Oh She Glows - No Bake Elvis Bars

For the crust:

1.5 cup whole almonds
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut nectar syrup (see note)
1 tablespoon almond butter or peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste

For the middle layer:

2 medium ripe bananas, peeled
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened slightly
2 tablespoons almond butter or peanut butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
pinch of fine grain sea salt, to taste

For the chocolate drizzle:

3 tablespoons mini dark chocolate chips
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil

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Every so often I open up my 'poetry' tab in pinboard and discover that I've saved a recipe in that category. Today, it was this cold snack, which I must caveat with the declaration that I haven't made it and cannot vouch for it. At a glance, though, it does resemble, in format and length, the sort of poetry I favour. Therefore, I invite you to consider this ingredients list as poetry.

Mushy red food

So on friday I was going to make tomato, lentil and rosemary soup - except I didn't have rosemary and my carrots had gone manky. Nor did I have celery, the other customary ingredient.

Instead, the following:

1 x onion, fried with thyme and a generous pinch of sweet paprika
2 x cloves garlic, chopped and fried with above
A handful of baby potatoes, halved and fried for a few min with the onion
1 x cup of lentils, pre-soaked
1 x cup of borlotti beans, pre-soaked (and brought to the boil and RINSED at least once)
1 x can of tomatoes
Vegetable stock equal to the capacity of the aforementioned can (about 480ml?)
Bring to boil, then cover and simmer until potatoes are soft, then add
Pinch of cracked pepper
1 x medium capsicum (bell pepper), in chunks
Simmer until the capsicum starts to soften

Serve with DELICIOUS DELICIOUS PAIN RUSTIQUE or similar.

That kept me going for a few days. Then last night I made a stab at Eggplant and Lentil Stew, using a mix of honey and lemon instead of pomegranate mollasses. That was more like mushy PURPLE food, because of the eggplant. I added some green beans, and another capsicum, and served on cinnamon-and-lemon rice. It was pronounced good by housemate and leareth, with the caveat that leareth would have delighted in any food she didn't have to cook, since it was 9pm and she'd just got in from the airport.

Next weekend housemate is having a board games night, to which everone is bringing sweets and her boyfriend is providing norwegian hot dogs. I'm pretty sure I can stretch my budget to making fancy salad in large proportions, given how much I love feeding people.

Books: another update!

An update which, for once, brings me right up to date on my reading-for-fun list.

Lindsey Barraclough, Long Lankin: ( admirably creepy )

David Lodge, Nice Work: ( Did not make me angry! Astonishing! )

Sam Starbuck, The City War: ( An excellent use of $5 )

Sarah Rees Brennan, Untold: ( Turned up in my work mailbox; must've got carried away when ordering textbooks )