Last Saturday I baked.
I baked and I baked, and I baked. I didn’t set out with having a baking day in mind, it just sort of turned out like that. A baking day that snuck up on me. I didn’t mind, I ran with it. I had ideas in my head, and I really just wanted to try them. Thing is I tried too hard. After a whole days baking I had a table full of food to feed my family for the coming week, and a sink full of dishes, but was I happy with them?
The Date and Pecan bread, yes- but nothing really new there.
The Muesli Biscuits, yes. (Although one tray was over cooked as I got distracted trying to do too many things.)
The Rocky Road Brownie was a complete and utter mess, mostly due to the fact that I’d forgotten to turn the oven down after baking bread at a really hot temperature, (the marshmallows certainly didn’t appreciate this.) And yes, it does look like lasagne.
The first tray of Chocolate Honey Cardamom Buns- looked like I had been blind folded while shaping them, and the taste was just plain bland. The second tray looked better, and tasted better, but oozed it’s contents every where, and certainly didn’t have any wow factor.
What was left?
The little Nut Bars. They certainly looked ok, but would they stand up to being flicked out of the mini muffin tray? (Jeez, maybe I really should have just put it all in a lined tray like was suggested.) I didn’t want to find out.
I wanted to go for a bike ride. Leave the mountain of dishes and ride with the wind in my hair. And so I did. A quick 15km’s later and I was back in the kitchen, ready to find out if the brownies were as bad as they looked, (hell no!) hoping the dishes had miraculously disappeared, (they hadn’t) and whether those little nut bars would come out (they did.)
So what did I learn from the days baking? Simple cooking is still the best. Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, just good quality ingredients put together. I know this, I always say this. But I still seem to have days where I need to remind myself of it.
So with a days baking behind me, and some tasty little nut morsels to nibble on by my side….now I just had to work out what on earth we were having for dinner.
Little Nut Bars
(inspired by this recipe at the always delicious Green Kitchen Stories)
8 chopped medjool dates
100g whole almonds
100g crushed peanuts
100g sunflower seeds
100g sesame seeds
a pinch of Murray River Salt
2 heaped dessert spoonfuls of coconut oil
2 heaped dessert spoonfuls of local honey
In a pot gently combine the coconut oil and honey together. In a bowl pour mixture over the rest of the ingredients, and mix together. Either press down into a lined baking tray or a non-stick mini muffin tray. Pop into the fridge until firm.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
I think I see little nut bars in my future with Himalayan rather than Murray River salt because that’s what I’ve got.
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Rose they are really dead easy and able to cater towards anything that you have on hand, (and like!)
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I hope you had bread and brownies and nut bars for dinner! These look very cute and I’m very glad you got that bike ride in – I imagine it was close to perfection after a day in the kitchen.
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Much needed bike ride after standing and baking for so long. A good bike ride really does shake a lot of cobwebs off doesn’t it.
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I wish I had days of so much productivity – and I rarely have the burnt experience because my oven struggles to burn anything no matter how hard I try 🙂 There have to be some advantages with a dodgy oven.
I thought the brownies were lasagna – hope they were good inside even if the marshmallow looks well done – or maybe great in trifle 🙂 And I am curious about what you had for dinner – a few carrot sticks and hummus with a lot of dessert?
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It really does look like lasagne doesn’t it. Thankfully it did taste fine, no marshmallows to be found though…completely dissolved.
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Whoa you really DID go on a baking spree! Sounds like you made some deliciousness. I am seriously loving the sound of these nut bars…so full of nutrition!
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Very easy little bars, and healthy too.
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Wow! What a day. You must have been exhausted. Amazing you were able to achieve so much with three little people at your feet. The nut bars look really good xx
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The little people were distracted thankfully!
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These all sound really good. And I understand both the baking glut and the problems that come from constant baking. Things WILL burn- even a little bit of distraction = overdone goodies!
Good for you- taking a biking break- and where are all the kitchen pixies when you need the dishes done?
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Pixies seemed to have had the day off unfortunately…rather untimely.
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I cannot wait to try these!
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Let me know if you do Tandy 🙂
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I have those sorts of days in the kitchen too – sometimes we just bite off more than we can chew. I’m so glad everything looked better after your bike ride!
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Ada, EVERYTHING looks better after a bike ride.
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Baking is NOT my friend – I wish it was as I think it would be great to get absorbed in the rhythm of baking…your weekend looks deliciously productive.
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Miss Piggy never too late to befriend baking 😉
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Oh what a shame about the rocky road slice although I’ve done something very similar lately. I think that I was distracted. Those little nut bars are very cute though and more than make up for it! 🙂
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I’ll just have to make it again I think Lorraine. A rocky road brownie slice is surely worthy of another crack.
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The nut bars would be great to taking hiking – thanks for sharing!
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Hah! Lovely portrait of your Sunday. We went for a long bike ride as well (to a castle), after I made these: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/flour-free-banana-blueberry-pancakes/ which turned out to be a huge success.
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Those little nut bars look fabulous! Definitely bookmarking them. I’ve just come out the other side of a baking marathon too, so can totally relate to the need to escape on ones bike. Isn’t it spooky how dishes can pile up? Mine looked like an art installation. Big bummer about the rocky road slice. I guess you could eat it with your eyes closed, or with dark sunglasses on? The inside sure looks good and fudgy!
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Well you know how I’m spending a lot of time in my kitchen with the Muesli bar challenge at the moment so I’m not going to be able to resist these cute as a button nut bars!! As for your rocky road slice….I’ve had many a culinary disaster over the years including forgetting to put sugar in my sweet cucumber pickle. Turns out my American Friend fondly remembers cucumber pickle (not sweet) from her childhood so she hoovered up the lot! It just goes to show how one woman’s culinary disaster can be another woman’s gastronomic delight!
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you are a crazy baking machine!! that’s a lot to take on in one hit. think i’ll whip up a batch of little nut bars with the big kids this weekend. we need to restock our lunchbox supplies and these look perfect!
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