw them.  There were mountain lion sitings along the trail as well - no site of those either on our end.  The High Sierra Trail is not a strenuous trail as compared to the east side of the Sierras but don't get me wrong... its still strenuous.  The views are phenomenal.  Both of us had our cameras out the whole time just shooting pictures.  The trail is along a ridge and into some forested area and has several waterfalls along it - beautiful!  We were worried that we wouldn't make the supper call at the tent camp, but we hiked faster than we realized because we got to Bearpaw w/ time to spare.

Mother over to the left and baby in the middle

View along the High Sierra Trail

At Bearpaw, you get to select which tent you want to stay in (there are 6 tents that sleep two people w/ room for a third on the floor).  Amandy had made the reservations on January 2nd when the phone lines open and the slots for the whole year went right away as she didn't have much to choose from (although locals told us they often wait for cancellations and then reserve a spot last minute).  We picked tent 6, the furthest away.  Believe me, we needed to: we get silly.  Also, we were amongst people our parents age that were staying there so we REALLY needed to be in tent 6 (those people also weren't very receptive to us; however, that didn't deter us from having an absolute blast).  Anyway, there was a hot shower (fueled by a wood stove) that was only available a few hours each day and you weren't to dilly dally and use up all of the wood/hot water.  The camp staff had propane there as well for the cooking and cleaning.  Pack mules came in and out (I think it was twice a week - I can't remember) to take dirty linens and garbage out and bring fresh items in.  Dinner and breakfast were served buffet style and the cooking was amazing.  They had full course (and then some) meals going on and the dessert - ahhhhhhhh! Freakin' carrot cake and apricot pie!  Kill me!  They even cooked vegan food for Amandy!  As far as the clientele around at the camp, the best ones were the kitchen staff!

Our Tent for Two Nights

The View Out of Our Tent

Along the Kitchen/Hang Out Area at Camp

The second day at Bear Paw, we hiked 8 miles one way to Hamilton Lake.  The last part of that hike was tough.  We were dragging and we hung out at Hamilton (a popular backpacking campsite) for awhile.  I remember while I was laying there looking out across the lake to a waterfall how most people would never go there... they would never see that place and never know how beautiful it was (after all... 95% of people that visit national parks only get 100' from their car).  I also was thinking of how romantic it would be to have your significant other up there.  God as I'm typing this I'm thinking of that feeling I had then.  We headed back to camp for another glorious meal and we drank wine and talked - got silly and crashed (hard hiking does that to ya).  We left on the third day and enjoyed the scenery on the way back to the trailhead.  We plan to do the whole trail someday all the way to Mt Whitney.

Hamilton Lake along the High Sierra Trail

Amy and Amandy at Hamilton

Getting back to the parking lot and having to do our laundry was hard.  There were so many people all over the place and it was, as Amandy put it, an assault on the senses.  We went on to stay in a fire tower outside of Bakersfield and do some other site seeing but... we both longed for our time in the Sierra Nevada range and wished we had spent more time there.

If you are interested in staying at Wuksachi Lodge and/or Bearpaw Camp (and I highly recommend it - especially Bearpaw), check out these links (home website is the same):
http://www.visitsequoia.com/bearpaw.aspx
http://www.visitsequoia.com/lodging.aspx

I highly recommend checking the first link at the top for more information on SEKI, as there is so much more to do that I'm not even aware of (hence my blog title of "Scratching the Surface").  Yep - Amandy and I really miss tent number 6 ;-)

Hot Campanelle Salad with Garlic, Pistachios, Cranberries, and Herbs

Hot Campanelle Salad

I'm in the mood for pasta - in the form of a "salad" but still hot (although on a blazing day after a hike in the sticks I would totally go for this already prepared and chilled - I cannot deny).  But right now... I'm feeling this as a hot dish vegan style.

The Ingredients:

• 2 oz (one serving) Campanelle Pasta
• 1 small Garlic Clove
• 15 Pistachio Nuts
• 1 oz Dried Cranberries
• 1 Tbsp Italian Vinaigrette
• dashes of the following to taste: Thyme, Mint, Salt, and Pepper

What to do:

1. Cook pasta al dente for roughly 10 minutes in boiling water.
2. While pasta is cooking, rough chop garlic, remove pistachio shells, and mix garlic, pistachios, and cranberries in bowl.
3. When pasta is done, drain water, add vinaigrette to pasta, and stir to coat.
4. Add bowl of garlic, pistachios, and cranberries to pasta and mix.
5. Season your salad to taste w/ thyme, mint, salt, and pepper.
6. Pig out while still hot.

The Ingredients

Cooked/Drained Campanelles

My thoughts:

A lot of changes can be made here: from different pasta shapes, to different nuts, to different herbs... make this salad your own and it doesn't have to be vegan (different hard cheeses would be good w/ this).  Beware when you measure out your serving of campanelle.  Two ounces dry is one serving and it looks like there is barely anything in the bowl; however, when the pasta cooks up (and it may take a while to cook if you want it more tender than al dente) it's volume will increase.  I went a bit heavy on the garlic - in fact, I will probably go w/ 1/2 a clove next time; however, rock out w/ a whole clove if you REALLY love garlic.  This is excellent hot - I love the vinaigrette on this at a higher temperature...yum!  I think it would be great cold as well - I'm thinking of pre-making this in the future, chilling, and packing in a cooler to go w/ me for an after hike boost ;-)  Enjoy!
 

STS-133 Last Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery

STS-133 Headed Towards the ISS 2/24/2011

Since it was announced the space shuttle program was coming to a close, I figured I should get by butt down to Florida before it was too late and see a piece of history in the making (I have always wanted to see a launch).  I had a preference for viewing Discovery, as it is the oldest shuttle in the fleet and this was her last trip into space.

I arrived at Space View Park in Titusville (one of the best free launch viewing sites) at around 5:00AM on the 24th (shuttle launch was slated for 4:50PM) and I managed to park close by.  The place was already crawling w/ people who had spent the night in motor homes or even better... tents.  I walked up towards the front and noticed a guy w/ all his techno gear setup and I asked if I could plant myself next to him.  I thought I would be reading my Kindle all day waiting for the launch... never dug it out.  Jim from Delaware was awesome company!  Between the two of us... the techno gear was unreal.

The shuttle looked amazing w/ the tower all lit up before dawn.  You don't actually see the shuttle from Space View w/ the naked eye - you are ~12 miles away from it across the Indian River.  Once the sun came up, it was hard to tell where the shuttle was w/out binoculars or a telephoto lens.  As the day wore on, boatloads of people started coming in and you really had to hold your ground towards the end to keep people from surging forward (most people were super nice though).

At the last minute (literally), a computer glitch of some sort took place and the mission was almost scrubbed (w/ in seconds) but then it was announced on the loudspeaker that there was a go for main engine start.  Then you realized where the shuttle was, as you could see the billow of smoke at the base of the tower from the three main engines and two rocket boosters!  People were screaming... it was so cool, but it was silent (the launch I mean - people were still screaming).  The shuttle cleared the tower and arced left towards the ISS (right would be towards Hubble).  It was amazing how fast it moved.  I took a boatload of pictures, but I stopped twice just to watch it happen - definitely a worthwhile experience.  It took quite a while (30 seconds plus) for you to hear the sound!  After two minutes, Discovery jettisoned the solid rocket boosters and the smoke dissipated.  What looked like a bright star moving across the sky was the last we saw of the Discovery launch.  Amazing that all of that waiting and chaos comes down to a few minutes of viewing time but its something that, after 2011, we won't see again. I'm so glad I went to view it.

An extra bonus... the following week I was out in Utah 4x4ing in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park w/ my man and I had looked up the times to view the shuttle going across the sky: we saw Discovery (looks like a fast moving bright star).  Right behind Discovery was an even brighter "star", which was the ISS.  Discovery had undocked and was going to be landing the next day.  That was way cool!

The launch (actual - no zoom) from Space View Park

Bridge (Max Brewer Pkwy) Full of Viewers

Zoomed in as Discovery Clears Tower

For more cool information on Discovery check out:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Discovery

For more info on the Kennedy Space Center check out:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/index.html
http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

If you want to view one of the last two remaining launches, check out this site:
http://www.launchphotography.com/Shuttle_Launch_Viewing.html

If you want to view a shuttle, the ISS, or a satellite in the sky, check out this site and plug in your location:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/cities/skywatch.cgi?country=United+States

Vegan Date Balls (inspired by LARABAR)

Date Balls - my version of dessert!

I love the simple ingredients in a LARABAR and wanted to make my own for hiking trips (and just to eat around the house when I'm in the mood for dates).  LARABAR has a boatload of different flavors.  My adaptation is somewhere between a key lime pie and a cinnamon roll if I had to choose.  I tend to roll these up in balls rather than bars when not hiking so I have a smaller portion.

The Ingredients

The Ingredients:

• 2 dried Figs
• 4 Medjool Dates
• 1/2 oz Raisins
• 1/2 oz Cashews (I used raw)
• 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Lime Juice

Ready to Pulse to get to.....

The combined/processed ingredients

What to do:

1. Roughly cut up your dried figs in halves or quarters, pit your dates (which will leave you w/ halves) and throw in a food processor.
2. Dump your raisins and cashews into the processor.
3. Pulse on high until chopped into a course mass (will be somewhat dry).
4. Add the ground cinnamon and pulse until mixed.
5. Add the lime juice and pulse until a course sticky mass begins to form (will be much wetter w/ the addition of juice).
6. Roll into ~ 5 small balls or form 2 bigger rectangular bars.
7. Keep refrigerated until ready to eat.

The Date Balls in all of their glory!

My thoughts:
As stated above, you can do a multitude of things w/ these - mix it up!  You can add honey, stevia, or agave as a binder or switch out lime juice for lemon.  Depending on your date moisture, you may need much less lime juice (or no binder at all), as fresher dates have a higher moisture content.  I do not soak my dates before processing.  I like lime juice and these balls are a bit tart.  I would suggest adding only 1 tsp - taste - then add more to your liking if necessary.  I have even used chocolate and cayenne in these babies!  For hiking, I make bars out of these... easier to deal w/... and I wrap them in wax paper or parchment so they aren't sticking to everything.  Even though I refrigerate to keep them fresh... I've hiked for hours before eating one- its no biggie (although a little more gooey ;-)

Check out LARABAR (the inspiration for the recipe) at:

http://www.larabar.com/