Mountain Bars - Gluten Free, Awesome, Addictive

Chomping on an energy bar at Healy Pass

I've been making this these Mountain bars since I adapted an energy bar recipe in 2009 from the Joy of Cooking.  They have come with Meghan and I on so many backcountry trips I can't keep track... Bugaboos, Assiniboine, Wapta, Egypt Lake, Fundy, Loch Alva and many more. There are a huge hit with everyone we travel with.

They are especially great in the winter - the cold keeps them from crumbling and yet they don't get rock hard like so many other bars do. They are packed with calories to keep your furnace burning on ski and climbing trips. I've tried many recipes and after find that these bars sit well in my stomach.  Just the right combination of fat, carbs, and proteins for quick and sustained energy.

They hold together pretty well (I recommend freezing them before cutting). For longer trips I wrap them individually in parchment paper and store in a ziploc bag (this also keeps us honest to our daily rations!). They don't last long around the house so better to make them just before the trip!





Ingrediants

• 1 cup Rolled Oats (I use Only Oats because they are Gluten Free and delicious)
• 3/4 cup Flour (*I make them Gluten Free* See note below)
• 1 cup (packed) Brown Sugar
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cup Dried Fruit (could be a mix of raisins, chopped apricots, cranberries)
• 1 cup chopped Nuts/Seeds (In this order depending on what I have on hand- Almonds, Walnuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Buckwheat groats)

• 3/4 C Melted Butter (Dairytown Butter if you can get it!)
• 2 tsp Vanilla

Options:
Ginger Version is so good! 1/2 cup Chopped Crystallized Ginger  & 1 Tbsp Ginger Powder
1/2 cup chopped Milk Chocolate
*Gluten Free*: If you're making them Gluten Free like I do, then I would recommend GF Oats, standard featherlight flour (white rice, potato flour, and tapioca starch) and 1-2 tsp of ground Chia Seeds or 1/2 tsp Xanthum gum. 

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl (oats, flour, nuts, fruit, etc)

Melt Butter in Microwave/stove until liquid. Add Vanilla.

Now add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir together well.

Pour this sticky-gloppy mixture into a 9"x9" greased (buttered) cake pan.

Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes until top is browned. You'll see some butter bubbling around the edges.

Let cool/freeze before cutting to keep them from crumbling. Keep the extras in the freezer. They freeze well because there isn't any water in the recipe, just fat!

Sticky but not wet texture

Tamped down ready to bake

Bars on our ski camping trip to Skoki

 gluten free, energy bar, granola bar, camping, skiing, graham waugh, wapta, skoki, assiniboine,

Mexican Pulled Pork Stew

This was a total experiment. I had brought home a Pork Shoulder Roast on the weekend and planned to slow cook it for dinner on Monday night. As the afternoon passed I realized that I wouldn't have enough time to roast the big hunk of meat - not the first time that's happened. So out of necessity I started tinkering.

It was partly inspired by both a recent Cook's Illustrated Magazine and a Michael Smith Mexican stew recipe I had browsed in the mall while waiting for passport photos to develop. My end result certainly doesn't have much in common with it's roots but it sure tasted good.

I also throw some potatoes in the oven while doing a roast. It's an easy companion to the meat and the makes use of the oven which is already fired up. In this case I roasted sweet potato and russet wedges to put on top of the stew. Serve up a bowl of stew and top with a few big potato wedges. The sweetness of the potatoes compliments the subtle spice and smokiness of the stew. 

Mexican Pork Stew

Spice Roasted Sweet and Russet Potato Wedges

Mexican Stew
 
Browning the Meat (this step is all about flavour)
3lb Pork Shoulder or Pork Butt Roast (a touch fatty cut, usually tied up with string)
1 onion (big slices with grain)
2 cups button mushrooms  (quartered)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil (to coat veggies)
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
Liberal shake of salt and pepper

For Stewing Sauce (mix it all together)
1-500ml can of Diced Tomatoes
2 Tbsp Honey + 1 Tsp Maple Syrup (added at the last minute)
2 Tbsp Lime Juice ( about 1 lime)
1 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
2 tsp Chipotles in Adobo Sauce (from a small can at the grocery store) (spicy stuff!)
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
1 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Oregano  (all herbs dried)
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Crushed whole Corriander Seeds
1/4 tsp Fennel Seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

You'll need Roasting Pan ( high sides)
Casserole dish with lid.

--
Start by broiling meat and veggies to develop flavour (get the Maillard reaction going). Once this is complete you'll mix all the ingredients in a casserole dish and bake for 2-3 hours.

-Cut the roast into large 2" chunks (helps it cook more quickly), remove only big bits of fat/connective tissue
-Rub with S&P, Smoked Paprika, Cumin, and Coriander powders.

-Lay the pork in a roasting pan
-Surround the pork with chopped Onions, Mushrooms, and quashed garlic all  tossed in Olive Oil.
-Broil on High in oven until each side is browned and starting to sizzle. 10-15 minutes each side. Stir the Onions and Mushrooms so they don't burn but they should soften/caramelize a bit. Putting it on the lower rack helps even out the broil.

Meanwhile, add the rest of the ingredients to the casserole dish. The can of diced tomatoes, honey, lime juice, red wine vinegar,  and spices - chipotles in adobo, smoked paprika, cumin, chili pdr, oregano, thyme, corriander seeds, fennel seeds, and of course salt and pepper.

If you get it all together and are waiting for the pork then start preheating the casserole dish so that it doesn't cool down the meat.

Add the meat, onions, mushrooms, and garlic to the casserole dish.

Bake (covered) in a 325'F oven for 2 hours. At two hours it'll be plenty soft to eat (with nice texture) but if you want it to fall apart go longer (2.5 -3 hrs?).

The tomato base was thick and flavourful. It's not a spicy stew  - more on the side of cumin and smoke. A bit more Chipotle would have been good.
--

Roasted Sweet and Russet Wedges 

Meanwhile I roasted Sweet Potatoes and Russet Potatoes (with a few leftover beets from the garden). These made an excellent topping for the stew.

Cut wedges in order from largest to smallest  pieces Sweet Potatoes, Russets, and beets.  Sweet's cook quicker then potatoes and beets so they need to be in bigger chunks. Beets are the slowest.

Toss first in:
2 tsp Cumin powder
2 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp black ground pepper

Now add Olive oil and toss. I learnt from my sister that tossing first in spices helps the spices stick to the surface of the potatoes, underneath the oil.

I baked in oven with roast (@ 325) for about  60 minutes, stirred them, then decided to cover them so they wouldn't dry out from the long slow roasting. I stirred them again before finally uncovered at the end to caramelize them a bit.

 They had a nice soft texture, with caramelized and spicy flavour. They were not like my normal oven roasted dense chewy wedges (roasted hot and fast).

Fernie Hashbrowns

Cooked up these hashbrowns while I was in Fernie. BC with family. I key is to use Russet Potatoes and Bacon fat. This past year I've been doing hashbrowns backwards. Instead of frying boiled or baked potatoes, I start by frying raw potatoes until they are caramelized then I add a touch of water to steam them soft. This way I get the flavour of a fried potato with interior of a soft steamed potato while only having to use 1 pan and no additional steps to pre-cook the potato. Makes for a quick breakfast! Topping with bacon and green onion is a nice touch.

Backyard Salad

Another beautiful backyard salad. The days of salad will soon be winding down in Calgary but there's still lots to pick. Spicy old arugala, lettuces, baby kale, swiss chard, red onions, and black string beans. Top it off with a thick balsamic dressing mmmmbop.