Edible August

This past summer presented itself as a summer of unpredictable events. As I eagerly awaited results from the dreaded CSET exam, my anticipated summer plans to visit beautiful Europe, crumbled in my hands. After dramatically deeming my summer ruined,  I decided to turn August into something special. August became "Edible August", as I baked something every day. As the days progressed, our kitchen counter was abundant with cake plates displaying all sorts of colorful goodies...cookies, cupcakes, crumbles, granola bars, biscotti. I repeated old recipes, tried new ones and created my own! Some days I even had to bake at midnight just to make sure I stayed devoted to my Edible August. This is a collection of my faves.

Granola. Simple recipe: oats, chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries,
cinnamon, coconut flakes. Add a few globs of honey, mix around until you have a
rather gooey consistency. Line baking sheet with baking paper. Place in 350 degree oven,
bake for 15 - check on the granola, mix it up on the pan, stick it back in the oven
for a few minutes. Voila! Easy as...granola. Enjoy with yogurt, milk, on it's own!
Put in cute mason jars, tie a ribbon around the top and gift it!
Put a scoop in a plastic bag, tie with a ribbon, pipe cleaner,
twisty tie and give it to grandma for a little treat! Be THAT grandchild! 

Strawberry rhubarb crisp. Holy rhubarb, this was DIVINE! ...and easy to do! Rhubarb is a delightfully tangy fruit that looks like red stalks of celery. You'll need a few stalks of rhubarb and 2 handfuls of strawberries. Chop rhubarb into 1 inch chunks, slice strawberries in your own preferred way. Toss s-berries and r-barb with a bit of lemon juice. Set aside. In another bowl, mix 2 table spoons of butter (or honey if you're like, so, like NOT into butter), a bit of brown sugar (again, to make this 'healthier' you can skip the b.sug) and 1/2 cup of flour. Nuts optional. In the picture above, I added my granola to the topping mixture. Pour rhubarb/strawberry mixture into a slightly greased pan, crumble sugar/butter/nut mixture on top! 350 degrees,  check after 30 min! Ready when bubbling! Enjoy with a dollop of ice cream or alone! According to my resident food critics, this was "sublime"!

Almond Butter Balls. Almost more fun to say than to eat. Almost.
These were made with the help of my two year old buddy, Coco.
They're easy, healthy, delicious, kid-friendly and so cute!  

Carrot and coconut macarons (gluten-free and vegan) with a drizzle of dark chocolate